Power Rankings 2/2/2016

For an in-depth look at every team, and context on our panel and process for ranking, take a look at our novella about every team in professional League -- the Preseason Power Rankings. Also check out last week's rankings if you missed them.

Feel free to skip ahead to your region of choice.

NA LCS | EU LCS | LMS | LPL | LCK | International

Things finally settled down.

Established organizations around the world have been introduced to the new world order. Fresh teams in each region demand to be taken seriously and have already made their mark on their respective leagues, in many cases, surpassing their predecessors. Winning is no longer a fluke -- we're too far into the Season for that. And given that, we're starting to get a great picture about what teams are for real, and which have work to do.

NA LCS

Written by Carlos "h0tsawce" Bravo

• S Tier: IMT (6-0)
• A Tier: NRG (4-2)
• B Tier: (-) TSM (3-3) | C9 (3-3) | CLG (4-2) | (+) TL (3-3)
• C Tier: DIG (2-4) | (+) TIP (3-3)
• D Tier: (-) EF (1-5) | (-) REN (1-5)

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S Tier: (+) Immortals (6-0)

Let’s take a moment to not only acknowledge another undefeated week for Immortals, but their second sub-20 minute win this Split. Immortals are very much living up to their name, but keep in mind Immortals have had three extremely easy games vs. sub squads: the partially-substituted Echo Fox, the mostly-substituted Team Impulse, and the barely-substituted Renegades. Still, Immortals have done what you are supposed to do to bad teams -- crush them. Immortals should have a more challenging week next week with CLG and Liquid, but here’s to hoping we never see Soraka again!

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A Tier: (+) NRG eSports (4-2)

NRG had a tough start to this week with a thorough defeat at the hands of Liquid, but really turned it around Sunday. Bringing back the toxicity known as Zilean (thanks, Ceros!), GBM had a strong bounce back after a couple of mediocre performances in a row. Moon has continued to struggle, but showed some signs of life in their second, and more impressive, game. NRG remains an unknown commodity with a lot of upside, as evidenced by the trouncing they served TSM.

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B Tier: (-) TSM (3-3) | Cloud9 (3-3) | Counter Logic Gaming (4-2) | (+) Liquid (3-3)

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The middle of the pack is pretty clogged up. TSM is in a bit of trouble as evidenced by their hard fought victory vs. a struggling Cloud9, and absolute blow out at the hands of NRG. Seriously, can you recall the last time TSM put up a goose egg on the scoreboard?

As for Cloud9, it was a pedestrian week. Cloud9 were competitive vs. TSM, but Balls had yet another poor performance (on Sunday also, by the way). Additionally, Hai missed far too many skillshots with Braum when it mattered the most. This was the first week with Hai playing support Saturday and Sunday, producing mixed results in terms of results and mechanics.

As for Liquid, they are our high risers of the week with a 2-0 performance vs. Team Impulse and NRG. Matt’s Bard has proven to be ban-worthy after an MVP level performance on the champion Saturday, while Dardoch continues to impress, and Piglet is clearly in Season 3 form. Liquid is a team to watch as we move through (and beyond) the Spring Split.

CLG had an expected week with beating cellar-dwellers Echo Fox and Renegades, but it’s impressive nonetheless to have this level of consistency just 3 weeks into a new season.

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C Tier: (-) Team Dignitas (2-4) | (+) Team Impulse (3-3)

Team Impulse continues to slowly and steadily improve, nearly pulling off another impressive 2-0 week. Truth be told, TIP threw the game on Sunday with poor positioning and even worse decision-making, but hopefully they will learn from the experience. Here’s the question -- what’s going on top lane? Seraph is a sub, and his performances have been very impressive, but he is the starter for highly hyped former LCS team, TDK. If TIP are going to make a serious run for the Playoffs, they need to finalize their roster soon.  

Dignitas had a tough week, going 0-2 vs. the rising TIP and Cloud9. Although Dignitas lost both games this week, the game against Team Impulse was back and forth, and they went down fighting against Cloud9. BillyBoss has to be a source of concern, but Shiphtur is still enjoying his resurgence in the mid lane so far this split.

