Power Rankings - 2/24/2015

We've hit the half way point for the Spring Split and the picture of pretenders and contenders is laid out in all its glory. While Korea, China, and Taiwan were all on break for the Lunar New Year, other regions raged on. It's still difficult to make much of the middle of standings in most regions, but even at the top we now have a level of inconsistency we haven't seen before. How have the teams fared this past week?

Korea

1. GE Tigers (7-0) [14-2]
2. SKTelecom T1 (4-3) [9-7]
3. Jin Air Green Wings (4-3) [11-7]
4. CJ Entus (5-2) [10-7]
5. Najin e-mFire (3-4) [8-9]
6. KT Rolster (2-5) [5-11]
7. Incredible Miracle (3-4) [7-9]
8. Samsung Galaxy (0-7) [2-14]

(Match Score) [Game Score] Korea was on break, but there are some notable matches to track this week, including CJ Entus vs SKTelecom T1. CJ gets a chance to prove they are the No. 2 team behind the GE Tigers. If CJ wins the match, it will be their second match win over SKT this season. Panel: Alex Manisier, Erik "DoA" Lonnquist, Christopher "MonteCristo" Mykles, and Mike "Noctt" Huh

China

1. Edward Gaming (9-1-0)
2. OMG (6-0-4)
3. LGD Gaming (5-3-2)
4. Snake (6-0-4)
5. Invictus Gaming (5-3-3)
6. Vici Gaming (3-3-4)
7. Star Horn Royal Club (3-5-2)
8. Team King (2-6-2)
9. Gamtee (1-4-5)
10. Master3 (2-5-3)
11. Team WE (0-6-4)
12. Energy Pacemaker (0-6-3)

Record format is (W-L-T) China also had a week off for Lunar New Year, and like Korea have some marquee matchups coming this week. The top two teams in LPL finally play when OMG takes on Edward Gaming. Panel: Barento "Raz" Mohammed, Michale "Drexxin" Lalor, and Ryanne "Froskurinn" Mohr.

North America

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

Despite Asia having a week off, there was in fact professional League played in the West. Though nearly every team went 1-1 in their games, some teams looked better than others. Cloud9 seems to have pulled themselves together a bit after defeating CLG -- a team that many regarded as North America's best. Hai in particular showed why he can still be a dangerous player in the right circumstances. Team Liquid might be on the rebound with better team synergy as evidenced in their win over TSM, though consistency and better closing skills have to be demonstrated in future games for us to move them too high. Given that the top two teams in North America both went 1-1 as a result of Liquid and Cloud9's ascension, it's hard to know exactly what that means for the state of their teams, but we feel fairly confident both will be on top when playoffs comes around. 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. SK Gaming (8-2)
2. Fnatic (7-3)
3. H2K (6-4)
4. Copenhagen Wolves (6-4)
5. Gambit Gaming (5-5)
6. Unicorns of Love (5-5)
7. Team ROCCAT (4-6)
8. Elements (4-6)
9. Giants Gaming (4-6)
10. MeetYourMakers (1-9)

Brutal. What should have been a straight forward 2-0 week for Elements turned into disaster. After dominating Giants Gaming for 95% of their game, a series of three deaths in quick succession put an end to the game. Against ROCCAT, Elements looked to be on a new level of tilt. It's fair to say now that this is a team in crisis. With two roster changes in as many weeks, it seems that the end isn't in sight for Elements' problems. Meanwhile, SK Gaming suffered not only their first, but also their second, loss against Fnatic and H2K respectively. It took a while, but it seems that SK Gaming's weaknesses in map awareness and vision control have started to catch up to them. They still hold onto the top spot in Europe, but just barely. Panel: Devin "PiraTechnics" Young, Mattias "Gentleman Gustaf" Lehman, Taylor "Riot RoboTayCo" Cocke, Jason "Riot Jayway" Wai, and Frank "Riot Mirhi" Fields.

Taiwan

1. Yoe Flash Wolves (9-1)
2. Taipei Assassins (11-1)
3. Hong Kong Esports (8-3)
4. AHQ e-Sports Club (7-5)
5. Midnight Sun Esports (3-9)
6. Logitech Snipers (5-6)
7. Never Give Up (4-8)
8. Dream or Reality (0-14)

Asia seems to have timed their breaks and schedule well. After getting back from Lunar New Year in Taiwan, Flash Wolves play against AHQ and Hong Kong Esports, both sure to be impressive matchups. Panel: James "Obscurica" Chen and Chia "Reazony" Yu.

