Power Rankings - 5/26/2015

The story of Asia for the first half of the year revolved around Korea's recovery after losing over 20 starters from professional teams. By the end of the Split, SKTelecom T1 and CJ Entus came out looking great, but the rest of Korea struggled to catch up. While the acquisition of Korean players by foreign teams hasn't slowed, it seems that Korea's recovery has accelerated. Asia's Week 1 showcased up and coming teams in China and Korea, and also proved that skill doesn't always diminish with age when the will to win is there. While we wait for the LCS begin, the LMS, LPL and LCK action is already heating up. Jump into the rankings to see which teams are on the move...

Korea

1. ( - ) SKTelecom T1 (1-0) [2-0]
2. ( - ) CJ Entus (1-0) [2-1]
3. (+1) KT Rolster (1-0) [2-0]
4. (+1) Najin e-mFire (1-1) [3-3]
5. (-2) KOO Tigers (0-1) [1-2]
6. (+1) Jin Air Green Wings (1-0) [2-0]
7. (+3) Anarchy (1-1) [3-3]
8. ( - ) Samsung (1-1) [2-2]
9. (-3) Incredible Miracle (0-1) [0-2]
10. (-1) SBENU (0-2) [0-4]

(Match Score) [Game Score] KOO Tigers' fall has been slow, but now I think we can say it's complete. Their only match of the week was a 1-2 defeat to Najin... who lost to newly promoted Anarchy in LCK's opening match. Let's just say not a lot of teams came out looking great this week -- except Anarchy. It's impossible to tell how good Anarchy is, but we think on the back of Young-min "Mickey" Son and Hoi-jong "SnowFlower" No, they could potentially be Playoff contenders. Keep an eye on them. CJ's Game 1 slip up against Anarchy and Samsung's early win over SBENU point to the fact that the region is much deeper and improved in LCK Summer. Anarchy is a new and unsponsored team, and Samsung didn't manage a single match win in their first round robin in LCK Spring. Perhaps Korea is finally recovering from the Korean Exodus late last year? Panel: Alex Manisier, Erik "DoA" Lonnquist, Christopher "MonteCristo" Mykles, and Mike "Noctt" Huh

China

1. ( - ) Edward Gaming (1-0-1)
2. (+1) Invictus Gaming (1-0-0)
3. (+2) Vici Gaming (0-0-3)
4. (+6) Qiao Gu (1-0-1)
5. (+1) Snake (1-0-1)
6. (+2) Masters 3 (1-0-1)
7. (-3) OMG (0-0-2)
8. (-6) LGD Gaming (0-1-1)
9. (+4) Unlimited Potential (0-0-2)
10. (+1) Royal Never Give Up (0-0-2)
11. (-2) Team King (0-2-0)
12. (-5) Team WE(0-2-0)

Record format is (W-L-T) We've had some dramatic drops early this LPL split. While EDG and Invictus started out the season on the right foot, LGD and OMG clearly have some work to do this time around. Despite one of the best looking rosters ever assembled on paper, OMG has yet to find success. And with their recent rotation, they have the same chemistry and consistency issues they've had for the past five months. Quao Gu actually impressed us this week, and if they remain consistent it's probable they'll be able to contest for the top spots, similar to Snake last split. Additionally, OG Snake have managed to look good with their new roster. Near the bottom of the rankings are Team WE and King, who will need massive improvements in the coming weeks to return to relevance. We also wonder what EDG's end goal is with their top lane. Coaching staffs get a little leeway when they win international events, but their decision of benching star player Tong "Koro1" Yang is odd.

Panel: Barento "Raz" Mohammed, Michale "Drexxin" Lalor, and Carlos "H0tsawce" Bravo.

North America

1. ( - ) Team SoloMid
2. ( - ) Cloud9
3. ( - ) Team Liquid
4. ( - ) Team Impulse
5. ( - ) Counter Logic Gaming
6. ( - ) Gravity
7. ( - ) Team8
8. ( - ) Enemy Esports
9. ( - ) Team Dragon Knights
10. ( - ) Team Dignitas

There haven't been any new developments in North America. To catch up on some stories going on in the North American LCS, check out our Players to Watch. Make sure you tune into the start of the NA LCS Summer Split May 30, 2015.

Panel: Cameron Gilbert, Mattias "Gentleman Gustaf" Lehman, Taylor "Riot RoboTayCo" Cocke, Jason "Riot Jayway" Wai, Joshua "Riot Jatt" Leesman, and Frank "Riot Mirhi" Fields.

Europe

1. ( - ) Fnatic
2. ( - ) H2K
3. ( - ) Unicorns of Love
4. ( - ) Origen
5. ( - ) Gambit Gaming
6. ( - ) Elements
7. ( - ) SK Gaming
8. ( - ) Copenhagen Wolves
9. ( - ) ROCCAT
10. ( - ) Giants Gaming

There haven't been any new developments in Europe. To catch up on some stories going on in the European LCS, check out our Players to Watch. Make sure you tune into the start of the EU LCS Summer Split May 28, 2015.