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D Tier: (-) Renegades (1-5) | (-) Echo Fox (1-5)

It’s hard to assess Echo Fox considering their last two weeks have been with subs at mid, jungle, and top, but nonetheless, that doesn’t give them a free pass. When the full roster returns, they are definitely going to have their work cut out for them.

As for Renegades, they have performed even worse than I thought they would (and I projected them as a 9th place team). With the recent signing of Flaresz as a top lane sub, and Remilia’s announcement of stepping down, maybe things will finally turn around.

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EU LCS

Written by Frank "Mirhi" Fields

• S Tier: H2K (5-1) | (+) G2 (5-1)
• A Tier: VIT (4-2) | UOL (4-2)
• B Tier: (+) OG (3-3) | FNC (3-3)
• C Tier: SPY (2-4) | ROC (1-5) | (-) EL (3-3)
• D Tier: GIA (0-6)

After three Weeks of the LCS, we've finally figured out where things stand. Results have become somewhat predictable, and new teams have proven that they're either a force to be reckoned with, or subjugated.

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S Tier: H2K (5-1) | (+) G2 Esports (5-1)

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After some tests this week, it doesn't look like H2K will be challenged anytime soon. Vitality played the current kings of Europe closely, but eventually Selfie's great initiations on Lissandra, outstanding map presence, and impressive teamplay by Odoamne led H2K to squeeze Vitality out of the game. When you add in a pretty routine win over Roccat (minus the last five minutes, wtf!?), H2K look almost untouchable, even with a substitute mid laner. Odoamne has developed into one of the best top laners, if not players overall, in Europe, and with his continued improvement, and increased synergy overall, it'll be challenging for anyone to beat them.

G2 Esports has proven to be very close to H2K in terms of its strength. Perkz looks like the best mid laner in Europe so far this split. He surprised teams and fans alike with back-to-back Corki performances where he dominated opponents (with a near 15 KDA!) while literally taunting them in game. Kikis still has a little work to do before he's an elite top laner, but Emperor and Trick's aggressive play has given Perkz the help needs to carry their games.

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A Tier: Team Vitality (4-2) | Unicorns of Love (4-2)

Vitality absolutely dominated Giants, which may lead you to question why we've moved them below G2. The problem is that they played against H2K horrendously. Hjarnan and KaSing have now started to become liabilities in games with some questionable positioning and no signs of the dominant bot lane that made H2K the best team in Europe at times during 2015 Spring. It's not all bad, as Nukeduck played much better in 2016 than he did last season, and his awakening may help keep Vitality near the top tier. But they'll need more help from the bot lane going forward.

Despite losing Diamondprox, Unicorns of Love have looked alright. I mean he did send his team energy! Part of why UOL hasn't had a complete fall off is Steeelback, who has played particularly well this season, especially on Kalista. But in general the team hasn't been as cohesive since Diamondprox has been out. If the team is able to fix it's synergy and macro play issues, they'll still be a top contender, since individually all of the players have been playing decently well in laning phase and early game.

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B Tier: (+) Origen (3-3) | Fnatic (3-3)

It was back to basics for Origen in Week 3, and they showed exactly what their team can do with a committed and decisive team composition. In this case, they decided to just let Zven run wild. With PowerOfEvil getting Lulu, it enabled both him and Zven to outplay their opponents and carry team fights together. With Mithy providing utility and Amazing providing both utility and finishing power, their formula turned into a winning one for their first 2-0 week of the Season. Though Lulu won't be a reliable pick for their team, it gives us some hope that this team we thought would dominate Spring may eventually turn into an S Tier contender.

Fnatic on the other hand has some soul searching to do. Febiven was massively outplayed by Perkz, Spirit looked inept in the jungle in both of their games, costing his team kills and tempo. They managed to methodically close out Splyce from the game with a strong siege / poke comp, but it took them 39 minutes to do so, and conversely they lasted only 26 minutes against G2. Spirit needs to step up and control the game, or else Fnatic will find itself in the middle of the standings at the end of the Season.

