Power Rankings #5 -- Team King

Region: China (LPL) Roster Top: Skye Jungle: mlxg Mid: Assassin ADC: Wuxin Support: Leym It’s likely few people outside China have heard of Team King, and to that end, their placement may seem surprising. What does a team that has never played in LPL before have to offer that elevates them to top 5? The answer is results, and by results we don’t just mean a one-off tournament victory against Edward Gaming’s dominant 2014 roster. Yes, they achieved that feat, but they've also landed a No. 3 or higher finish in seven high-level LPL events since Worlds. In fact, King has only ever lost to Edward Gaming -- with the exception of one 2-1 loss to Gamtee at the 2014 World Gamemaster Tournament. Since before Worlds ended, King has defeated all three 2014 representative rosters for China -- including OMG with Cloud in tow -- won two titles, made two semifinals, and taken home third place twice. The only time King failed to advance to top three in a tournament was when they brushed up against EDG in Demacia Cup RO16. But who are King? The team rose to LPL after taking first in the LoL Secondary Pro League. While almost every other team was chasing high-dollar roster transfers, King felt content to continue to perfect their teamwork with their existing lineup. Bottom lane Wang “Wuxin” Cheng and Le “Leym” Yi continue to come up as rising contenders ready to brush elbows with the big names this split. Fan “Skye” Qifang could well be a top-three carry top laner in the league. King’s greatest strength is their snowball, and almost any member of the team can play an assassin or a reset carry and take off with the game by abusing early-game vision and heavy roam. Where King might falter is in their lack of LPL experience. Third-party tournaments aren’t the same as a grueling league against the best names in the business, and some of King’s snowball strategies could well be exposed before the week is out. 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.