MSI 2016 Power Rankings

The regional leagues have completed their first split, with the champions of each region earning the right to battle each other at the 2016 Mid-Season Invitational.

Unlike Worlds, the MSI competition is stiffer pound for pound. Rather than having to compete against the top two or three teams from major regions, we get only the very best.

Every game matters. Every game is punishing.

Coming into MSI 2016, we asked ourselves: What are we expecting when rookies go up against World Champions? Which teams are favored in regional rematches? Who's going to take home the trophy this year? And so much more…

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In this special edition of Power Rankings, we're ranking the perceived power of every team heading into MSI 2016.

So how are we ranking these teams against each other? What do we need to keep in mind?

• Cross regional play is dated and unreliable. Worlds 2015 was a long time ago. The game has changed substantially since then. IEM Katowice was more recent, but was also a short tournament with a limited field of teams. While past international play is factored in decision making, it cannot be the sole argument.
• “The eye test” is a subjective term, but it's what we have to heavily rely on to rank the teams. By the eye test, we mean: How good does a team look? How coordinated are their engages? How cohesive are their team comps? Will their strategies hold up at the international level? Different analysts will have different opinions on this, and those opinions are at the core of an international Power Rankings.
• Regional metas. We’ve heard of “patch reliant teams” but we also have to factor in how champions have different priorities across different regions. Sivir was the most Picked/Banned champion on Patch 6.6 in Korea, yet didn’t see a pick or ban in the NA finals. Who are today's popular picks good for?

But I’m not just going to tell you my opinion. I’m bringing in Spawn from China's LPL as well as Deficio from Europe's LCS so that we can each give our rankings and opinions on the teams.

One last thing.

A point value will be given to each team based on their rank in each of our lists.

• 1st - 5 pts
• 2nd - 4 pts
• 3rd - 3 pts
• 4th - 2 pts
• 5th - 1 points
• 6th - 0 points

Enough about the format, what are our rankings and why?

The clear favorite for each of us is SKTelecom T1, and for good reason. The team is the defending World Champion, hails from the strongest competitive region, and also just so happens to have the best player in the world: Faker. But that’s not to say upsets aren’t possible. In fact, SKT finished 2nd at last years Mid-Season Invitational.

The real pre-event debate centers around who will finish 2nd-5th.

Europe's G2 is a new team that only dropped three games during the regular EU LCS Spring Split. The LMS' Flash Wolves, who made it to the Quarterfinals at Worlds 2015, are making their MSI debut with four out of five players from last year's roster. North America's Counter Logic Gaming is also back on the international stage, trying to learn from their past appearances. China's Royal Never Give Up have gone from a Promotion Tournament team to LPL champions -- thanks in large part to the leadership of former Worlds MVP Mata .On the other hand, Turkey come in as huge underdogs. Even though IWC teams have won progressively more games at each year's Worlds, MSI is a different beast, as only the top teams from each region are competing.

So, what are our MSI Power Rankings?

Jatt

1. Korea - SKTelecom T1 (SKT)
2. China - Royal Never Give Up (RNG)
3. Europe - G2 Esports (G2)
4. LMS - Flash Wolves (FW)
5. North America - Counter Logic Gaming (CLG)
6. Turkey - SuperMassive (SUP)

For me, ranking MSI teams from 2-5 was nearly impossible. I could make arguments for FW, G2, RNG, or CLG to all take 2nd place. The way I settled on this list -- after placing SKT at #1 -- was to look at my arguments for why a team would finish 2nd and then decide which one was the most likely to hold true. The most likely gets ranked 2nd and the least likely gets 5th.

1. Korea

I’m very impressed by SKT for making it back to MSI yet again. We often take their dominance for granted. Since last year, they've integrated Duke into the top lane and also added a new jungler in Blank, and they still managed to win the most competitive region in the world. We'll see if they can continue to build on their history at MSI and claim another international crown.

2. China

Mata’s very own version of Samsung White. RNG's individual talent is very high, since they essentially took five of the best players from mid-tier LPL teams to form RNG. At MSI there’s a chance that they could unlock the talent of Xiaohu and MLXG and merge it with the experience of Mata and Looper to surge to 2nd. I also think that their macro ineptitude is overblown. When I watch them, I see a very aggressive team that makes some big mistakes, but also makes the right choices often. Not to mention RNG also sports the same coaching staff that helped Royal Club make it to two World Championship Finals.

3. Europe

This up and coming EU team combines young individual talent like Perkz. They also have strong map movements and decision making. I’ve been impressed with G2’s drafting all split and I expect it to stay strong at MSI. I also think the current tanky top lane meta favors G2. If they can deal with the pressure of international play, I believe they can have a strong placement at MSI. Yet they are an extremely young and untested team, so that's why they land at 3rd.