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C Tier: (-) Elements (3-3) | Splyce (2-4) | Roccat (1-5)

Elements' good form was partially due to great performances from MrRalleZ and Steve. They also had managed to conceal the weak points on their team in their wins. But for the most part, Elements record was due to their incredibly easy schedule with wins over Splyce, Roccat, and Giants. At this point, the C Tiers only seem capable of wins over each other, and Giants, with only one exception when Roccat beat Vitality in their first game of the Split.

Without any huge changes in style, or personnel, it's unlikely that we'll see much improvement from these teams for the next few weeks. Having said that, if there is significant improvement from a macro-perspective (lane swaps, objective control) and individual perspective (laning, skirmishing), then they might find their way up a tier.

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D Tier: Giants (0-6)

I'm running out of things to say about Giants. We need an old priest and a young priest. We need an intervention. We need a shrink -- think Billy Crystal from Analyze This. Yes, they lost their jungler, but this lineup was one that looked okay on paper. Everything has gone wrong. They can't lane well, they can't rotate well, they can't team fight well. The most brutal blow was their 16-3 loss to Splyce, which had to be Giants most winnable matchup so far. Without being able to even compete against the C Tier teams, there isn't much to be done.

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LMS

Written by Clement Chu

• S Tier: AHQ (4-0-0)
• A Tier: FW (3-2-0), TPA (3-2-0)
• B Tier: (+) HKE (2-1-2), (-) M17 (2-2-1), XG (2-1-1)
• C Tier: MSE (0-3-1)
• D Tier: CGE (0-5-0)

Record format: (Win-Loss-Draw)

Week 3 is the week when the world stood still and the law of averages took place. Flash Wolves move back to 2nd place in points, TPA and HKE looked like their former selves, both in strengths and flaws. XG took a seat behind the more veteran squads. No one moved much in our rankings, and we predict that this will be what the league looks like through most of the split.

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S Tier: ahq e-Sports Club (4-0-0)

It was a relatively quiet week for AHQ. An sat out while RD manned the marksmen position versus CGE. The games were less coordinated and chaotic as a result, but Albis was able to smile all the way through to a victory as there was no need to protect An. The bigger question is, if RD will be playing AD, who will be their jungler if Mountain’s injuries resurface?

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A Tier: Flash Wolves (3-2-0) | Taipei Assassins (3-2-0)

A fun week for the Wolves, as they slay both feline teams MSE and CGE to overtake XGamers in the standings. The record books put up more resistance than their opponents. Flash Wolves broke the fastest game record in LMS at 19:09 vs. CGE, and were two kills shy of the first perfect game in the LMS. Roster wise, it looks like FW Rins has solidified his position as the starting top laner with his flashy Trundle play.

For TPA, Friday’s match should have been an easy sweep of HKE. With a massively fed Ryze and a 6k gold lead, FoFo then allowed himself to be picked off three times in a row before a teamfight. A lax ending to an otherwise well played series raised old fears of TPA’s ingame mentalities. Afterall, the Taipei Assassins are the only assassins known of to take a coffee break before finishing someone off. They stay above HKE for winning 80% of the series.

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B Tier: Hong Kong eSports (2-1-2) | Machi (2-2-1) | XGamers (2-1-1) 

I don’t think HKE walked away happy with their split match against TPA. Theoretically this should place them within Playoff range, but the degree in which Morning was able to crush MapleSnow (191 cs by the end of the game) and Dinter’s repeated deaths in the same bush mean that they will have to outplay the teams above them. Outplays are hard. They managed to do just that this week thanks to newcomer Rokenia’s picks on his main champion Ahri.

A 3-1 week for Machi sees them sitting at an uncomfortable 5th. They’re improving on the strategy side (2:0 outsmarting of XG), but they still don’t have enough raw talent to breakthrough the likes of HKE. Machi has been the team most prone to losing given a 20 minute gold lead (only a 60% win rate in that situation) last split. Which speaks of a good laning phase, but poor mid game decision making to back it up. Their match against HKE followed a similar pattern, with M17 taking an early kill lead, but then handing it back once people started roaming.