Panel: Devin "PiraTechnics" Young, Mattias "Gentleman Gustaf" Lehman, Taylor "Riot RoboTayCo" Cocke, Jason "Riot Jayway" Wai, and Frank "Riot Mirhi" Fields.

Taiwan

1. ( - ) ahq e-Sports Club (1-0-0)
2. ( - ) yoe Flash Wolves (2-0-0)
3. ( - ) Hong Kong Esports (0-0-1)
4. ( - ) Taipei Assassins (1-1-0)
5. (+1) Assassin Sniper (0-0-1)
6. (-1) Midnight Sun (0-1-1)
7. (+1) Machi Esports (0-1-0)
8. (-1) Logitech Snipers (0-1-1)

At the end of last Split, ahq and yoe Flash Wolves tangoed for the top spot in Taiwan. So far this season, not much has changed, but there have been a few surprises. All four of the Flash Wolves' wins have been clean and calculated. They have shown not only the same prowess they did in Spring, but improvement. In addition, the veteran-filled roster of Assassin Sniper managed to come out with a tie against HKE, which is a bit surprising considering how short of a time AS has been together. Will they be a legitimate contender?

Panel: James "Obscurica" Chen and Chia "Reazony" Yu.

Brazil

1. Keyd Stars (1-0-0)
2. paIN Gaming (0-0-1)
3. INTZ e-Sports (0-1-0)
4. CNB e-Sports Club (0-0-1)
5. g3nerationX (1-0-0)
6. INTZ e-Sports Red (0-0-1)
7. KaBuM! Black (0-0-1)
8. KaBuM! Orange (0-0-1)

Record format is (W-L-T) While g3nerationx is in the 1st Place position with three points, following their sweep of KaBuM! e-Sports Orange, it’s difficult to watch the first game between these teams and say that g3nerationx wasn’t given the victory due to Orange’s poor decision-making. g3nerationx looked far better in their second match against Orange; however, based on overall play, they will have to step it up further to take a game off of CNB e-Sports or INTZ Red, who also had a messy set that split 1-1. Most surprisingly, the much-touted paiN Gaming dropped a game to KaBuM! e-Sports Black by underestimating the latter’s teamfighting potential. PaiN will likely rebound to join Keyd in the upper tier of teams throughout the season due to their strong lanes. KaBuM! Black has the much tougher task of developing trickier map movements and teamfighting compositions to overcome their incredibly weak laning phase. Brazil is a mess right now, but it’s a wonderful mess where the competition should only improve from here.

Written by Emily Rand

Panel: Emily Rand

Latin America

1. KLG
2. Lyon Gaming
3. Last Kings
4. Dash9 Gaming
5. Furious Gaming
6. Gaming Gaming
7. MeetYourMakers (formerly Tesla Gaming)
8. Isurus Gaming

The closing Split of the 2015 Latin American Cup starts next Monday, and with it comes a ton of changes and player swaps between most of the teams. Perhaps the most shocking news coming out of the region is the acquisition of Tesla Gaming’s entire roster by the European power house MeetYourMakers. MYM is looking for a ticket to Worlds, and to achieve this they've given the team their name, coaching, management, and a gaming house in Toluca, México. Another surprising move came from Isurus Gaming, one of the oldest and most established esports organizations in Latin America. After failing to qualify to the closing Split of the Cup, they decided to acquire the entire roster of Dark Horse, the team that was promoted from the Challenger League into the Latin American Cup. Even the current champions KLG have decided to part ways with their longtime ADC, while Lyon Gaming have stayed with their same five members to try and capture the Cup when it’s exposed on the Finals in their home country of Mexico next August. Written by Erick “Skyshock” Gonzalez Panel: Erick "Skyshock" Gonzalez

Japan

1. ( - ) DetonatioN FocusMe (1-0)
2. ( - ) 7th Heaven (0-1)
3. (+1) Ozone Rampage (1-0)
4. (-1) RabbitFive (0-1)
5. ( - ) Rascal Jester (1-0)
6. ( - ) ApeX R Gaming (0-1)

We finally got our chance to get a glimpse at the new Korean talent that's come to Japan, and sure enough they've brought a new energy to the LJL. But the imports did not overshadow the Japanese players. Japan's native stars, like Kyohei “Ceros” Yoshida and Kiichi “MMeron” Watanabe, shone even amidst the new Koreans' display of strength. And what a display it was. DetonatioN FocusMe's last minute recruit, Yeong-dae “Rokenia” Jun, may have been an unknown quantity going into the marquee match against 7th heaven, but we won't be forgetting his name any time soon. Top-class ganks, perfect control, and a level of team synergy that should be impossible for a player who's only known his team a week brought the new 7h hype train to a screeching halt. That said, their players' individual strength and full-time status earns them one week's worth of benefit of the doubt, and so they'll stay at #2 in the rankings. Meanwhile Ozone Rampage's additions infused new life into a team that had fallen behind the top squads, making it clear just how much work RabbitFive has to put in if they want to earn another trip to the Finals.

