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Power Rankings - Week 27

Riot·7/31/2014, 12:44:48 AM·0 votes·7,824 views
We use a system similar to the Associated Press power rankings for College Football or Basketball - a panel of writers vote on who they think should be listed, and an aggregate is produced from combining their rankings. Our panel votes on these criteria, in this order:
  • Recent results
  • Predicted future performance
  • Historical trends (as they pertain to future results and present form)
  • The "eye" test (How good does a team look, relative to the rest of the world)
Our panel is available at the footer of this article, with each of their credentials and specialties. It is important to note that all our voters follow all five major professional leagues (LPL, OGN, GPL, NA/EU LCS) on a weekly basis. An update to Power Rankings in this edition - we are going to display the point spread of the teams. Often teams would jump several teams in a given week and it would appear strange because of the number of teams. More often than not, this was due to the teams they jumped all being very closely grouped together. Hopefully this will offer some more transparency into team movements on a week to week basis. Make sure to tweet @Lolesports with your Power Rankings or let us know in the comments below.
  1. Samsung Galaxy Blue ( - )
  2. Samsung Galaxy White ( - )
  3. KT Rolster Arrows ( - )
  4. SK Telecom T1 K ( - )
  5. OMG (+2)
  6. Najin White Shield ( - )
  7. Edward Gaming (-2)
  8. SKT T1 S ( - )
  9. Najin Black Sword ( - )
  10. Jin Air Stealths (+1)
  11. Team WE (-1)
  12. Alliance (+3)
  13. CJ Entus Blaze (-1)
  14. LMQ (-1)
  15. Fnatic (+1)
  16. CJ Entus Frost (-2)
  17. Cloud9 (+1)
  18. Team SoloMid (+2)
  19. StarHorn Royal Club ( - )
  20. Counter Logic Gaming (-3)
Current league record in parenthesis. Number of first place votes in brackets
  1. ( - ) Samsung Galaxy Blue - OGN - (8-1) - 197 pts - [5] Blue swept the Jin Air Green Wings Stealths in the OGN Champions Summer quarterfinals, and now they face sister team Samsung Galaxy White, for a spot in the finals. The result was impressive on paper, but it hides a few cracks in Blue's armor. The Stealths blew a lead in two of the three games that they accrued from awkward picks, and poor lane play. If those mistakes continue, White will stroll into the finals against the KT Rolster Arrows Written by Thomas Watts
  2. ( - ) Samsung Galaxy White - OGN - (8-2) - 195 pts - [3]
  3. ( - ) KT Rolster Arrows - OGN - (11-5) - 181 pts The Arrows had a gutcheck moment in their 3-2 series win over SK Telecom T1 S. They came back from being down 2-1 to win the series thanks to a pair of dominating performances in games four and five. The team's extreme aggression has turned them into a fan favorite, and their win against T1S has cemented them in the discussion for the 2014 World Championship. They will play the winner of the Samsung Blue/Samsung White series in the finals of OGN Champions Summer 2014 Written by Thomas Watts
  4. ( - ) SK Telecom T1 K - OGN - (4-6) - 178 pts
  5. (+2) OMG - LPL - (14-6) - 157 pts OMG finished out the week as the LPL leader despite only playing two games this week and starting behind both Team WE and Edward Gaming. Their commanding games against World Elite didn't feature a single Baron, and OMG instead punished WE for their predictable baits to close the games. With Cloud's return, OMG plays with renewed motivation, and they look stronger than ever with the 2014 World Championship on the horizon. Written by Kelsey Moser
  6. ( - ) Najin White Shield - OGN - (5-6) - 156 pts
  7. (-2) Edward Gaming - LPL - (13-7) - 147 pts Edward Gaming only won one of their four games this week. They may have played arrogantly against Invictus Gaming in their second game, but when they dropped a full set to Young Glory, it made everyone go "What!?" Either Edward Gaming didn't prepare well for their set against iG's sister team, or they were severely crippled by the Ziggs ban. Being proactive in the early game is still something EDG struggles with, and if they can't lock down their problems, they won't perform well on an international scale. Written by Kelsey Moser
  8. ( - ) SK Telecom T1 S - OGN - (9-7) - 141 pts SK Telecom T1 S fell 3-2 to the KT Rolster Arrows in the semifinals of OGN Champions Summer. They utilized the double AP composition well in both of their wins, but in the end it wasn't enough. Given that this is their first time even in the bracket stage of an OGN Champions tournament, a spot in the third/fourth place game against the loser of the Samsung Blue/Samsung White series is not a bad result. Written by Thomas Watts
  9. ( - ) Najin Black Sword - OGN - (7-4) - 136 pts
  10. (+1) Jin Air GreenWings Stealths - OGN - (4-2) - 114 pts The performance of the Jin Air Stealths in Champions Summer 2014 is evidence of the increasing level of competition in Korean League of Legends. Despite losing to Samsung Blue in a 0-3 sweep, their quarterfinal was much more closer than their score indicates. In all three games, the Stealths shook up Blue in the early-to-mid game, with great performances by solo laners TrAce and Fly. However, their inexperience would ultimately be their downfall as Blue's superior shotcalling came out on top. The Stealths head into a teamkill against the Falcons in NLB Summer, eager to put their new bracket stage experience to use. Written by Alex Manisier
