Power Rankings - 2/3/2015
Riot·2/4/2015, 2:02:14 AM·0 votes·38,968 views
North America is learning what China discovered a month ago -- adding Koreans does not instantly make a better team.
While many of the primarily Chinese teams have continued to dominate the region, the mixed nationality teams are still trying to fix their synergy problems. Internationally, Fnatic seems to be the exception to this rule, with both ReignOver and Huni preforming in each of their four games.
Meanwhile in Korea (with Korean Koreans), it seems that SKTelecom forgot that Faker is the best player in the world. Or maybe he isn't anymore?
Let's take a look at where things stand today...
After a crushing defeat to the Jin Air Green Wings, we are not able to comfortably give SKTelecom a pass for their obsession with Xerath, or Faker and Easyhoon playing musical chairs. Something is wrong with SKT. Similarly Jin Air Green Wings have looked very impressive in their wins, but also had a major hiccup against Incredible Miracle. They get the slight nod over CJ Entus though by the dominance of their wins and completeness as a team. However, CJ and Jin Air play this week, so expect movement on that front soon.
Panel: Alex Manisier, Erik "DoA" Lonnquist, Christopher "MonteCristo" Mykles, Tyler "Fionn" Erzberger, and Mike "Noctt" Huh
EDG and OMG still look to be the best teams in China, but LGD is threatening the top spots. OMG hasn't looked like a complete team, but they haven't needed to thus far after mechanically dominating most of their opponents. In the middle of the rankings, mixed-nationality teams are still trying to figure out their consistency and synergy issues, which leaves many of the purely Chinese rosters with an innate advantage in rotations and more nuanced play. LGD remains the sole exception to this, playing like a team and being mechanically imposing. We still expect Team King to make a recovery and end up in the playoffs, but right now they are struggling against even the worst teams in China.
Panel: Kelsey Moser, Michale "Drexxin" Lalor, and Ryanne "Froskurinn" Mohr.
The rankings look a little more clear this week in North America... at least for some of the teams. CLG and TSM have emerged as the best in North America for now. Granted that CLG's loss to Team Liquid in Week 1 wasn't the prettiest, they look like a complete team now that ZionSpartan is in the game. Meanwhile, we think the lack of synergy between Piglet and the rest of Team Liquid is fixable (assuming he's using his masteries...), and we're not ready to declare this experiment a disaster, but follow up in a few weeks to see the team's progress. Gravity has some impressive wins, but we need another week of consistency and strong mechanical play before we declare them an elite team. Cloud9 looked like they were back to their old self against Team Liquid before plummeting back into despair against CLG -- this team is having an identity crisis and needs some serious help if it wants to contest for the Spring Split title.
Panel: Cameron Gilbert, Mattias "Gentleman Gustaf" Lehman, Taylor "Riot RoboTayCo" Cocke, Jason "Riot Jayway" Wai, Joshua "Riot Jatt" Leesman, and Frank "Riot Mirhi" Fields.
It looks like we're headed for another epic Fnatic vs SK Gaming match to determine the best in EU, as both teams seem miles ahead of everyone else right now. Fnatic's team play, synergy, and map control have led them to wins. SK Gaming meanwhile have been brute-forcing past opponents with great team fighting and mechanics. While Elements recovered in Week 2, the team doesn't look to be on the same level as SK or Fnatic. The middle-of-the-road teams are defined by looking dominant in wins and mediocre in losses. Those looking to ROCCAT's placement despite their 1-3 record should take into account that their losses have been to the top three teams in Europe. Another few weeks should let us better figure out the strengths and weaknesses of the top teams.
Panel: Devin "PiraTechnics" Young, Mattias "Gentleman Gustaf" Lehman, Taylor "Riot RoboTayCo" Cocke, Jason "Riot Jayway" Wai, and Frank "Riot Mirhi" Fields.
The LMS had a week off while IEM Taipei played on. There isn't much of a shake-up as a result, but we're giving the best-team-in-Taiwan nod to the Flash Wolves after they came back from 0-2 to defeat TPA 3-2 in the Finals of IEM. While a 3-2 wouldn't normally make us change a lot of our notions about two teams, the three consecutive game wins shows a lack of adaptation by TPA and is a slight cause for concern.
Panel: James "Obscurica" Chen and Chia "Reazony" Yu.
We're very high on SK Gaming right now, but are unwilling to move them higher until they learn proper vision control -- and play against the top teams in Europe. We believe they are poised for a run reminiscent of Cloud9's through NA LCS Summer 2013. They are one of the most mechanically talented teams in the world, with a lot of room to grow. We don't expect them to truly be tested until the Mid Season Invitational -- they are the favorites in Europe by far.
Jin Air's wins have been a thing of beauty, but their loss again Incredible Miracle gives us pause from putting them too high on the rankings. If they keep up their polished team play, we could move them higher up in future weeks.
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 and Garena
Korea
- GE Tigers (5-0) [10-1]
- Jin Air Green Wings (3-2) [8-5]
- CJ Entus (4-1) [8-4]
- SKTelecom T1 (3-2) [6-5]
- Najin e-mFire (2-3) [6-6]
- Incredible Miracle (2-3) [4-7]
- KT Rolster (1-4) [3-8]
- Samsung Galaxy (0-5) [1-10]
After a crushing defeat to the Jin Air Green Wings, we are not able to comfortably give SKTelecom a pass for their obsession with Xerath, or Faker and Easyhoon playing musical chairs. Something is wrong with SKT. Similarly Jin Air Green Wings have looked very impressive in their wins, but also had a major hiccup against Incredible Miracle. They get the slight nod over CJ Entus though by the dominance of their wins and completeness as a team. However, CJ and Jin Air play this week, so expect movement on that front soon.
