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Week 5 NA LCS Rankings

Admiral Howe·7/3/2017, 1:11:35 AM·9 votes·1,070 views

Teams fall into place, bottom and top, players re-establish dominance and Rift Rivals looming for 3 NA teams. Time for the NA LCS Rankings for week 5.

Top:

  1. CLG Darshan: for 4 weeks, two Korean top laners held number 1. for two weeks in a row, both fell hard. I did a pre-season list saying Darshan was going to be a top player in his role in NA. He proved so this weeks, staying dominant, actually keeping the split push and carrying so hard for CLG. As a CLG fanboy, im proud to see him still be able to evolve his game.

  2. TSM Hauntzer: None of the dumb mistakes from spring showed at all this week which is what plagued him up until last week. Rapid improvements from both he and Darshan making me excited for El Classico part 2. He is turning into a role player for TSM, not the hyper aggro kill machine he was only seen as before, this is a dangerous top laner adding more to his arsenal and teams that arent CLG should fear that immediately.

  3. P1 Zig: This dude was seen as a role player his entire career. He showed that strength this week being able to support the playmaking and abilities of Ryu and Mike Yeung, while not losing lane so hard that he makes it impossible to go near the enemy top laner. Its nice to see him coming back to be a great but not amazing top laner but with every other top laner past this 3 spot crapping out, 3 is where Zig belongs.

  4. DIG Ssumday: Turning into the disappointing Ssumday that tries, and tries but the rest of the team falls apart around him due to shot calling or just being out skilled, this is a stronger repeat of spring it seems for DIG, which is where i placed them pre-summer, the line as far as top team goes, if you cant beat Ssumday and DIG, you dont belong in the top. All in all, bad in game decisions from DIG and the constant fall back to Ssumday strat, makes him fall to 4th.

  5. FLY Balls: If anyone asked me "Who should i watch to learn how to be a good top laner?" i would direct them to Balls. So many talks in this list of top laners about great role players and top laners that are good at doing their job, Balls is the bare bones, textbook example of Top Lane. A good top laner is exactly what his team needs him to be and he's been able to show that in both of FlyQuest's wins this week.

Jungle:

  1. CLG Dardoch: Finally McLovin makes it to number 1, ive scrutinized him for being inconsistent, sloppy and impatient but this week, he showed he is past that noise for now at least. Changes from the top and jungle from CLG looking good, i mean if i put myself in Dardoch's shoes and Piglet, the bane of my existence on TL, kills me twice early, im going to get tilted. Dardoch however, didnt, he kept calm, and made plays. The aggression and now the patience, CLG turning Dardoch into a top tier jungler with how he's been able to collect himself and help dominate on top of his already fantastic pathing and mechanics and good shot calling.

  2. P1 Mike Yeung: Lira be damned there is a new jungler putting a bottom team on his back, Mike Yeung is showing to be really great if P1 can continue to treat Mike Yeung as an On-Call murder machine to just say "Hey free kills here or there" similar to what G2 was doing with Trick at MSI but obviously at a bottom team level. Good on P1 to realize a win condition for them, not to mention that sick ass Baron play against IMT.

  3. TSM Svenskeren: Massive improvements, had his indomitable Lee Sin pick get smashed one day and then completely show up on a pick nobody cared about him getting. Its great to see Sven on the positive here and simply just getting out shined with no bad comments at him put him at 3.

  4. C9 Contractz: From 5 to 4, its a small move up but nice to see Contractz make baby steps to being decent again. Had a few monster games but was figured out too fast.

  5. FLY Moon: Finally nice to see something good out of him albeit in a battle of bottom teams, all in all though, Moon showed some sweet moves and got some nice kills to help FlyQuest get that early lead they rely on so much.

Mid:

  1. TSM Bjergsen: I feel like with so many mid laners playing out of their minds for week after week, Bjergsen has been consistently at 3 or 2 but that says something, consistency. Pobelter, Jensen, Keane, etc. all having performances one week to be high on here then falling off when with Bjerg you dont fall off, you get scarier. Showing why he is still the mid laner in NA to be on the highest regard and the name of his game is whatever he feels like doing.