4. LMS

Flash Wolves make their MSI debut with four out of five of their Worlds 2015 roster. Despite a lackluster regular season, they team had a stellar playoffs. They're experienced and had the cleanest looking Finals compared to the other three LMS teams. That being said, having a ‘clean Finals’ can also be due to having a lackluster opponent, and it's not enough of a reason for me to rank them too highly. I feel that they are slightly edged out by RNGs individual skill and G2’s teamplay, which makes me place them 4th.

5. North America

Faith has no place in Power Rankings, unfortunately. While many will point to Stixxay as the reason CLG will fall on the international stage, I think he'll be fine. He showed tremendous growth during the 2016 NA LCS Spring Split and the ADC competition at MSI isn’t nearly as daunting as the mid lane competition. While CLG have fantastic teamwork and a strong coaching staff, I think it'll be hard for them to overcome what looks to be big mismatches in the mid lane. Also, even though Darshan had success on Poppy in the NA Finals, she's been heavily nerfed in MSI's Patch 6.8. If CLG can find a way to re-invent the top lane meta, they can surge to 2nd, but I don’t think that’s likely for MSI.

6. Turkey

Last year Thaldrin and Dumbledoge played at MSI on Beşiktaş e-Sports Club and they didn’t win a single game. At Worlds, when the IWC teams play the 2nd and 3rd place teams from other regions I think taking wins is more likely. But at MSI, when it’s the #1 team from every region, I think it gets much harder. As mentioned before, upsets aren't impossible, and the players on SUP have grown a lot since last year. But still, I don’t expect a win from SuperMassive at this year's MSI.

Spawn

The Mid-Season Invitational is such a difficult event to even pretend to predict which team will win. Last year’s tournament showed us that we were wrong about strengths and weaknesses of regions and that winning streaks were means to be broken. Here's my take on how things might play out this year.

1. Korea - SKTelecom T1 (SKT)
2. Europe - G2 Esports - (G2)
3. China - Royal Never Give Up (RNG)
4. LMS - Flash Wolves (FW)
5. North America - Counter Logic Gaming (CLG)
6. Turkey - SuperMassive (SUP)

This year the only team returning to MSI is SKT and with them I want to start my rankings.

1. Korea

In my opinion, SKT are unquestionably the strongest team heading into the tournament. After a sluggish LCK season, SKT features powerhouses in every lane, and their integration of Duke and Blank is complete. Plus, World Champions Faker, Bang and Wolf are still playing top tier League of Legends.

2. Europe

This slot was nearly impossible to award for me between RNG, FW and G2. But after last year's Worlds I have learnt the error of my ways (not really). The reason G2 won out is because of their jungle and mid lane synergy, a good top lane tank player in Kikis, and “calculated” EU aggression. G2’s ability to 1-3-1 split push, whilst playing team fighting comps, is fantastic to watch. Furthermore, they rarely hesitate on a call and they're ruthless with gold leads. My concern is experience, but their Final against OG was enough to dispel the thought that this would make them change away from their explosive playstyle.

3. China

Royal Never Give Up went 13-3 during their regular season, came 1st in group B (the stronger group in LPL) and smashed Edward Gaming in the LPL Finals. With World Champions Mata and Looper -- and a great array of Chinese carries in MLXG, Xiaohu and Wuxxin -- I feel they could have a great chance at victory in Shanghai. This team's excellent at team fighting, but I can't place them too much higher, as they still need to perfect their early game and aggressive map movements.

4. LMS

After a season marred with inconsistency and a bizarre Finals versus ahq -- who looked uncharacteristically poor -- it makes it difficult to measure the Flash Wolves' true strength, and doesn't leave me confident enough to place them higher in my ranks. Maple and Karsa return for the Wolves and at MSI will need to dominate mid lane and jungle duos from other regions. Yet as this year's MSI is a tournament stacked in both roles, I feel a lot of the difficulties from last year’s Worlds will show. The pressure will be on NL and MDD to step up.

5. North America

If CLG perform well at MSI, it will be through strong macro play and playmaking by Aphromoo and Darshan. The reason NA's team is so low in my rankings is because I don't strongly believe CLG's veterans are enough to cover Stixxay and Huhi. Stixxay had a great NA LCS Playoffs, however, he relies very heavily on Caitlyn, Tristana and Ezreal -- all champions that have a punishable early to mid game. This could lead to mid game slumps with CLG using weaker than usual comps. Additionally, while Huhi's versatile, he still relatively new playing on the international stage. Even though he's confident, he may find himself outclassed versus the likes of Xiaohu, Maple, Perkz, and Faker.

6. Turkey

SUP had a really solid International Wildcard Invitational, beating out Hard Random to win it all. The newly formed TCL super team got off to a slow start during the regular season, but closed out strong versus Beşiktaş in the Finals and hasn’t skipped a beat since (well, maybe once to INTZ in Groups of IWCI...). But MSI is another type of beast. I have faith SUP can win a game here and do Turkey and the IWC region proud, but a tournament against the top teams from each region is going to be a tough mountain to scale with a team formed just four months ago...

