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IEM Katowice Power Rankings

Riot·3/2/2016, 1:38:09 AM·1 votes·59,009 views

Welcome to the 2016 IEM Katowice edition of Power Rankings. It’s one of those magical times of the year when teams from around the world get together and duke it out on the international stage.

We have the pleasure of trying to predict how it will all end up. Nothing is set in stone -- international tournaments have shown us this time and time again. As most of the teams playing at IEM are going through questionable spells of form, the results are anyone's guess. Though if we had to give it a shot, it would probably look something like this...

IEM Katowice Power Rankings

Note: Due to different regions playing in different formats, each team is followed with their game win percentage, as opposed to match win results.

  • S Tier: SKTelecom T1 (57.14%)
  • A Tier: Counter Logic Gaming (71.43%)
  • B Tier: Royal Never Give Up (72.22%)
  • C Tier: ESC Ever (83.33%) | Qiao Gu Reapers (82.35%)
  • D Tier: Fnatic (57.14%) | Origen (50%) | TSM (57.14%)

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S Tier: SKTelecom T1

If you’re coming into IEM Katowice expecting a World Championship performance from SKTelecom T1, now would be a good time to curb your expectations. The current SKT is a shell of the team that rampaged through the 2015 World Championship. Jungler Bengi seems to have reverted to his 2014 self and his substitute Blank isn’t much more inspiring. Top laner Duke oscillates between MaRin-esq lane pressure and aimless split pushing.

Despite all this SKT T1 are still the favorites to win IEM.

They have a significant advantage over other teams as far as their laners are concerned. Duke, Faker, and Bang are so far ahead of the competition at Katowice that standard lane assignments are essentially a non-option for their opponents. They have proven time and time again that you can never rule out the Faker factor when it comes to international competition.

So yes, you shouldn’t expect a World Championship performance from SKT T1. But that doesn't mean they won't come out at IEM and crush their opposition with the sheer talent they have in their lanes -- including the best player in the history of the game.

-- Written by Alex Manisier

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A Tier: Counter Logic Gaming

Well, I bet you didn't expect to see CLG alone in A tier. Yet, here they are, entering IEM Katowice as the most consistent team in the West. They've recently been on a fantastic run of form -- but if they want it to continue they're going to have to tackle the behemoth that is SKT in the Group Stage. 

While SKT has undoubtedly struggled so far this split, their talent pool dwarfs the competition. I bring this up because it accentuates why we can't put CLG in the same tier as SKT. CLG's greatest weakness comes from their rookies. Stixxay and Huhi have both shown potential to grow, but might not be ready to shine on the international stage. 

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Ah, but this is a team game, and there probably isn't a team at Katowice that has shown better teamwork than CLG. The team's shot calling, macro play, rotations, and objective control are the reasons we rate CLG above the other six teams at Katowice. 

Darshan and Aphromoo are in incredible form and Xmithie's resurgence has given CLG another arrow in their quiver. Their first game vs. SKT will be tough, though the results will largely depend on how big Huhi and Stixxay show up to the tournament. If they want to beat SKT they'll need to have every single player on the team firing on all cylinders. 

-- Written by Carlos"h0tsawce" Bravo

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B Tier: Royal Never Give Up 

Formally known as Star Horn Royal Club, the two time Worlds Finalists have surged again, representing their region on the international stage for the first time since 2014. No longer helmed by UZI, RNG run a 10 man roster with subs in every position. They will start the unlikely -- but potent -- assembly of Samsung White veterans, Mata and Looper, alongside young Chinese talent from King and Gamtee.

Their style is aggressive, relying on the tag-team of Mata and Chinese Jungler Mlxg to set deep forward vision in enemy territory as a point of skirmish. This deep vision not only provides RNG the necessary information to calculate all-ins, but -- more importantly -- act as a moveable objective for the team to challenge and assert their gold leads in collapsing fights.