Brazil

1. INTZ e-Sports (4-0-2)
2. Keyd Stars (4-0-2)
3. CNB e-Sports Club (3-2-1)
4. paiN Gaming (2-0-4)
5. KaBuM! Black (1-1-4)
6. KaBuM! Orange (1-4-1)
7. Dexterity Team (1-4-1)
8. JAYOB e-Sports (0-5-1)

Record format is (W-L-T) Following Week 6 of CBLoL 2015, the playoff picture is shaping up nicely. INTZ and Keyd Stars both qualified for the semifinals with 2-0 sweeps of JAYOB e-Sports and KaBuM! Black respectively. After a strong performance in Week 5, paiN Gaming stumbled in Week 6, unexpectedly dropping their first game to Dexterity. In this loss paiN was sluggish, unable to properly chain their crowd control to make picks or win teamfights. They dominated in their second game, but this lack of consistency is worrying for paiN. Meanwhile, CNB e-Sports Club posted an impressive sweep over KaBuM! Orange, controlling the game tempo in both of their matches. CNB has evolved immensely over the course of this season, finding synergy and coordination to overcome their mechanical weaknesses. Coupled with the best drafting in Brazil, thanks to coach Thiago "Djoko" Maia, CNB moves up into the third place spot, a formidable playoff contender. Written by Emily Rand Panel: Emily Rand

Japan

1. DetonatioN FocusMe (4-2)
2. DetonatioN RabbitFive (4-2)
3. 7th Heaven (4-2)
4. Rascal Jester (3-3)
5. Ozone Rampage (3-3)
6. Salvage Javelin (0-6)

After a double-size week, several upsets, and an online tournament final, we wound up with the exact same power ranking but with much less certainty in the teams' positions. DetonatioN FocusMe took down RabbitFive convincingly to kick things off, but lost to Rascal Jester after picking Anivia. 7th Heaven lost to fifth ranked Ozone Rampage, then beat RabbitFive. RF certainly would have dropped from the No. 2 spot were it not for their strong performance in the JCG Grand Championship, where they looked rejuvenated in their close 1-2 loss to FocusMe. Overall, based on what we've seen, it was difficult to justify any of the teams jumping one another. However, the gap between them seems to be smaller than it looked last week. Rascal Jester in particular seems to be improving every round, and RabbitFive's perfect record finally crumbled. While FocusMe still have the best rotations and team play in the league, they can't afford to take flashy risks like they have in the pick/ban phase if they want to stay on top. Written by Cameron Gilbert Panel: Cameron Gilbert

International

1. GE Tigers (7-0)
2. Edward Gaming (9-1)
3. SKTelecom T1 (4-3)
4. OMG (6-0-4)
5. LGD Gaming (5-3-2)
6. Snake (6-0-4)
7. Jin Air Green Wings (4-3)
8. CJ Entus (5-2)
9. Invictus Gaming (5-3-3)
10. Najin e-mFire (2-4)
11. SK Gaming (8-2)
12. Vici Gaming (3-3-4)
13. Star Horn Royal Club (3-5-2)
14. Team SoloMid (8-2)
15. Counter Logic Gaming (7-3)
16. Fnatic (7-3)
17. Yoe Flash Wolves (9-1)
18. Taipei Assassins (11-1)
19. KT Rolster (2-5)
20. Incredible Miracle (3-4)

There wasn't a lot of movement here because of the lack of Asian games, but SK's fall certainly pushed them down in our mind after they proved they couldn't adapt when teams exploited their weaknesses. It's easy to imagine a lot of change after this week, given the number of marquee matchups in every region. Stay tuned to see the continued movement of the international landscape as we countdown to the IEM World Championship and the Mid Season Invitational. Let us know what you think of the rankings, write your own, and give us feedback on things to improve either on Twitter or in the comments below. Images courtesy of Inven, CGA, Garena, ESL, SANKO and INTZ e-Sports

Related Articles

• Power Rankings 2/10/2015
• Power Rankings 2/17/2015