  11. (-1) Team WE - LPL - (13-9) - 111 pts World Elite had three sets this week, two of which should have been pushover wins for a top three Chinese team - but they only managed to win one of six games. Sole control of first place should have been theirs for the taking, but as they continued to lose games, WeiXiao's shot-calling became increasingly selfish. He fixated on playing the farm game to better carry his team, but opponents continued to make early plays to end the laning phase early. WE only found their win by abusing StarHorn's inability to close by picking hyper carries to brute force the late game. If teams continue to target WE's need for an extended laning phase, WE will continue to lose. Still, their intelligent adaptation against SHRC coming off a five game losing streak is promising, and we caution against counting them out all together. Written by Kelsey Moser
  12. (+3) Alliance - EU LCS - (20-7) - 103 pts Alliance just became the first team to hold 1st place for a whole season in the EU LCS - no small feat. Their game knowledge is probably the best in Europe, and Froggen may just be one of the most consistent European mid laners ever. The question is this: how will they perform against the wily Fnatic in the playoffs? Written by Mattias "Gentleman Gustaf" Lehman
  13. (-1) CJ Entus Blaze - OGN - (3-3) - 97 pts
  14. (-1) LMQ - NA LCS - (16-8) - 94 pts LMQ defeated coL last week but were demolished 0-12 by Cloud9. With a one win buffer, ahead of both C9 and TSM, LMQ has secured their place in the summer split playoffs but they still have to fend off the other NA teams if they want that first round bye. With a losing 1-3 head-to-head record against C9, LMQ will want to avoid tying C9 for that No. 2 spot. Written by Jack "NeoIllusions" Ho
  15. (+1) Fnatic - EU LCS - (18-9) - 94 pts It's playoffs time once again, and Fnatic looks red-hot as they push to the top of the EU LCS. For the first time in the history of the LCS, however, an EU team has managed to hold the No. 1 spot all season, and that team is Alliance, not Fnatic. If we're just looking at records, Alliance is the No. 1 team, but recent trends demonstrate Fnatic on fire, and they've always performed best in the playoffs. Rekkles is finally living up to his potential, and is seemingly unkillable, and Fnatic seems up to their usual mid-late game dominance, on account of their ability to make unpredictable plays. Written by Mattias "Gentleman Gustaf" Lehman
  16. (-2) CJ Entus Frost - OGN - (3-3) - 87 pts The biggest news out of CJ Entus Frost this week was undoubtedly the announcement of their presence at KCON 2014, marking their first time on American soil since the Season 2 World Championship. However, back in Korea, Frost easily dispatched MKZ 2-0 for a spot in NLB Summer's Diamond League. For the second time in a row, however, they will face a re-energized SK Telecom T1 K. If Frost are to keep their slim World Championship hopes alive, they cannot afford to slip up here. Written by Alex Manisier
  17. (+1) Cloud9 - NA LCS - (15-9) - 80 pts With their second 2-0 week in a row, C9 is slowly starting to rev up as the regular season is winding down. Balls appears to be returning to his old form as he hard carried as Ryze in the match against LMQ and became the stalwart frontline his team needed as Mundo against Dignitas. Sitting only one win behind LMQ, it is still entirely possible for C9 to finish the regular season at No. 1 for the third split in a row. Written by Jack "NeoIllusions" Ho
  18. (+2) Team SoloMid - NA LCS - (15-9) - 61 pts TSM finished 2-0 last week with a solid victory over Evil Geniuses and proceeded to demolish their rivals, CLG. Currently tied at No. 2 with C9, the boys of Baylife have yet to be challenged since their newest member, Lustboy, entered their lineup. However, in their final leg of the split, TSM will be tested this week with a difficult schedule as they face off against LMQ, C9, Dignitas, and Curse. Written by Jack "NeoIllusions" Ho
  19. ( - ) StarHorn Royal Club - LPL - (12-8) - 50 pts Starhorn Royal Club continues to struggle to close out their games. They were able to take one game from World Elite this week, but a beleaguered WE came back after five losses to punish SHRC for their weak late game decision-making. If the team doesn't straighten out their play-making, they'll stay at the cusp of the bottom half of the LPL standings. With both Invictus Gaming and Young Glory looking like potential challengers, SHRC will have to redouble their efforts if they want to stay in position to attain a playoff seed. Written by Kelsey Moser
  20. (-3) Counter Logic Gaming - NA LCS - (13-11) - 30 pts When it rains, it pours. For CLG, the team is running on empty as they finish a second week with a 0-2 result. While their place in the playoffs is all but secured and a chance at a top 2 finish realistically out of the question, CLG is taking a huge gamble this week as their active roster are all traveling to Korea for a week to practice under the watchful eye of their coach, MonteCristo. It remains to be seen whether or not this endeavor will pay off but this just might be the hyperbolic time chamber CLG needs to return to the playoffs stronger than before. Written by Jack "NeoIllusions" Ho