Deficio

While last year we could realistically predict a non-Korean team to win the Mid-Season Invitational due to the Korean exodus, this year they don't face the same challenges. SKT come in as the big favorite and they may go undefeated. We then have four extremely close teams in level and ranking them was not an easy task. Therefore, I'm only going to spend time talking about teams in spots 2-6. I based my rankings mainly on consistency in the team’s macro moves and how well their players can perform in the current Patch 6.8 meta.

1. Korea - SKTelecom T1 (SKT)
2. Europe - G2 Esports - (G2)
3. LMS - Flash Wolves (FW)
4. China - Royal Never Give Up (RNG)
5. North America - Counter Logic Gaming (CLG)
6. Turkey - SuperMassive (SUP)

2. Europe

A great combination of individual talent in key positions combined with smart preparation has made G2 a very consistent team that understands their strengths and weaknesses. Also, the current meta is perfect for G2 as a team. Kikis' favoring tanks predated the meta shift and the team boasts the strongest mid/jungle duo in Europe in Perkz and Trick.

Carry junglers and high impact mid lane picks makes it easy for them to control the game and execute their high tempo 1-3-1 playstyle with a focus on side lane pressure and deep vision. Plus, support Hybrid shines in team fights while understanding that he's never required to win his lane together with ADC Emperor. The lack of true lane dominant bot lanes at MSI is another advantage for G2.

3. LMS

Flash Wolves players remind me a lot of G2’s and they benefit from the meta equally as much as their European counterpart. MMD and NL are role players. Top laner MMD plays tanks and AD carry NL plays wave clear bottom. Jungler Karsa and mid laner Maple are the LMS editions of Trick and Perkz, and they will be able to carry FW forward. Support SwordArt is the enabler and he will never hesitate to engage a fight with his team right behind him.

FW plays a lot like an aggressive LPL team, but they have a better understanding of how to play the map. This makes Flash Wolves a more complete and consistent team who won’t fall apart if they don’t have a lead at 15 minutes, which also puts them above RNG for me.

4. China

Strong players, a legendary Worlds MVP captain, and a fantastic mindset towards aggression means that RNG games will never bore you. Yet I have a love hate relationship with this team.

• I love their ability to team fight properly.
• I love their ability to pick the correct skirmish and create pressure through invades and deep vision in the enemy jungle.
• I hate the way they lane swap and how they make overly aggressive calls.

RNG prefer to kill you instead of your tower, leading to messy and inconsistent games. They get away with this macro in China's LPL, but they struggled at IEM when Fnatic played the map. Both G2 and FW can match their skill level and play the map better. If teams don't play to RNG's style, RNG will struggle at MSI.

5. North America

I'm a big fan of teams who play the map well. Lane swaps, minion wave pressure, and punishing opponent mistakes. CLG does all of this well against teams in North America. However, they've got two clear weaknesses I can't ignore. First, it's their individual talent. Huhi can't compare to Faker, Perkz or Maple. Stixxay and Xmithie also had good Playoff performances but will need to step up more at MSI.

Second, CLG need Darshan on a split pusher to shine. They struggled in the Finals vs. TSM whenever they had to be in the driver's seat. Without Darshan's split pushing to force mistakes, the teams at MSI won't give as many opportunities to CLG as TSM did. I want CLG to do well because I like their style and identity, but I think they will be outmatched individually in most games. Lane swapping and playing the PvE game is the way for Counter Logic Gaming to win.

6. Turkey

SuperMassive comes into the tournament as the best Turkish team we have ever seen. They have strong enough individual players to potentially pull an upset in this tournament, but I don't think it'll be anywhere near enough to advance beyond the Group Stage.

Total point rankings

1. Korea - SKT - 15 points
2. Europe - G2 - 11 points
3. China - RNG - 9 points
4. LMS - FW - 7 points
5. North America - CLG - 3 points
6. Turkey - SUP - 0 points

Overall, China shows the most variance. I have them at 2nd, Spawn has them 3rd, and Deficio has them at 4th. While we stated that all four teams after Korea were close, by consistently ranking North America at 5th, we have them ranked as underdogs to make it to the Bracket Stage. If this were to be broken down into a tiered ranking, we would have:

• S - SKT
• A - G2, RNG, FW
• B - CLG
• C - SUP

So while the point system shows a large spread, Spawn, Deficio, and I think MSI will be a very competitive event in the middle. Also, keep in mind that these are just predictions, and there are a ton of factors that can influence the outcome of the 2016 Mid-Season Invitational that we can’t account for in this article.

Actually, scratch that. Whoever has the worst predictions should be burned at the stake, and have their credibility as analysts forever called into question!

But now that you’ve seen what Spawn, Deficio, and I have had to say, what do you think? Leave your MSI 2016 Power Rankings below and be sure to watch MSI on Lolesports from May 4 - 15.