Written by Cameron Gilbert

Panel: Cameron Gilbert

Turkey

1. ( - ) Beşiktaş (4-0)
2. ( - ) HWA.Gamesatış (3-1)
3. ( - ) Oyun Hizmetleri (3-1)
4. ( - ) Dark Passage (2-2)
5. ( - ) NumberOne eSports Club (2-2)
6. ( - ) CREW (1-3)
7. (+1) Atlas (1-3)
8. (-1) Team Turquality (0-4)

Week 2 in the Turkish Championship League offered excitement and a number of upsets caused by underdogs. Beşiktaş is still sitting at the top of the table, although their performance is not as convincing compared to the last Split. HWA.Gamesatış managed to secure an important win against the 3rd Placed Oyun Hizmetleri, but they lost against DP in a last-second thriller. OHM gathered themselves quickly from the loss against HWA and won their second fixture against NumberOne eSports club. Meanwhile, Dark Passage are trying to win as many games as they can during the three-week period where their star mid laner Koray "Naru" Bıçak will be missing due to a rule violation. Bogusław "Abaria" Dobryniewski, the temporary mid laner, has proven himself worthy, stalling the game against HWA long enough to see his team beat their arch rivals. Despite losing the Saturday match against BJK, CREW provided excellent opposition for the former Champions and they secured their first win on Sunday against Team Turquality. Atlas also won their first game against DP in a surprising fashion. Next week in TCL, HWA will try to be the first team to beat BJK this split, while Dark Passage will also try to stick with the front runners by defeating OHM on Sunday’s clash.

Written by Kursad Demirer

Panel: Kursad Demirer, Christopher Willekens

CIS

1. Hard Random
2. Team JustMSI (Formerly Moscow 5)
3. Dolphins of Wall Street (Formerly Glacial Phoenix)
4. Ex Virtus.Pro
5. RoX.KIS
6. Carpe Diem
7. Team Galaxy
8. Solar Wind

The amount of roster swaps in the CIS mid-season exceeded all expectations. With teams finding problems in internal communication, rosters changed every 2-3 days and were re-built again and again in new mixes. Without any doubt, with all those mad shenanigans in the scene, Hard Random and Team Just (who signed with former the Moscow Five squad while their previous roster was relegated) are getting way ahead of all other competitors. In the CIS it's usually very hard to tell how things are going to play out in the next season. But this time, the two main contenders for the lead positions are clear as day. Written by Michael "Olsior" Zverev Panel: Michael "Olsior" Zverev

International

1. ( - ) Edward Gaming (1-0-1)
2. ( - ) SKTelecom T1 (1-0)
3. (+2) Invictus Gaming (1-0-0)
4. ( - ) CJ Entus (1-0)
5. (+1) ahq e-Sports Club (1-0-0)
6. (+1) Fnatic (0-0)
7. (+2) KT Rolster (1-0)
8. (+7) Vici Gaming (0-0-3)
9. (+4) yoe Flash Wolves (2-0-0)
10. (NEW) Qiao Gu (1-0-1)
11. ( - ) Najin e-mFire (1-1)
12. (-4) KOO Tigers (0-1)
13. (-1) Team SoloMid (0-0)
14. (+2) Snake (1-0-1)
15. (-1) H2K (0-0)
16. (+1) Cloud9 (0-0)
17. (+1) Unicorns of Love (0-0)
18. (NEW) Jin Air Green Wings (1-0)
19. ( - ) Hong Kong Esports (0-0-1)
20. (NEW) Team Liquid (0-0)

Don't be appalled by the movement of Western teams despite nothing changing -- many of them benefited from the under-performances of Asian teams in their first week. Most notably, LGD dropped out of the rankings completely after their poor first week. It wouldn't look so bad if they hadn't finished 2nd Place in LPL Spring, narrowly losing to Edward Gaming. Notable changes at the top include Invictus, who moves up after CJ's stumble against Anarchy, as well as ahq and Fnatic. Of the largest jumps we have to note Qiao Gu, who looked very solid in their LPL debut and Vici Gaming. Finally we have the yoe Flash Wolves who played almost perfectly in their opening LMS games. Across the board we see a lot of teams gaining strength with very few regressing. It will be interesting to see if this trend continues when the LCS begins this week. Let us know your thoughts on the Power Rankings on Twitter or in the comments below.

Images courtesy of Inven, Garena, SANKO, and paiN Gaming

Frank Fields is a Senior Editor for Riot Games' Esports Web Content team. You'll find him joining the Glorious Evolution in Diamond... or on Twitter where he'd love to talk to you about esports.

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