Rising

Taipei Assassins - GPL - (15-2) - 28 pts From the looks of it, Chawy has officially (finally!) entered the starting roster. They won an intense semifinal match against Saigon Fantastic 5 to advance to the GPL Finals. Though they dropped a game, it wasn't wholly unexpected against the rapidly maturing Vietnamese scene, and it certainly wasn't due to any major errors by their new mid laner. The Assassins' individual players are consistently outplaying their counterparts, with Achie and Chawy both smothering their counterparts with aggressive plays. For the third straight season, the Taipei Assassins are once again GPL finalists, making them the undisputed best and most consistent team in all of Southeast Asia. Written by James "Obscurica" Chen SK Gaming - EU LCS - (15-12) - 26 pts The lower playoff spots for Europe are hotly contested between SHC, Millenium, and SK Gaming. Of the three, SK Gaming definitely seems the most team-oriented of the three, with solid rotations and one of the best mid-late games in Europe. After solid victories over Alliance and Fnatic, they look primed to make a run at Worlds. Written by Mattias "Gentleman Gustaf" Lehman Others Receiving Votes: Taipei Assassins, SK Gaming, Invictus Gaming, Supa Hot Crew, Jin Air Falcons, Millenium, Dignitas The Panel: Alex Manisier - ggChronicle staff writer, OGN expert and President of UTS LoLSoc in Sydney, Australia. Regularly watches all five major leagues. Andrew "Glyceroll" Whitmore - Covers NA and EU LCS as well as Challenger for lolesports.com and surrenderat20.net. Regularly watches the five major leagues. Christopher "MonteCristo" Mykles - OGN Analyst and Commentator. Season 3 World Championship Analyst, esports veteran. Frank "Mirhi" Fields - Senior Web Content Coordinator for lolesports.com. Esports veteran, follows all five major leagues. Jack "NeoIllusions" Ho - TeamLiquid staff writer. Has covered OGN, NA and EU LCS for TL and lolesports.com. Regularly watches most of the five major leagues. James "Obscurica" Chen - GPL and SEA expert. Covers GPL for lolesports.com and watches all five major leagues regularly. Jason "Jayway" Wai - Web Content Coordinator and stats aficionado for lolesports.com. Watches OGN religiously and regularly watches all five major leagues. Kelsey Moser - GosuGamers senior editor and LPL expert. Covers LPL for lolesports.com. Regularly watches all five major leagues. Joshua "Jatt" Leesman - Riot Games LCS Analyst and Commentator. Veteran commentator of both Season 2 and Season 3 World Championships. Mattias "Gentleman Gustaf" Lehman - League of Legends theorycrafter and statistics nerd turned esports journalist, watches NA/EU religiously and all five major leagues regularly. Michael "Chexx" Kiefer - German born, Korean resident. TeamLiquid staff writer and Esports veteran. Expert on all things Korea. Regularly watches all five major leagues. Michael Mooridian - Freelance esports journalist. Specializes in NA & EU LCS and Challenger leagues and follows all five major leagues. Taylor Cocke - Web Content Coordinator for lolesports.com Watches EU/NA with a passion, follows all other leagues. Team Inven - Esports veterans and OGN experts. Regularly watch every game of all five major leagues. Thomas Watts - OGN expert and freelancer for lolesports.com. Veteran college football reporter. Regularly watches most of the five major leagues. Tyler "Fionn" Erzberger - TeamLiquid staff writer and OGN expert. Esports veteran and Freelancer for lolesports.com. Regularly watches all five major leagues.

