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Meaningful Power Ranking: Round 2

GeminiRune·6/27/2017, 1:55:33 AM·2 votes·637 views

So two weeks ago I did a personal global power ranking that attempted to be more fair to the here and now than to realistically stack the deck with a bunch of results based analysis. This time around, it's more of the same and a follow up from the other week. To those who gave me more insight, and they know who they are, I thank you for that. So here's what I said 2 weeks ago and which ones I had the most (and simplified) notes with:

Top 10:

  1. SK Telecom T1 (Def #1)
  2. Samsung Galaxy (Def #2)
  3. KT Rolster (Questioned)
  4. Fnatic (Questioned)
  5. Team WE
  6. Raise (Questioned)
  7. Unicorns of Love (Questioned?)
  8. G2 eSports (Falling)
  9. Longzhu (Unconvinced to be higher)
  10. J Team

11 through 15 in no order: AFS, RNG, H2K, CLG, OMG Bottom 5 in no order: VIT, MM, Snake, P1, HKA

Fast forward to two weeks and I honestly feel like some of those questions have been answered as to where some teams lie as the split carries onward. My opinion on each region has also changed ever so slightly from the array of competition:

  • Starting with the LMS first, who honestly has 4 teams on my radar surprisingly. With Flash Wolves bringing back their full roster, their form has definitely returned from what I was prepared to burden them further out of the spotlight of top table power rankings; of course there's Rift Rivals coming up for them so imagine if they had kept their winning team from competing. The top of the table in the region looks too juicy not to look away from just yet and still a dark horse can exist among them. Considered Teams: Raise, Flash Wolves

  • Heading over to China, it seems things are back to the regular season normal where the expected is at the very best the unexpected. While this region is the only region without a "heavy" representative for Rift Rivals, the 4 teams going in each have something about them that stirs a little bit of doubt as to how well they can match up to the likes of Korea particularly (sorry LMS). But credit where it's due. My Considered Teams in Team WE and OMG...finally have done quite well for themselves in their summer run; one much better than the other. But what are the odds that has to do with the groups in particular?

  • Speaking of groups, G2 is still falling. And falling....and falling...all the way out of my top 15 actually. Who emerges from that downfall however? Absolutely nobody! Splyce makes me want to see more. H2K doesn't convince me enough through their shady macro against higher level teams in their region. And Roccat ruined a chance to put me in a good old camouflage trap and take my damn Pikachu. Wait...I'm missing someone. Oh right. Misfits. Honorable mention to them honestly. While they are not on my Considered Teams in Unicorns of Love and Fnatic, I have been seeing them to be above the rest of the pack at the current point in time.

  • Let's go to Korea next, where my power ranking journey has fluttered OH SO MUCH around where to put Longzhu for this post! Considered Teams: Same as last time - SKT, Samsung, KT, Longzhu. There's no real talking about how that top of the LCK has been doing; we all know that. We're just waiting for the first Summer Telecom War in a few hours. Where I'm a bit disappointed is in everyone else slightly barring Jin Air. Personally if I did a full 50 team ranking, I feel like I would actually put a Korean team in the bottom 10 for once. Half the league just feels so puzzling to me that I'm not looking at any other teams in the top of my rankings.

  • As for a region that didn't have any recognition last time around, North America is looking a little bit better with the time. It's a shame though. I only have one Considered Team in the top 10 in the form of Immortals. I do not expect them to be high or get higher unless they continue to blow out the competition.

Well this is a predicament again. 11 teams, 10 spots. Well...I'll just break it down however I can...and I've already done that.

  1. SKT - Still #1 definitively, especially with how they've been performing with Untara and Blank. Their way of still falling down the ladder remains the same: break...for weeks somehow. Or lose convincingly to KT and SSG and then still break.

  2. KT (+1) - No longer a definitive spot for #2, but I do have KT pinned in the second place after quite a time of not considering them as such. It's a bit mixed between their team collectively looking better and Samsung giving me a bit of flak in their recent play that has me nodding my head.

