League of Legends global power rankings through July 18

Tyler Erzberger, ESPN EsportsJul 18, 2017, 03:53 PM
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- Covered esports since 2011
- Worked with biggest teams across titles like League of Legends and StarCraft II
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Welcome back to our League of Legends global power rankings. Every week, we look at each team in the five major regions and rank them according to how they are performing.

The NA LCS, EU LCS, LCK and LMS are entering Week 7 of competition. The LPL is entering Week 6. The +/- indicates the change since the previous ranking.

Nos. 1-10: World contenders

Nos. 11-20: Playoff contenders

Nos. 21-30: Middle of the pack

Nos. 31-40: Struggling

Nos. 41-50: Bottom of the barrel

World contenders

1. Samsung Galaxy

Record: 10-2 | League: LCK | +/-: +1

For the first time in a long while, SK Telecom T1 is not the top team of the power rankings. Samsung Galaxy has claimed the spot off the back of stellar play from Lee "Crown" Min-ho and Park "Ruler" Jae-hyuk, snapping Kang "Blank" Sun-gu's winning streak at 20 in the process. Upon proving that its Week 1 victory at the start of the summer in the LCK was no fluke, the squad followed it up by further asserting command of the LCK with more victories, seemingly unfazed by its defeat at Rift Rivals.

2. SK Telecom T1

Record: 9-4 | League: LCK | +/-: -1

It might seem like a gut reaction to drop SKT from the top for a bad string of games, but keeping tabs on a pattern of problems necessitates punishing them. Heo "Huni" Seunghoon will receive the brunt of the blame for only having one speed whether behind or ahead, but the general vision philosophy of SKT has been challenged. Rather than place deeper wards in mid game to combat engage, they prefer to deny enemy vision, increasing the frequency at which they get caught out. Then, early on, problems worsen if they have a weak bottom lane matchup, and gaps in communication make themselves apparent. We expect SKT to bounce back, but it won't be straightforward.

3. Longzhu Gaming

Record: 9-3 | League: LCK | +/-: --

This is the week where Longzhu either cements its spot as a legitimate contender for the league title and for the upcoming World Championships or, as it's been so many times before for the Incredible Miracle/Longzhu organization, another step or two back following a single step forward. The Dragons play SKT T1 in a rematch of the season's best series thus far, where the reigning world champion came back from a game deficit to reverse-sweep the series, and then have an apparent cupcake awaiting in the form of the hapless Ever8 Winners. Both of Longzhu's opponents this week are wounded, and if this team is the real deal, anything other than a 2-0 should be seen as a disappointment.

4. KT Rolster

Record: 9-3 | League: LCK | +/-: --

KT was called the greatest super team ever assembled in the offseason, and it has instead become the greatest enigma of all-time. Possibly the best early-game team in the world with experienced attackers at all positions, KT resembles a world title favorite until it crosses paths with SKT. For the umpteenth time in a single year, a loss to its rival has created a string of funky performances from the so-called super team, and though it did pick up two victories last week against Jin Air and Winners, don't expect that level of performance to take KT anywhere but a first or second round exit in the postseason.

5. Afreeca Freecs

Record: 8-5 | League: LCK | +/-: --

Afreeca's Lee "Kuro" Seo-haeng is having a renaissance season as his team is getting closer to locking up a playoff spot in the summer split. Not only that but his one-sided rivalry with all-time great Lee "Faker" Sang-hyeok has actually tipped in his favor this split, with the former ROX Tigers mid laner defeating Faker and SKT T1 last week and putting himself in the lead for league MVP.

6. Team SoloMid

Record: 9-3 | League: NA LCS | +/-: +1

TSM didn't have the strongest showing this week, despite its victories. The team nearly got punished for teamfight setups with Syndra and Tristana against Team Liquid's high engage comps and only seemed to wiggle out of the unfortunate situation after feats of heroism on the part of Yiliang "Doublelift" Peng. TSM remain the strongest non-Korean team on our list, but they rise mostly as a result of the waning of Jin Air's moon.

7. Team WE

Record: 6-2 | League: LPL | +/-: +2

Team WE may not have played the crispest games this week, but they remain solidified as the best team in the LPL. It has cleaned up drafting so champion picks more properly represent the strengths of the team. A few concerns arise because WE feel increasingly one-dimensional, but its ability to use lane pressure for jungle control still makes them a strong team in the global context.

8. Jin Air Green Wings

Record: 6-7 | League: LCK | +/-: -2

It happens every season. Every. Single Season. Maybe Jin Air has changed its style, no longer having the longest games in the league, but the second-half bug has been a constant almost every season since the league-format was established for the Green Wings. After a promising start and a possible contention for a top four spot, it has been rough going, and a 0-2 run last week has put Jin Air on the outside looking in on the playoffs. The team has exceeded expectations and played to a high level, including just taking a 2-0 over SKT, but in South Korea, where a league title is tougher to seize than a world title, it probably won't be enough.

9. Immortals

Record: 9-3 | League: NA LCS | +/-:+2

After an 0-2 week following the Rift Rivals break, some thought the Immortals magic was just about to end. That certainly wasn't the case -- the team bounced back with a 2-0 against Cloud9 and Echo Fox. Against Cloud9, Immortals showed that it can be bested early game, but is one of the best at keeping its head cool and finding the right opportunity late game.