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44 Comments

BlazinNewel7/31/2014, 12:53:55 AM9 votes

Korean teams play in OGN -> korean teams beat other korean teams -> korean teams fall in rankings -> chinese teams rise in rankings -> international tournament -> korean teams shit on chinese teams -> chinese teams fall in rankings as korean teams rise -> rinse and repeat

LeafyKelpie7/31/2014, 12:59:47 AM9 votes

There's a typo. This is only Cloud 9's second 2-0 week in a row. Hopefully they go 3 weeks though ;).

KaLiIsLu7/31/2014, 5:11:59 AM7 votes

Is it fair for the other teams and LOL fan to have a team (CLG) voluntary fielding a sub-team for super week (we're talking 4 games)? If the league punish H2K for wasting "one" flash and AoD stupidity on morgana for buying AD items (in a challenger match in which they were ahead by 10k+ gold), shouldn't this be considered an even bigger violation? This also isn't fair for teams that are vying for playoff spots if they are playing against real teams and their opponent is playing a make-shift CLG team. Talk about having a double standard Riot. Anyway, why is CLG even on the power rating this week (talk about the eye test)? Need glasses?

quecomeburr7/31/2014, 7:25:57 PM4 votes

So I really like how all the NA teams, save for LMQ, are below EU when NA has a much more competitive split where in reallity only 3 teams in EU are really able to challenge that top place spot in overall coordination. Those teams being SK ALL and FNC. Sure they are able to be beat by various teams throughout the split but overalll they have been dominate when they are not in a slump. That being said its obvious that all the Teams in NA can challenge each other for the top spot. Sure EG CRS and COL are on the bottom but they convincingly win against the top 5 teams who are all able to take games off each other. Meaning that in reality all the teams in NA are within a similar teir of play some are more convincing and COL is inexperienced but still, I think due to this competition most of the top 5 teams in NA could beat the any team in EU or have a 50-50 chance to win and the bottom 3 would give them a run for there money. I perdict that in worlds NA will prove much better than EU in the final standings.

C9 Scott Free 7/31/2014, 3:09:38 PM3 votes

Redneck accent Get the Chinese out of NALCS. But seriously, can we make it so teams have to have at least 3NA players next season. This whole trying to buy titles thing is really getting under my skin.

Xia Long7/31/2014, 1:19:40 AM3 votes

"If Frost are to keep their slim World Championship hopes alive, they cannot afford to slip up here." This is a mistake, Frost is already incapable of qualifying for worlds because of their lack of circuit points

Fiet7/31/2014, 11:45:07 AM3 votes

About whole the OGN league is in here and the first eu or na team is alliance at nr 12, I can't believe that's right. You're saying that almost every Korean team can beat all eu and na teams hands down.

Brightroar7/31/2014, 1:04:23 AM2 votes

Just wanted to make a correction:

For the C9 paragraph, this isn't their third 2-0 week in a row. If we assume you are talking about the past 3 weeks, weeks 8, 9 and 10, C9 lost to TSM in week 8 for a 1-1 week. Therefore, coming into superweek, they have been 2-0 for two weeks in a row, not three.

FireBlade14547/31/2014, 10:11:37 PM2 votes

C9 to pro for u tsm

TrollFan017/31/2014, 3:02:29 AM2 votes

SKT T1 K can still grab a 2nd place spot and automatically go to Worlds. If they get first place in the NLB, and SG White lose loses to both SG Blue and KT A, that'll give SKT K1 525 circuit points and SG White 475.

I really hope they can do it. I want to see the World Champions actually have a chance of defending their title for once. Fnatic and TPA never got the chance. SKT can be the first to defend their title.

Jathiel7/31/2014, 2:47:39 AM2 votes

Gotta say, pretty accurate rankings on the whole. I like that what has already occurred in the EU LCS this week is taken into consideration.

sungwoojim8/4/2014, 7:37:35 AM1 votes

Anyone noticed that if Samsung White wins their matchup against SK Telecom S (The one without Faker and co.) in the OGN Summer 2014 3rd Match and SK Telecome K (The one with Faker and Piglet and etc.....) wins ITENJOY NLB Smmer 2014, there will be a tiebreaker between the two teams where a guaranteed spot to Worlds is at stake due to the circuit point standings?

1a8XtcIy727/31/2014, 1:58:22 AM1 votes

Frost can still qualify for Worlds, but it's an extremely specific set of circumstances. Probably won't happen

THEPOWERFULJOZEN7/31/2014, 2:42:39 PM1 votes

I have no idea why team World Elite is higher then C9, C9 very clearly kicked their asses in all stars

LucMiroslav8/1/2014, 7:28:22 PM1 votes

Could anyone please tell me if SKT T1 K made it to Worlds.