XGamers played a tight first game versus Machi. Being demolished in the second game, however, doesn’t bode well for their playoff hopes. This team needs to find a way to dislodge the inhabitants of “Camp SuwaKo” when Yo’s junglers are utility based. They will also need to pick up another strategy outside double-AD poke. Doing all this while facing AHQ and TPA next week will be a tall task.

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C Tier: Midnight Sun (0-3-1) | D Tier: Cougar eSports (0-5-0)

To be fair, these squads had a tough schedule this week, and I think MSE is still better than CGE (hence the tier difference). But there isn’t much of lasting importance to say about them as they tinker with rosters in hopes of fielding a decent lineup. Good news is someone will pick up a win when they play each other in Week 5. The bad news is neither are likely to produce one before then.

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LPL

Written by Indiana "Froskurinn" Black

• S Tier: QG (5-0) | (+) EDG (3-1)
• A Tier: RNG (4-1)
• B Tier: SS (3-2) | WE (3-2) | iG (3-1)
• C Tier: M3 (2-3) | (-) OMG (2-3) | (-) VG (2-3) | EPA (1-4)
• D Tier: LGD (1-4) | HYG (0-5)

Week 3 of the LPL starts to define trends and ruts. The two front-runners continue to be Edward Gaming and the QG Reapers, dominating their competition in macro and micro performance. Just behind them is Royal Never Gives Up who are getting closer to reinventing their two time World’s Finalist identity.

But with the top elite neatly established, the mid tier pack continues to peak and fall in scrappy performances and skewed schedules. Teams have now finished one rotation through their groups and this is the point where we can really begin to hold consistency accountable.

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S Tier: QG Reapers (5-0) | (+) Edward Gaming (3-1)

The QG Reapers (QG) are the only undefeated team left in the LPL but that comes on the condition that they have the arguably weaker Group of the two front-runners. QG did have the tougher week with Snake Esports as one of their opponents, and despite a 2-0 victory, played from the back foot for the majority of their first game before devastating Snake on Baron and then leading that momentum into Game 2. They continue to be the most consistent team in the LPL, which will continue to rank them first in Power Rankings.

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On the other side, in Group B, Edward Gaming (EDG) are back in form and have yet to lose a Series with Clearlove returning to the Jungle. The concern is that since Clearlove’s return, EDG’s schedule has been lax, dodging Royal Never Gives Up in week one and being ejected from a technical nightmare against Invictus Gaming. EDG look crisp and controlled in their victories, amassing the largest gold leads at 10 and 20 minutes in the LPL, but they’re riding more on their 2015 reputation than their 2016 performance.

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A Tier: Royal Never Gives Up (4-1)

Royal Never Gives Up came into week 3 with a single Series to prepare for: Invictus Gaming. And they lost. RNG have defined themselves as a vision oriented team helmed by aggressive forward plays by Support Mata and Jungler Mlxg. They continuously push into enemy territory for deep wards that they’ll later skirmish over for advantages. Against Invictus, this lead to a stylistic disaster, as both teams are adept at scrappy fights and it came down to iG RoOKie versus the world.

RNG show glimmers of strategic depth, understanding how to close games with progressive action instead of waiting on the final 5v5 - but they haven’t demonstrated consistency to determine if they’re the real dark horse this Split. Their circumstantial win over a Clearlove-less EDG in Week 1 might mean RNG are inflated in their standings and Power Rankings.

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B Tier: Snake Esports (3-2) | Team WE (3-2) | Invictus Gaming (3-1)

With their victory over RNG, Invictus Gaming (iG) get to move up a tier. Despite all odds, iG’s role-swapped roster is going the distance and seem to understand their sole win condition: camp RoOKie. They bested both Vici Gaming and RNG this week, and depending on the rematch results against EDG, iG could look to solidify themselves as a threat.