RNG consistently beat LPL teams to the punch, picking lane dominant champions and pressuring their waves forward to keep their opponents locked down while Mlxg runs amok. It’s reminiscent of Samsung White, constantly moving vision to high impact points on the map with an emphasis on denial and smaller skirmishes rather than full-blown 5v5 scenarios.

The primary fault of RNG is in their uncurbed aggression. Their style, though oppressive to watch when executed, is unchanging despite circumstances. Whether 10K gold ahead or behind, RNG will never stop invading and have few practiced options to play from behind successfully.

Despite their most recent victory over The QG Reapers, RNG go into IEM as underdogs. With less experience on the current patch than the majority of teams attending, and no expectations of an international showing, RNG sit neatly in B Tier.

-- Written by Indiana "Froskurinn" Black

C Tier: ESC Ever | The Qiao Gu Reapers

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ESC Ever

For much of 2015, ESC Ever were a regular Challenger team -- full of promising talent (especially mid laner Athena), but lacking any sort of real leadership or structure to help them break into Champions.

Things changed in September when Ever rebuilt, bringing in KT Rolster jungle sub Ares and a relatively unknown bot lane by the name of LokeN and Key. From that point onwards, they drew a lot of attention in the amateur scene as they rampaged their way to the KeSPA Cup.

But they didn’t stop there.

Coming in hot against top-tier KeSPA teams still sleepy from the postseason, Ever crushed Challengers and LCK veterans alike to qualify for IEM Cologne. Their teamplay was just as good as any top team, and they even had some star power in Key’s magnificent support play.

Against two incredibly hungry teams with little international experience in H2k and QG Reapers, Ever played with the brilliance of a top-level Korean team coupled with all the enthusiasm of a rookie team that hadn’t even qualified for the LCK. The Challenger team closed out the tournament with a 5-3 record, and stood above the best of China and Korea.

Still, Ever remain a giant question mark at IEM. They lost Athena to Edward Gaming, replacing him with a Solo Queue player named Tempt. Key is only just returning to competitive play after he voluntarily benched himself in preemptive penance for Elo boosting allegations.

Here’s what we can tell you about Ever -- right now, they’re an incomplete team. They’re still getting back into the swing of things, and at times feel lethargic. They haven’t developed their strategies much beyond ‘fight when Teleports are up’, and are still prone to drafting errors. If they can find some of their former fire then be prepared for an upset -- if not, they are looking like a solid C tier team.

-- Written by Alex Manisier

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The Qiao Gu Reapers

Coming off the success of their IEM Cologne appearance, QG entered the 2016 LPL season in a dominant fashion. While other top contenders EDG and LGD floundered (or sunk), QG went undefeated for four weeks. But despite their superior record to sister LPL representative RNG, it was Royal that would undo QG in a quick 2-0 blowout, sending the team into IEM Katowice with their first defeat.  

QG are hailed as the “Kings of Teamfighting” in the LPL, often carelessly throwing away early leads on the confidence of their 5v5 ability; which aptly describes how RNG were able to dismantle the team. Skirmishing early, QG ran headfirst into certain defeat by fighting off power-spikes and had their eagerness punished.

Where QG thrive will always be in the 5v5, and nothing short of a 10K gold lead can prepare teams for their synergy in tight corridors. Their use of target selection, flank coordination, and downright miracle mechanics make QG an extreme threat late game. That said, any macro proficient team will find ease beating QG around the map, and should use the Rift to amass global gold leads before taking on the reapers head-to-head.

Because of these obvious flaws and one-dimensional win conditions, QG sit firmly in C tier.

-- Written by Indiana "Froskurinn" Black

D Tier: Fnatic | Origen | TSM 

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Fnatic

It's hard to pinpoint the one exact weakness in Fnatic's lineup. The players are, for the most part, mechanically sound -- it's not like Febiven or Rekkles have become shadows of their former selves. But there's a reason why last year's Worlds Semifinalists are now rated so low. The magic that arguably propelled them through 2015 up and left them behind for the sunnier shores of Los Angeles and the NA LCS.