10. EDward Gaming

Record: 6-2 | League: LPL | +/-: --

After Rift Rivals, EDward Gaming started drafting stronger lanes, Lee "Scout" Yechan has played matchups more thoughtfully, and the power or Rek'Sai fits into Ming "Clearlove" Kai's narrow wheelhouse. EDward Gaming had better control of Baron, and Tian "Meiko" Ye continues to prove he can brush shoulders with the World's support giants. Resolving teamfight struggles may allow EDG to contest WE for the top of the region.

Playoff contenders

11. Counter Logic Gaming

Record: 9-3 | League: NA LCS | +/-: -3

CLG are still a top squad, but there are some lukewarm feelings about the team now after some iffy games against FlyQuest and the subbing out of Joshua "Dardoch" Hartnett. Dardoch has been key to CLG's success so it's unlikely to happen again, but one should praise CLG for giving young talent like Omar "Omargod" Amin a chance to play in the LCS.

12. Flash Wolves

Record: 6-2 | League: LMS | +/-: -2

The wolves dropped a game in its set against Wayi Spider, but managed to buckle down and get the 2-1 victory. Hung "Karsa" Hau-Hsuan still isn't performing to his usual standard and that will be crucial to his team's success in the future. Flash Wolves are benefiting from the return of engage supports, but Karsa will need to step up if this team wants to get serious.

13. Fnatic

Record: 7-1 | League: EU LCS | +/-: +1

Fnatic wasted no time in switching its play to a more mid-centric style, going as far as using Martin "Rekkles" Larsson - traditionally in a hypercarry role - as a supportive AD carry on Sivir and Varus. The squad's usage of brute force in the mid lane has helped it neutralize Vitality, but a squad with better macro may fend such a tactic off with better early and mid-game pressure, especially around the mid lane.

14. J Team

Record: 6-3 | League: LMS | +/-: +2

J Team continued to impress as much as it disappoints last week. JT put up a convincing 2-0 victory over the tumbling Raise Gaming, but practically threw 2 games away against the fifth place Machi Esports. Machi deserves credit for its teamfighting ability, but J Team deserves criticism for its continued poor teamfight selection. J Team can be the best in the LMS, but it can't cement itself there until that's fixed.

15. H2K Gaming

Record: 6-2 | League: EU LCS | +/-: +2

Of all the squads competing in the European LCS during Week 6, H2K had the cleanest showing - albeit against a slumping Team ROCCAT. Its ability to ramp up scaling compositions in the current meta and its execution during team fights left little to wonder in terms of its viability as a contender for the European crown, should subsequent meta changes preserve mid centricity and accentuate the importance of jungle pressure.

16. Unicorns of Love

Record: 6-1 | League: EU LCS | +/-: -1

Following a mixed showing at Rift Rivals, the Unicorns of Love performed in a way that suggested that its strategic play was a work in progress. UoL's ability to spot weaknesses in the mid lane has allowed it to prevail against Misfits, but the squad has been inconsistent in terms of team fight execution during the series. Given that Andrei "Xerxe" Dragomir and Fabian "Exileh" Schubert are adapting to enemy pressure, and as Xerxe familiarizes himself with a more proactive playstyle in the early game, expect its performance (and the squad's overall performance) to improve.

17. Royal Never Give Up

Record: 8-3 | League: LPL | +/-: +3

The return of Jian "Uzi" Zihao only asked more questions than it answered. Early game broke down on bottom side with Liu "Mlxg" Shiyu fumbling invades and Uzi over-extending. A substitution for rising star Hu "Y1HAN" Zhiwei improved RNG's form, but they still balked against Invictus Gaming's Kog'Maw, and their side lane splitting unraveled. RNG may be top 20, but they aren't showing signs of rising in big leaps.

18. ROX Tigers

Record: 5-7 | League: LCK | +/-: +5

ROX is not a Worlds winner contender like it was the previous two years with an entirely different starting lineup, but the team is keeping up in the LCK, and that's a miracle following the disbandment of its legendary 2016 team. The exit of star mid laner Son "Mickey" Yong-min has been a blessing in disguise for team, with Gwon "Sangyoon" Sang-yun, quietly one of the better, more consistent AD carries in the league the last few seasons, getting a heavier share of the responsibility as the team's new ace.

19. ahq

Record: 6-3 | League: LMS | +/-: +12

Liu "Westdoor" Shu-Wei looks to be the starting mid laner for ahq after some decent performances at Rift Rivals and the team looks more coherent as a result. Ahq marched all over Wayi Spider and Fireball to 2-0 victories and set itself up for a very important matchup against J Team this week. One would hope that Liu "LBB" Ping-Hsin gets a chance to start over the waning Chou "AN" Chun-An/

20. Misfits

Record: 4-3 | League: EU LCS | +/-: -2

Tristan "PowerOfEvil" Schrage and his teammates are able to execute during team fight scenarios and are able to pinpoint the opposite squad's win conditions as their movements in the early and mid game indicate. However, its struggle has been about getting there, or about developing a foolproof game plan of its own. At times, the squad's drafting decisions (such as top lane Kennen in Game 3 of the UoL vs. Misfits series) have caused the team more harm than good; but the experiments leading into the playoffs are commendable.