  2. CLG Huhi: Why the hell do people still give him Aurelion Sol? If mid laners like Kuro, Perkz and Faker respect it, why does Jensen think he can take it on? Even after the Aurelion Sol game, Huhi smashed. Against TL, he was a nightmare with the split push and for the most part he went under the radar this split then exploded out of nowhere.

  3. C9 Jensen: One step forward, 2 steps back. Jensen with the "Super hype CS lead dominating lane" gets them 4 losses, Jensen with the roam, vision game and sacrificing lane to help side lanes gets them 6 wins. Huhi was doing what Jensen needed to do in their game and against TSM Jensen actually roams and wins. This guy has been so Jekyll and Hyde this split that i have no faith in Jensen anymore to help C9 be as good as they were in spring if he keeps ignoring the map pre-15.

  4. FLY Hai: Seeing Hai made me saltier about Jensen. This guy can not be let on picks that even give him an ounce of ability to roam. He excels at being able to join up with Moon and smash lanes for Balls and Turtle, 2 teams let him do this and that gets them 2 wins this week.

  5. Fox Froggen: He's tried, he really has, he even got off some roams and smashed his lane, attacked from every which way possible, bringing out the play from his CLG EU and Elements days but the teamwork on FOX is abhorrent and their bot lane needs to go away. If there is any player on a bottom tier team who deserves to be at the top, its Froggen. Sadly, he's here at 5 playing an un-coordinated 3 v 5 against 9 other teams in the LCS and not being able to fully bring his leads into the teams play.

ADC:

  1. TSM DoubleLift: The man is finally playing more games with a hyper carry, he is a monster and was let loose this week. The greatest ADC in NA is at the top again, showing why he is who he is.

  2. CLG Stixxay: Earlier in the summer Stixxay looked lost when Aphromoo wasnt doing so hot, so far he's showing he's a strong independent ADC who dont need no support. Super good play from him

  3. C9 Sneaky: The quadra, the ability to turn his leads into openings for the rest of the map, he's been trying his heart out to pick up the slack for the objective control and giving C9 a reliable monster thy can rely on now.

  4. FLY Wildturtle: Turtle looking so good this week, it made me sad to see him thrown under the bus by people, yeah he makes mistakes but he's still that ADC who is a dangerous carry in a meta that fits him so well. I feel like with the right team mentality, he can return to form.

  5. IMT Cody Sun: I said last week "With Snacky, DoubleLift and Stixxay returning to form, where will Cody Sun fall?" He falls to 5. He didnt do terribly, IMT as a whole was to blame for their losses but he still didnt impress. Is this just a bum week for them or is this where they are going to be like for a while? Only time will show.

Supp:

  1. CLG Aphromoo: Surprisingly good play with champs that provide the anti-playmaking and showing he can be more than just the guy who starts everything for CLG again.

  2. TSM Biofrost: Biodaddy plays coming from him again against IMT but got kind of smacked around by Sneaky and Smoothie on Saturday.

  3. C9 Smoothie: for the most part he's been decent on some champs and great on others but i still feel like he lacks too hard on some of his picks. He is always either phenomenal or non-existent in the bot lane so far.

  4. IMT Olleh: Pretty much the only part of IMT that didnt struggle alone was their bot lane of Cody and Olleh, the one section of the team that was lambasted last split was their only pearl in this beaten clam of a week.

  5. NV Hakuho: This dude is legit a great support, his play is on par with the top supports in the NA LCS but his decision making needs some work, very improvable things that im betting on him to improve on that.

Team Ranks:

  1. CLG: looking less sloppy, taking on a C9 that was on a roll and clapping them in a bloody game. This team is like that beat up old truck that can still out-haul any other truck you put up against it.

  2. TSM: Theyre coming back with a force, dropping a game against C9 but smashing IMT 2-0 and showing both a different style in one game and a familiar style in the next. They are very complete looking right now.

  3. C9: they arent so good looking, theyre only a game ahead of 2 teams looking to break in to playoff, theyve been ugly but they have had the best looking ugly to have them as a convincing 3 spot.