Panel: Alex Manisier, Erik "DoA" Lonnquist, Christopher "MonteCristo" Mykles, Tyler "Fionn" Erzberger, and Mike "Noctt" Huh
China
- Edward Gaming (5-1)
- OMG (5-0-1)
- LGD Gaming (4-1-1)
- Snake (4-0-3)
- Star Horn Royal Club (3-3)
- Vici Gaming (2-2-2)
- Invictus Gaming (3-3)
- Team King (1-4-1)
- Master3 (2-3-1)
- Gamtee (0-3-3)
- Team WE (0-5-1)
- Energy Pacemaker (0-4-1)
EDG and OMG still look to be the best teams in China, but LGD is threatening the top spots. OMG hasn't looked like a complete team, but they haven't needed to thus far after mechanically dominating most of their opponents. In the middle of the rankings, mixed-nationality teams are still trying to figure out their consistency and synergy issues, which leaves many of the purely Chinese rosters with an innate advantage in rotations and more nuanced play. LGD remains the sole exception to this, playing like a team and being mechanically imposing. We still expect Team King to make a recovery and end up in the playoffs, but right now they are struggling against even the worst teams in China.
Panel: Kelsey Moser, Michale "Drexxin" Lalor, and Ryanne "Froskurinn" Mohr.
North America
- Team SoloMid (3-1)
- Counter Logic Gaming (3-1)
- Team Liquid (2-2)
- Gravity (3-1)
- Cloud9 (1-3)
- Winterfox (2-2)
- Team8 (2-2)
- Team Impulse (2-2)
- Team Coast (1-3)
- Team Dignitas (1-3)
The rankings look a little more clear this week in North America... at least for some of the teams. CLG and TSM have emerged as the best in North America for now. Granted that CLG's loss to Team Liquid in Week 1 wasn't the prettiest, they look like a complete team now that ZionSpartan is in the game. Meanwhile, we think the lack of synergy between Piglet and the rest of Team Liquid is fixable (assuming he's using his masteries...), and we're not ready to declare this experiment a disaster, but follow up in a few weeks to see the team's progress. Gravity has some impressive wins, but we need another week of consistency and strong mechanical play before we declare them an elite team. Cloud9 looked like they were back to their old self against Team Liquid before plummeting back into despair against CLG -- this team is having an identity crisis and needs some serious help if it wants to contest for the Spring Split title.
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
- SK Gaming (4-0)
- Fnatic (4-0)
- Elements (3-1)
- Unicorns of Love (2-2)
- Team ROCCAT (1-3)
- H2K (2-2)
- Giants Gaming (2-2)
- Copenhagen Wolves (1-3)
- Gambit Gaming (0-4)
- MeetYourMakers (1-3)
It looks like we're headed for another epic Fnatic vs SK Gaming match to determine the best in EU, as both teams seem miles ahead of everyone else right now. Fnatic's team play, synergy, and map control have led them to wins. SK Gaming meanwhile have been brute-forcing past opponents with great team fighting and mechanics. While Elements recovered in Week 2, the team doesn't look to be on the same level as SK or Fnatic. The middle-of-the-road teams are defined by looking dominant in wins and mediocre in losses. Those looking to ROCCAT's placement despite their 1-3 record should take into account that their losses have been to the top three teams in Europe. Another few weeks should let us better figure out the strengths and weaknesses of the top teams.
Panel: Devin "PiraTechnics" Young, Mattias "Gentleman Gustaf" Lehman, Taylor "Riot RoboTayCo" Cocke, Jason "Riot Jayway" Wai, and Frank "Riot Mirhi" Fields.
Taiwan
- Yoe Flash Wolves (6-1)
- Taipei Assassins (7-0)
- Hong Kong Esports (5-2)
- AHQ e-Sports Club (5-3)
- Never Give Up (3-4)
- Logitech Snipers (3-5)
- Midnight Sun Esports (1-6)
- Dream or Reality (0-9)
The LMS had a week off while IEM Taipei played on. There isn't much of a shake-up as a result, but we're giving the best-team-in-Taiwan nod to the Flash Wolves after they came back from 0-2 to defeat TPA 3-2 in the Finals of IEM. While a 3-2 wouldn't normally make us change a lot of our notions about two teams, the three consecutive game wins shows a lack of adaptation by TPA and is a slight cause for concern.
Panel: James "Obscurica" Chen and Chia "Reazony" Yu.
International
- GE Tigers (5-0)
- Edward Gaming (5-1)
- OMG (5-0-1)
- Jin Air Green Wings (3-2)
- LGD Gaming (4-1-1)
- Snake (4-0-3)
- CJ Entus (4-1)
- SKTelecom T1 (3-2)
- Star Horn Royal Club (3-3)
- SK Gaming (4-0)
- Vici Gaming (2-2-2)
- Najin e-mFire (2-3)
- Fnatic (4-0)
- Team King (1-4-1)
- Team SoloMid (3-1)
- Elements (3-1)
- Yoe Flash Wolves (6-1)
- Taipei Assassins (7-0)
- Counter Logic Gaming (3-1)
- Hong Kong Esports (5-2)
We're very high on SK Gaming right now, but are unwilling to move them higher until they learn proper vision control -- and play against the top teams in Europe. We believe they are poised for a run reminiscent of Cloud9's through NA LCS Summer 2013. They are one of the most mechanically talented teams in the world, with a lot of room to grow. We don't expect them to truly be tested until the Mid Season Invitational -- they are the favorites in Europe by far.
Jin Air's wins have been a thing of beauty, but their loss again Incredible Miracle gives us pause from putting them too high on the rankings. If they keep up their polished team play, we could move them higher up in future weeks.
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 and Garena