Team WE (WE) and Snake Esports (SS) remain a step ahead, despite the inferior record, due to how they win and lose games. WE demonstrate growing pains in aligning their synergy, but still have more performing players as a whole than iG; meanwhile, SS is the number one lane-swapping team in the LPL and are flexing strategic diversity but fumbling execution. Plus, SS also faced the undefeated QG for a tough week.

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C Tier: (-) Vici Gaming (2-3) | (-) OMG (2-3) | Energy Pacemaker.All (1-4) | Masters3 (2-3)

Vici Gaming (VG) are a roster stacked with talent and expectations, but are victim to their supportive style; VG got an Easyhoon when they needed a Faker. It’s unfortunate that they’re fourth best to EDG, RNG, and surprising iG. Come Group rotations, VG will surely begin to climb the rankings as they prove that in the other Group they could be a contender.

The other three teams lack the performing players to compete in the middle pack. They’ll continue to peak occasionally with a one-off performance, but lack the consistent threat of a cohesive roster to be much more than standings fodder. The standout being Oh My God (OMG) whose collective competitive experience may give them the edge over the brand-new Energy Pacemaker.All (EPA) and Masters 3 (M3).

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D Tier: LGD Gaming (1-4) | Hyper Youth Gaming (0-5)

LGD Gaming (LGD) are finally on the board after their 2-0 victory against EPA. They’ve begun to rotate their roster in the Jungle, changing out Eimy for long-time sub Xiaoxi and look a bit more collected. It was a promising start to their week as the patented forward aggression in their lanes looked to catch M3 off guard before missing Jungle synergy left them exposed. Again.

LGD seem to have lost their identity as a wave-control oriented team and are relying on flashy mechanics and the brute-force name of their roster to carry. It worked against the inexperienced LSPL promotion team, but has left them irrelevant in any other matchup.

Hyper Youth Gaming (HYG), like LGD, seem to struggle with an identity or win condition. They lack the experience to make the correct calls and balance the game from early to late decisions.

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LCK

Written by Alex Manisier

• S Tier: (+) ROX (5-0)
• A Tier: (+) JAG (5-1) | KTR (3-1) | (-) SKT (3-2)
• B Tier: LZ (2-2) | (-) SSG (3-3)
• C Tier: CJ (1-3) | Afreeca (1-4) | EMF (1-3)
• D Tier: SBENU (0-5)

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S Tier: (+) ROX Tigers (5-0)

It's official. The ROX Tigers are the best team in Korea. We've already talked about the magic that Peanut's jungling has done for the Tigers' early game, but what we haven't touched on is their willingness to gain advantages through team fights rather than calculated map play.

Make no mistake -- the Tigers aren't the same team they were last year. They have displayed a penchant for team fights that we haven't seen in Korea since the likes of Samsung Blue, and they're not afraid to play a dirty game. The Tigers are perfection in imperfection -- we wonder what it will take to dethrone them.

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A Tier: (+) Jin Air Green Wings (5-1) | KT Rolster (3-1), (-) SKTelecom T1 (3-2)

As the Season develops, we're starting to better understand what makes a team A Tier in Korea. Strong fundamentals and intelligent strategic execution earn Jin Air and KT Rolster their spots in this tier, but SKTelecom T1 are a different story. Simply put, you should be worried for them. They seem listless at times, coasting by on the raw ability of their core carries Faker and Bang.

Neither SKT jungler is particularly inspiring at the moment, meaning that the team can no longer rely on superior execution to find wins. SKT need to have a long, hard think about their situation, because they can no longer out-Korea Korea.

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B Tier: (-) Longzhu Gaming (2-2) | Samsung Galaxy (3-3)

Things are starting to look interesting for Longzhu as they begin to figure out their strengths, but it's coming at an awkward time for them. As Fury's suspension draws to a close, Cpt Jack draws closer to retirement. Longzhu are hoping that there will be no transitional pains when Fury joins the team, similar to how Peanut slid into the ROX Tigers effortlessly. It's not clear whether the team's identity will change once he joins, but they've displayed a proficiency with poke comps that suggests their macro play is nothing to worry about for now.