  4. IMT: LCS ranking has them at a tie for 2, i have them at 4. Their play showed they cant draft well, theyre showing weaknesses in Xmithie not doing well on carries, refusing to play to their side lanes and instead trying new things far too late in the split now. I was singing the praises of IMT but this was a hard smack in the face to see where they really are, the 4th place "Better luck next year" team.

  5. NV: They look good, they look like in a 6 team playoff pool, they are where they deserve to be and are a team that will stop any playoff dreams you have dead on the spot if you arent ready.

I want to take time to talk about IMT now. Their bad drafts and poor play from Flame, combined with forcing Pobelter onto aggro picks and not looking to at least one of your side lanes to carry, spell out losses for IMT. Xmithie on carries like Rek'Sai isnt good, stop it. Rek'Sai is an early game carry that falls off a bit late now, that isnt Xmithie's style. His style is the Gragas, Olaf, Elise, Lee Sin, to initiate and set up the good fight for everyone to dog pile and win. If this continues, IMT is screwed.

Let me know what you guys think, if you agree or if i should feel bad because you think my picks are bad.

15 Comments

Yfrappefort7/3/2017, 1:35:53 AM6 votes

I like reading your analysis. Keep doing it.

Makes me mad I am a C9 fan sometimes because, like you said, I just don't know what to expect of them anymore. Sometimes they smash, sometimes they get smashed. It all comes to who will show between the good or the bad Jensen...

I am also a CLG fan so I was a bit torn up in their match VS C9, but it's good to see them looking so domimant. I just hope they can keep the consistency going and claim that #1 spot.

TSM...was never fond of them because no matter how good they look in regular season, they never show up on international stages, and it seems they only take the spot of another team who could potentially make NA look better. Also, their fans are annoying as hell (will probably get downvoted for saying this).

Nice to see P1 rising from the ashes and FlyQuest showing that they may be down, but not yet out.

Dig...poor Dig, repeating the same as usual with good early weeks then starting to crumble apart. IMT seems on quite the downhill too.

Overall things moved a lot this week (aside from TL, we know they are just doomed for last place and I bet they miss the 4th place curse) and it's getting more interesting.

Aeszarck7/3/2017, 1:54:34 AM5 votes

I love this type of analysis. I wish the Boards cared a bit more about eSports, because we don't get to see this sort of interesting discussion about them otherwise.

GeminiRune7/3/2017, 3:28:05 AM4 votes

There's that magic word that's floating around the NALCS yet again known as "Parity." This split just got way too juicy coming out of the first round!

The bottom half, somewhat barring Liquid - who won't be able to get 4th or 7th at this rate - had quite a killer week coming into their week off from Rift Rivals. Honestly I was really impressed by how things shaped out with some of the standout players. The big story to me was P1, who felt like 2016 Summer all over again around the same time it came on at that. I might be overshooting that claim though. And should they not have been the rep for Rift Rivals and all of these scenarios played out the exact same, I would really look forward to the form they're in come July 14. But one step at a time; we get to see more of how they develop with the brief period.

Side question: What are the chances Mike Yeung gets a Pocket Pick Nidalee video?

Now for the top half, where the only answer is parity until someone stands out above the pack definitively. I really want to kick myself for the personal global ranking of Immortals at 10th a couple of days ago on a thread I had. What do I expect though. They had a rough week; like Week 2 rough even though that was a 1-1 week for them. Once again, no team is really back in that severe top 10 discussion and luckily I won't be making a new post for that for a few more weeks.

Speaking of which, I'll be looking at teams with the chance to get into Worlds once competition resumes. FlyQuest and P1 specifically, who need to get at least 8th to retain their points and even then, FLY won't be a sure opportunity to contest for the 3rd seed should both teams survive.

sardiniii7/3/2017, 4:26:59 AM2 votes

I dont agree but i like it anyways

Nipsahoy7/3/2017, 4:35:31 AM2 votes

I thought Lemonnation played pretty well for FlyQuest this week. Imo Olleh has a down week and shouldnt be in the top 5 and IMT also lost both their matches. I like CLG but I still feel like the wheels are gonna come off for that team. They've always been super inconsistent - losing to wild card teams at worlds and what not, and beating korean teams at times. Huhi hasn't impressed me much unless he's on Aurelion Sol or Orianna and both their victories off of C9 were from wombo combos with the Ori shockwave. They do play well as a team for the most part and there's enough veteran leadership on that team but it still doesn't explain why sometimes they just look completely lost.