  3. SSG (-1) - This does not put them any lower than this however and does still keep them in fighting range of overtaking KT should they struggle after a SKT loss (remember Spring Split)

  4. FNC - I am STILL going to say Fnatic! I know. I was told last time to ease up on the FNC hype. And I definitely watched their loss to ROC out of disrespect. If I had put more weight on the results, I would peg them lower. But they way they swung it back around made me feel like they are stronger than who I have fighting for this spot in...

  5. LZ (+4) - While they are on a hot streak, they are on said streak in lopsided LCK competition over the last 2 weeks. I believe that there is more to them that I want to see and the strength of competition they had isn't drawing that out to me. Putting them at 5 does feel a bit dangerous, but I am genuinely fine with what they've done so far.

  6. OMG (New) - The only team in LPL's Group B that's giving me some good vibes and also happens to be my top team in the league at the moment. Sitting with a 10-2 game record and a points score that boons way ahead of their group, it would be criminal of me not to put them in the list this time around.

  7. UOL - Yep. They stayed in place. Their loss in the last 2 weeks actually felt like a loss on the better day and they rebounded quite well to that. I was close to saying "no no, take em down" but other teams did that to themselves.

  8. RG (-2) - Is being undefeated and having taken down each of the LMS titans enough to grant them the recognition of a great team yet? Please? While they continue to win, their wins haven't been as convincing as their first weeks; although the competition has been a bit better. Honestly I can't wait for the full FW roster to take them on. As long they don't choke before then.

  9. WE (-4) - In the LPL Group A, there's a lot more parity between the teams going on there, except for probably I May. While WE is still top half of the group (losing out to DAN Gaming's game %), they haven't looked as supreme as the split has gone on. But it's still enough to let them be in my top 10.

  10. IMT (New) - Inking out the #10 over this week's fallout in FW, I've been impressed about the recent performances that this team has pulled off. Taking down every top team is one feat similar to what RG did. What puts them lower however is the amount of climbing the team had to do and the amount of doubt now proven wrong this team has pulled out. Let's see if it stays.

My 11 through 15 in no order: Flash Wolves, DAN Gaming, TSM, J Team, AHQ eSports Club (with Misfits being the team on the outside looking in) My bottom 5 no order: FlyQuest, Hong Kong Attitude, JD Gaming, Fireball, I May

And that's the second round. Chances I'll do a third round sometime after Rift Rivals or around week 7-8 or so. What do you think? Some rightfully deserved? Teams you feel are out of place and why is it Fnatic? Teams you look forward to seeing up higher? Should I attempt at making a 50 team ranking?

3 Comments

III BAKURYU III 6/27/2017, 2:47:11 AM3 votes

Yeah, Fnatic seems to be the best EU team so far that's for sure. G2 are struggling and just don't seem to be on the same page as they once did. UOL are close 2nd maybe 3rd depending on what G2 shows up but so far Fnatic seems to be the only real threat in EU. Caps still reminds me of a Jensen on C9 with how he's blooming into a superstar in just a short while and Rekkles/Soaz seems to have rekindled their old Fnatic days and are #1 in their current positions.
The thing that scares me about FNC is the picks in which it seems teams don't know Rekkles' picks or something, like 7-8 straight or so Kennen picks or something - Ban that s$it but teams don't for some reason, even knowing he's played Kennen like 15 out of his last 30 games. Really expecting FNC to pull out a flex pick like a Jayce(Top/Mid/ADC) for Rekkles to play it at bot if teams can't get past the Kennen flex pick why stop what's working with either the Kennen or the flex picking.

KT Not sold on KT just yet, I'v never been on the Deft hype train when people say he's " The best ADC in the World" I just don't see him being #1 in the World. Beating up on the weaker teams also isn't going to change my thoughts on KT and seeing they have SKT to face this week and knowing the history of SKT vs KT it's looking to be a 3-0 for SKT - maybe a 3-1.
If KT do make it to Worlds in which they most likely will, I expect them to be eliminated in the first round in QT's.

Great post dude !