Samsung, on the other hand, need to innovate before they can take out the top teams in the LCK. They're a remarkably consistent team, but for now, they lack the star power (SKT) or strategic mastery (Jin Air) to break back into the top tier. Perhaps the aggressive team fighting style of the Tigers is a possible direction to develop towards.

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C Tier: Afreeca Freecs (1-4) | CJ Entus (1-3) | e-mFire (1-3)

Don't expect much movement in the C Tier for a while. Unless the break between Rounds 1 and 2 does something magical for these three teams, they'll likely be trying to avoid relegation for the rest of the Spring season. All three teams have some kind of strategic flaw that prevents them from beating more experienced teams, and even if they make roster upgrades, we're not confident their issues will go away overnight.

Strangely enough, e-mFire looked encouraging during their 1-2 loss to SKTelecom T1. Sure, SKT weren't playing at 100%, but it takes guts to throw yourself at a top team and take them out as methodically as e-mFire did.

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D Tier: (-) SBENU Sonicboom (0-5)

SBENU slide down into the previously empty D Tier this week for their lazy performance against Longzhu. It's clear that this team is just a notch under the C Tier teams, mostly because they don't appear to know how to really win a game. They have strong individual players in Flawless, SaSin and Nuclear, but they just don't have a strong grasp on the team aspects of the game.

We want to see SBENU succeed, we really do, but it appears as if they haven't fixed many of their issues from last year.

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International

In 2015, Chinese organization imported a plethora of Korean players, many of them former LCK or World Champions. It did not go well. China's mixed nationality teams sent three teams to Worlds with only one performing well; EDG advanced to the Quarterfinals. But that's not to say that Koreans haven't found success on other rosters, and it is these rosters that we examine in this edition of International Power Rankings. Here are two teams with mixed nationality rosters that may help elevate their regions to the top.

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Immortals

• Top: Huni
• Jungle: Reignover
• Mid: Pobelter
• AD: WildTurtle
• Support: Adrian

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Current placement: 1st place in NA LCS

Written by Carlos "h0tsawce" Bravo

NA was one of the first regions in the world to import talent from abroad. In fact, some NA LCS foreign players, like Bjergsen, have been around so long they qualify as domestic players. However, up to this point in the season, there is only one clear option for best international roster -- Immortals. Chock full of talent across the board, Immortals had high expectations coming into the Spring Split. But the instant cohesiveness has surprised many viewers and analysts alike.

Maybe it shouldn’t have.  

With grizzled veterans WildTurtle and Pobelter are known quantities at their carry roles who have seen the ups and downs of LCS life and a multitude of roster changes. Additionally, with Adrian at support, you can always count on solid, steady performances.

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But the shining lights have to be Huni and Reignover, both from Korea via EU LCS. They are the true definition of international players, having experienced high level of League play both in Korea and Europe before making the much vaunted move to NA. Both international players bring an ‘X’ factor that some other international imports have struggled with -- fluency in English. The ability for this international all-star team to be able to communicate immediately has proven invaluable, and has helped provide the instant synergy that has NA fans excited about Immortals.

Perhaps what makes Immortals the best international NA team can be seen as somewhat of a paradox for a new team -- experience. With the exception of Adrian, all the players on Immortals have Worlds experience. Pobelter most recently had his first Worlds tournament with CLG where they bowed out in the Group Stage. WildTurtle has been to three consecutive World Championships, and while his performances have been uneven, we have seen signs of brilliance.  Huni and Reignover bring Worlds Semifinals experience to the team that should prove to be pivotal in the long run.

In many ways, Immortals are the very definition of a ‘super team’. Players performing at their peak, a wealth of experience with international play styles and strategies, and the hunger for success. Nevertheless, questions still remain -- can Immortals continue to improve?  What will happen when they hit their first bump in the road?  Will Huni ever actually play Heimerdinger?