III BAKURYU III 7/3/2017, 5:20:26 AM2 votes

Another great post dude !

NV - People forget that NV were in so many 3rd games last split and are constantly in 40+ min games, last split it was like 11-17 40+ min games and now 12 40+ min games that NV are in with a roster that isn't D-Lift/Bjergsen/Sneaky/Arrow etc etc.

DIG - Started 3-0 and now are sitting at 5-5 ( 2-5) this is pretty much the half-way point of the split and once typically first half splits is where DIG normally does it's best, the second half they tend to falloff more so; so that's something to keep in mind. ( Also I find it funny how they replace Lod for Altec and Apollo/even 1 of the caster is like " Altec is a better teamfighter " - It's like No, he isn't. Altec is good at cs'ing that's about it.

P1 - Getting better but these next coming weeks will be tough / TSM/C9/DIG whatever P1 did to get themselves out of 10th place they need to do more of it if they want to make playoffs.

CLG - Are a team that I'm now considering that they will auto win 1 game series and lose the next game series within the same week, Darshan is a beast and Stixxay is making himself a MVP candidate also Huhi but this team still just doesn't have my full attention yet. They have a pretty tough/easy schedule in the coming weeks with 4 mid tier teams so they could jump up in the standings. As well as being a top tier team not going to RR they could beat the upper teams whenever they get back from RR.

Darshan- This split reminds me of the ol' CST Darshan 1v9 splitpush, it's nice to see Darshan doing what he's best at. Still waiting for the Nasus like he did in Playoffs 2014 tho !

Seraph - I talk S$it about him but he's actually been improving each and every split, maybe it's his teammates no doubt but if anyone remembers Seraph from his CLG days will agree with me that he's 10 times better on a much inferior team/talent. He's not losing lane but instead either goes even or honestly just wins and the teamfights is what gets him.

Keane - Back to his old self again I see, in the front doing dmg sure, but he's never been that great at positioning.

Hai - He's a teamplayer first and all but he needs to stop dying constantly to the point where I'm sure even Turtle is like " WTF" and that's saying something. FQ would be easily a top 4 team if they can work on their decision making and good followup to plays.

Just some random teams/names from my side, keep up the good work Howe !

Walmart Porn7/3/2017, 9:48:20 AM2 votes

Imo it seems just a little bit clg/tsm biased. I would argue that sneaky is doing better than double lift right now if you factor in the fact that there is more pressure on him or jensen to get ahead unless they have ray in on jarvan. I dont know why they havnt started banning jarvan when ray is in. Thats another point i feel ray should be in the top 5 on top laners. His jarvan has come in clutch in many of c9s wins. Mid i think was fairly accurate. Jensen is good at farming and playing happy feet but he dosnt help his team much pretty till 15. If you could find a balance between jensens laning and hai's roaming and fuze them together with bjergs play making you'd get a faker mini me. I personally havnt seen all that much from supports theese last 2 weeks or so, so ill withhold an opinion on that. And when it comes to jungle i dont know why sven is even on the list. When hes on basically anything that isnt lee he just gets caught out and dies constantly and was one of the main weaknesses even tsm fans where arguing over who was a bigger throw, tsm turtle or sven. Now we get to watch sven go under preform in another international event. He looked good last two weeks for the most part now he gets to drop the ball internationally again and make bjerg/dl/hauntzer try to carry tsm and c9/clg to try to carry na. FQ as a team in general i think have good players, but they need good plays. their roam bot and try to sneak rift or 22 min baron has come to be expected and more often than not the risky baron calls are biting them in the butt unless theyre already to fed to contest. It makes sense when no one expects you to sneak baron, but when you have hai obviously people are going to think to keep baron warded if theyre making plays elsewhere on the map. theres only so many times you can win with the same strat before you need to do something else.