Gamsu and Spirit are no Huni or Reignover. They've done nothing so far to emulate or parallel the gung-ho of their predecessors. In particular, Spirit is the exact opposite of Reignover's supportive gank-heavy style. Fnatic's new jungler leads the EU LCS junglers in farm-per-minute averages, meaning he's focusing less on setting up his laners in favor of making himself more powerful.

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That doesn't work so well for Febiven or Rekkles, who had gotten used to working with a margin of safety provided by tanky and disruptive frontliners. Now they are left to fight a third party for gold access. It makes for a team that's really good at crushing mistakes, as a single fight can send three different carries snowballing (as G2 found out firsthand). But, it makes for a highly uncoordinated early game that's easily exploited by more coordinated teams.

Take CLG for example -- half of what has made them so terrifying this Split has been Xmithie setting up Darshan's split push. His team sets up the environment for him to find those gaps to slip through.

So far, nothing like that has been found among Fnatic's five, which is why they're placed in the D tier. 

-- Written by James "Obscurica" Chen

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Origen

Origen's fall from grace is inexplicable. Unlike Fnatic, they only made one major change to their roster, swapping out team captain xPeke for former Unicorns of Love ace PowerofEvil. On paper, it’s a move that should have worked just fine. PowerofEvil had been a major linchpin for UOL's dark horse success last season, and the aggression he brought to his prior team should have been complimentary to Origen’s lineup.

So far it hasn’t worked out. Without xPeke's leadership, Origen look like they’re running purely on instinct. Top laner sOAZ can go from a 1-8-1 camp-fest on Quinn to a devastatingly effective 8-0-9 dunking derby on the same champion. And though PowerofEvil might lack xPeke's intangible leadership capabilities, he's at least holding up his end of the damage -- which rather neatly explains the one strategic facet that Origen's got nailed down.

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When it comes to team fighting and skirmishes around Dragon or Baron, Origen can put up a fight. It actually seems to be the only place where they can put up a fight -- exploiting moment-to-moment positioning mistakes by the enemy team. It's a tactic that's worked especially well with sOAZ on highly mobile carry top laners like Quinn and Fiora.

Relying on this, however, isn’t exactly suited to the international stage. Not that international teams don't make exploitable mistakes, but Origen's bag of tricks has too limited a scope. The team's lack of coordination will mean macro wizards will run laps around them. If they’re going to find an advantage internationally they’re going to need to to find the synergy that they’ve lacked this Split, and that's why they're in the D tier.

-- Written by James "Obscurica" Chen

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TSM

TSM are coming into IEM Katowice at a low point in their current NA LCS split. While they boast one of the best rosters in the West, the team hasn't shown the synergy to live up to its sheer weight of talent.

While many of the teams entering IEM Katowice have shown struggles of their own, none have been as apparent TSM's. The team's macro play is its achilles heel. Their coordination has been poor, namely when it comes to objective control (an issue dating back to last season), lane swapping, and deciding when to fight or trade objectives. 

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Nevertheless, it's not all bad news for TSM. They still do have an incredibly talented roster -- it's tough to think of a team at Katowice that has better individual talent position by position. Bjergsen is yet to play his renowned assassins, and with LeBlanc coming back into the meta, this could be a chance for him to shine. Doublelift still boasts a mechanical prowess many ADCs can only dream of. But, truth be told, if anything pulls them through IEM it will be Hauntzer's consistency. If he can continue to perform well and the rest of the team can rally together around him, there could be one hell of an upset on the way.

-- Written by Carlos"h0tsawce" Bravo

Which region do you think is the strongest, and who do you think will walk away as the winners of IEM Katowice? Tell us what you think on Twitter or in the comments below!

Photos courtesy of ESL and Inven.

163 Comments

Earl Eulrich3/2/2016, 2:15:28 AM31 votes

i really don´t know...this is heavily biased and probably diced out.

SKT currently isn´t even a favourite over either RNG or QG. It´s really just their name carrying them in those ranking, not their performance.

