Power Rankings #2 -- Edward Gaming

Region: China (LPL) Roster

• Top: Koro1
• Jungle: Clearlove
• Mid: PawN
• ADC: Deft
• Support: Mouse

For most of this power ranking, mentions of coaching staff have been few and far between. But when a team’s coach has the same track record as Ji “Aaron” Xing, it’s impossible to ignore. Aaron has led two Chinese rosters to dominate the domestic scene and, in the case Team WE, tournaments abroad. Having coached two teams in a row to dizzying heights, Aaron is the most successful coach in League of Legends so far. That doesn’t mean that Edward Gaming will be an instant success regardless of roster. 2014 EDG captain, Feng “Fzzf” Zhuojun, has decided to take time away from competitive play and has begun focusing on streaming. Top laner Tong “Koro1” Yang will take on Fzzf’s captaining duties, and though he’s made great strides in his debut LPL year, he has massive shoes to fill. The carries of EDG have also been replaced by ex-Samsung members Heo “PawN” Wonseok and Kim “Deft” Hyukkyu. PawN seems like a stronger laner than his predecessor, Ceng “U” Long, but a weaker team fighter. Deft and Chen “Mouse” Yuhao should have a weaker laning phase than Zhu “NaMei” Jiawen and Fzzf, but Deft is more than capable of standing in for NaMei in a team fight. On paper, the stylistic alterations to the team should be minimal, with a bump in the road instituted by the language barrier. That doesn’t account for the force with which EDG flattened King in G League Finals. In every other series EDG has faced King, they dropped at least one game. But this time around, King went down 3-0. The games were still as close as ever, but the results mark EDG’s greatest triumph over their new rivals. Though this is the only series in which we’ve seen EDG’s new lineup so far, it seems likely they still have their old spark, and this could be their year to be World Champions. Who will be next on our Pre-Season Power Rankings? Check out the rest of the Power Rankings and stay tuned for more each day as we countdown to the start of the 2015 LCS Season.