ChompyWulf7/4/2017, 12:18:24 AM2 votes

[{quoted}](name=Admiral Howe,realm=NA,application-id=9hBQwnEU,discussion-id=K2uf2rAn,comment-id=,timestamp=2017-07-03T01:11:35.878+0000)

I want to take time to talk about IMT now. Their bad drafts and poor play from Flame, combined with forcing Pobelter onto aggro picks and not looking to at least one of your side lanes to carry, spell out losses for IMT. Xmithie on carries like Rek'Sai isnt good, stop it. Rek'Sai is an early game carry that falls off a bit late now, that isnt Xmithie's style. His style is the Gragas, Olaf, Elise, Lee Sin, to initiate and set up the good fight for everyone to dog pile and win. If this continues, IMT is screwed.

While I still need to see the matches from the weekend, my god it's clear from the comps and stats what went wrong. Flame didn't show up at all, when he has been a dominant force largely doing it without aid. Xmithie should put this week in the past and Reksai in the grave. Clearly not a champ for him to continue using without a lot of practice and an overall comp shift by the team. Pobelter looked plain awful. Their draft comps don't offer much synergy and they paid horribly for it. I hope this was an aberration born of overconfidence and the losses bring back their focus and teamwork. They have the potential to break the triumvirate of C9, CLG. and TSM, and I for one desperately desire fresh blood and hope for NA at Worlds and more international events.

woodvsmurph7/4/2017, 3:36:28 PM2 votes

Rek'sai is good if you can snowball early, but she doesn't hard fall off mid/late and she can't only carry early. Give her 2-3 items and I think that's where she is actually at her peak - damage and some survivability. She can set up an enemy carry for death by comboing with her mid or damage/bruiser toplaner at this stage of game and use her ult to dodge out on enemy cc all while finishing off the kill. Not nearly as win-early-or-lose as elise is.

IMT - I really want to see this team succeed. They have the skill, the knowledge, and tools to do so. They just need to be flexible in their strats. Focus snowballing Flame early once in awhile or bot lane. I mean we've seen most of the split how well he can handle 2v1's with no help from team and stay even; imagine what he looks like when he get's the 2v1 and gets a lead. I'll be honest, haven't gotten to watch this week's games yet, but from what I've seen, IMT actually isn't trying enough new strats. They've found maybe 2-3 that work depending on their opponent and that's about it. Patches change, enemy teams figure out your strategies and adapt counter-strategies. IMT needs to mix up what they do more perhaps - and be ready for everything to change with the next patch. They CAN figure it out and be a top 2 team, but if they don't adapt new strats and mix up where they focus at different stages of game (top, mid, bot) with the same comps they will be figured out and exploited - they'll struggle to stay top 4.

TSM - picking up some nice steam, but they are heading to an international event; we know what's happened in the past after they get smacked around at such an event and it's not pretty for tsm fans. So who knows what will happen. All I know is g2, fnc and uol all have it in them to utterly humiliate tsm.

CLG - looking nice. Glad to see them back in form and dardoch fitting in nicely. I knew he could have good synergy with this team compared to others because huhi's push and help team mentality makes him fit so nicely with an agro jungler. Darshan rediscovering his ability to split push and carry was much needed and makes the team well rounded in their ability to have OPTIONS for winning a game rather than be locked into 1 or 2 strategies every game. But they still have Aphromoo; he varies between being the best support in NA by far and more-or-less picking the worst possible support based on team comps and trying to force it to work 'because I'm aphromoo' and basically inting the game away. Like your team just needs hard engage and a tank? Picks janna or raka. Team needs a healer/shielder/disengage? Picks alistar. Not always, but seems to happen at the worst times and usually when he's doing well. For this reason I am not a fan of him. I'd take a consistent support who is 1 tier below godlike but consistently there over someone like aphro who can range from godlike to inting.

C9 Scott Free 7/8/2017, 12:41:34 AM2 votes

This is actually a quality thread, I actually kind of wish there was a way I could get alerts when you do these.