RNG has shown that QG can be beaten in pick&bans mostly, but even despite picking themselves in a grave QG still showed insane teamfighting in both games - and it is a team you can expect to fix their pick&ban phase fast. So this is really just a sort of panic reaction to them unexpectedly losing to a team that already has actually shown their strength throughout the season and had been led by a very strong mata in this series - a player that almost anyone agreed on being the strongest in the world during S4. Not having both of this teams in the same Tier above or evenly with SKT is just really beneath any objective standards to me.

and having CLG not 1, not 2 but 3 TIers above Fnatic, TSM and OG is just really ruidiculous. Sure, they had a more consistent season - but they neither have shown that they have any more potential than those three teams, nor did they show anything setting them apart internationally.

Ever also probably has to be the least likly team to come up big again, as they lost some crucial members during the spring and also donßt have their advantage of adapting really well and really fast to the new meta that carried them in the beginning of the split (not taking anything away from them here, they did an amazing job - but with less impactfull/frequent patches that strength unfortunatly diminishes).

so more realistic would be

A-Tier: SKT, RNG, QG B-Tier: CLG C-Tier: OG, TSM, Fnatic (though with the recent games i would almost argue to put Fnatic in the B-Tier) D-Tier: ESC Ever

SummonerSquid3/2/2016, 2:23:54 AM8 votes

SKT lost to Ever only a few months ago and that was even with Marin in the top lane. CLG over QG and RNG? At least put them in the same tier.

Leeabøo3/2/2016, 7:31:40 AM6 votes

I'd genuinely like to appeal to the author of this post. Granted it's written with the bias and/or opinion of the author, but QG being rated so low when they have the highest record and most consistent performance in China? Also at the Cologne event they went to semi-finals and took EVER to 5 full games. Considering EVER's circumstances (new mid, Key recently excused from ban?) to have QG rated beside them is rather insulting don't you think?

RNG does have a lesser record than QG but have performed almost as consistently as they have thus far in the LPL and lead their group just as QG did before the cross group match ups. I would like to contest, QG belongs with RNG in a group equivalent to or above CLG.

Similarly, since worlds SKT has been under performing more and more. Their current fluctuations in performance leave us to question which "SKT" will rear it's head at IEM Katowice. While we understand they are the reigning world champions, it's easily possible that QG or RNG topple them thoroughly at this coming event.

It's also so unfortunate FNC, OG, and TSM look as miserable as they do... Just wanted to voice a few things to consider. The descriptions regarding each team are rather on point regardless.

iluvsanwiches3/2/2016, 2:56:28 AM3 votes

America should never be ranked higher than Europe. As for the same reason why you put Korean SKT1 in its own God Tier while still only having a mediocre season. 'Nuff said.

Lugg3/2/2016, 5:03:21 PM3 votes

SKT a S tier team? That has to be the one of the most delusional thing I have ever read. SKT IS IN 5TH PLACE RIGHT NOW! Even with the pretty weak group of teams at IEM, SKT is probably just an A tier team at best. Whoever wrote the article has to be a huge Faker fanboy and is totally living in the past. Faker is still a great player, but he is definitely past his prime right now. SKT will probably be gone the moment they face either Chinese team or CLG.

Both Chinese teams should be S tier. They are both #1 in their divisions in the LPL. CLG is playing amazing right now and deserve the A tier ranking.

The rest of the field is pretty sad. ESC is basically a Challenger team and every other team is average for their regions.

Delsoonbye3/2/2016, 5:38:31 AM1 votes

So did everyone forget that TSM completely destroyed CLG a couple weeks ago? , yet somehow CLG are a tier above TSM. If any team runs into a TSM team that is playing well like they did 2 weeks ago when they went 2-0 they could very well be an A tier as well. These rankings are complete bias and as a reporter/writer you should be ashamed to hold such bias whilst writing an article on power rankings. This is almost as bad as ESPN writers. Like really SKT1 is not playing well at all and theyre an S tier , while Qiao Gu Reapers lost 1 game and they arent S tier as well? why?!?!?!?!?!