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Qiao Gu Reapers

• Top: V
• Jungle: Swift
• Mid: Doinb | Borisal
• AD: Peco | Uzi
• Support: Mor

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Current placement: 1st place in the LPL

Written by Indiana "Froskurinn" Black

The QG Reapers are a team of nobodies. In their inagural 2015 Summer Split, the QG Reapers would auto-promote into the LPL to face some of the best talent in the world, including all 10 of the legendary Samsung Blue and White players. In a region stacked with all-star rosters, QG could only boast the former Xenics Storm and CJ Entus Frost jungler: Baek “Swift” Da-hoon.

So, when asked to identify the best multi-national team in a region where there is only one all-Chinese roster left, I sidestepped the front-running Edward Gaming and settled on the most consistent LPL team both domestically and internationally: The QG Reapers.

Since their creation, the QG reapers have only placed less than third in a single event, Demacia Cup Summer, where LGD would best them 3-1 in the Round of 16. They championed the League of Legends Secondary Pro League (LSPL), Demacia Cup Spring, LPL Regular Summer Split, LPL Summer Playoffs, and their international appearance at IEM Cologne.

True, QG are not nearly as accomplished as EDG, but their only lacking qualification seems to be opportunity at this point. An upcoming performance at IEM Katowice will give QG another chance to secure an international title. With LPL on the cusp of a new era of dynasties, QG have solidified themselves with their dominating 2016 start for a shot at the vacant throne.

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The QG Reapers are a creative team that thrive in large-scale 5 vs. 5 teamfights with a unique ability to stall from massive gold deficits. QG have a clear-cut identity as a brute fighting team, but their techniques in achieving that identity are overlooked -- and what have made them an even more formidable foe in 2016 with the shit in meta.

And it all starts with Swift.

Swift is an aggressive, hard-carry, jungler. In the same vein of Choi “InSec” In-seok and Lee “KaKAO” Byung-kwon. He is the enabler, which doesn’t suggest that Swift only ganks, but that when he decides to concentrate on farming, QG don’t see ballooning early leads. He makes everything happen for the team. And thus, he receives majority of the resources.

Not gold. Peel.

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Unlike the long-standard identity of LPL that worshiped some of the best Marksmen talent in the world, QG put all of their effort into supporting Swift. It’s such an extreme that ADC Yu “Peco” Rui (formally known as TnT) has inherited the identity of a low-econ style of play, pushed to the limits to perform with less than his competition. Likewise, mid Laner Kim “Doinb” Tae-sang would take on the role of a secondary support -- playing champions like Morgana and Lulu while boasting the highest kill participation of any mid in the LPL due shadowing Swift around the map.

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Back in 2015, one of Swift’s most played champions was Sejuani -- her popularity due to the power of Cinderhulk – but that also meant a fragile early game from QG while waiting on her powerspike, and it became a pattern to see the team lose countless advantageous early. As Swift adjusted his pool to the likes of Rek’Sai and Nidalee, QG started to get more proactive as a whole -- changing mid lane to more mid game focused picks like LeBlanc and dominating a completely different point in the game.

The adjustment to early-game pressure and a more powerful jungle meta in 2016 polish QG’s habits. Currently, Swift’s most played champion is Rek’Sai -- which allows him immense back-line threat and semi-global presence -- but QG are also the only team that receive Nidalee as a frequent target ban. His pool has shifted to champions with a more dominating early presence which transforms a normally slow to pick up QG Reapers into a progressive early force. And with the carry potential of these champions escalated, and the likes of Graves Jungle dominating LPL, Swift’s value as a threat and focus for his team receives more passive power than ever before.

The meta shifted into the QG Reapers. And now, led by Swift, they are reaping the benefits.

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Who do you think are the best mixed rosters in the world? Who has the inside track for MSI?

Let us know in the comments or on Twitter. 

Frank Fields is a Senior Editor for Lolesports.com. He has worked in esports as a player, manager, owner, and content creator in multiple game titles and various organizations since 2003. Feel free to talk to him about Power Rankings, Smash, Magic: The Gathering, League or anything else on Twitter.