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Power Rankings - Week 31

Riot··0 votes·26,209 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. Make sure to tweet @Lolesports with your Power Rankings or let us know in the comments below. Bolded teams have qualified for Worlds.
  1. KT Rolster Arrows ( - )
  2. Samsung Galaxy Blue (+1)
  3. Samsung Galaxy White ( - )
  4. Edward Gaming (+1)
  5. SK Telecom T1 K (-1)
  6. OMG ( - )
  7. Alliance (+1)
  8. Najin White Shield ( - )
  9. Najin Black Sword ( - )
  10. StarHorn Royal Club ( - )
  11. Cloud9 (+2)
  12. Jin Air Stealths (-1)
  13. LMQ (+2)
  14. Fnatic ( - )
  15. CJ Entus Blaze ( - )
  16. SK Telecom T1 S (-3)
  17. SK Gaming ( - )
  18. LGD ( - )
  19. Team SoloMid (+1)
  20. Taipei Assassins (NEW)
Number of first place votes in brackets.
  1. ( - ) KT Rolster Arrows - #3 Korea Regionals - 194pts - [4] Editor's Note: As you can see from the point spread, Samsung Blue and KT Arrows are tied for first.
  2. (+1) Samsung Galaxy Blue - Korea - Qualified for Worlds - 194pts - [3] Editor's Note: As you can see from the point spread, Blue and Arrows are tied for first.
  3. ( - ) Samsung Galaxy White - Korea - Qualified for Worlds - 188pts - [1] Samsung Galaxy White roared through SK Telecom T1 K 3-0 to win the tiebreaker series between the two squads. Their win locks them into the 2014 World Championship. White played extremely well throughout the series, and it was a total team effort. If there was any doubt surrounding White before today, they erased it and put themselves squarely in the discussion regarding which teams are favored to win the 2014 World Championship. Written by Thomas Watts
  4. (+1) Edward Gaming - China - Qualified for Worlds - 168pts After securing themselves a place in the 2014 Season World Championships this week in a double elimination best of five tournament where they only lost one game, few remain to question Edward Gaming's dominance of Chinese League of Legends. Ming "Clearlove" Kai, who has struggled with inconsistency, performed dominantly throughout the entire tournament. With exceptional team fighting and coordination, EDG only has to play one best of three to secure China's first seed for the World Championship. Has World Elite's ex-coach, Aaron, raised a second team powerful enough to challenge for the title of best in the world? Written by Kelsey Moser
  5. (-1) SK Telecom T1 K - #1 Korea Regionals - 167pts SK Telecom T1 K was swept straight into Korea's Regional Qualifier by Samsung Galaxy White. The team had failures at every level that White leveraged for their win. They are in the finals of the Regional Qualifier thanks to their accrued Circuit Points, but the dismal performance against White puts them squarely in the underdog position heading into that best-of-five against the KT Rolster Arrows, NaJin White Shield, or the KT Rolster Bullets. Written by Thomas Watts
  6. ( - ) OMG - #1 China Regionals - 153pts OMG had a less than stellar performance this weekend. While EDG brought their A Game every time, OMG showed massive inconsistency. In the best of five format, they adapted well, but in a best of three, they might not have enough time to cope. Against StarHorn Royal Club, they showed they're the better team when it comes to closing out games, but making sure they get it into gear in the first place is something that will make or break them when they vie for the two remaining Chinese seeds in the Regional Qualifier. Written by Kelsey Moser
  7. (+1) Alliance - Europe - Qualified for Worlds - 139pts
  8. ( - ) Najin White Shield - #5 Korea Regionals - 129pts
  9. ( - ) Najin Black Sword - OGN - 123pts
  10. ( - ) StarHorn Royal Club - #2 China Regionals - 115pts StarHorn Royal Club seems to only have one style at their disposal: crush quickly, and crush early. When they fail to take control of the early game, they often pick questionable engagements from gold deficits. InSec is easily punished when stealth champions and Lee Sin are taken away from him, as he has no means of escaping when he presses the go button from behind. That said, when SHRC grabs the early game, they don't let it go. They might struggle to close, but usually they are so adept at snowballing that they find their way to the enemy Nexus eventually. Slowing them down is difficult, and it's a challenge many teams will struggle with on the international stage if they can grab a seed to Worlds. Written by Kelsey Moser
  11. (+2) Cloud9 - #1 NA Regionals - 111pts Cloud9 squares off against Curse in their first best of five of the postseason. C9 defeated Curse 3-1 during the course of the summer split and enter this match as a favorite - though not by much. Although showing moments of weakness in the middle of the split, C9 found their roots and maintained their No. 1 spot and finished at the top. C9 arrived at Season 3 Worlds as the No. 1 seed for North American, but can they do it again against an impressive Curse team? Written by Jack “NeoIllusions” Ho
  12. (-1) Jin Air Stealths - OGN - 106pts
  13. (+2) LMQ - #2 NA Regionals - 100pts The rookies of the NA LCS only by name, LMQ faces Team SoloMid in the first semifinals series on Saturday. Going into the best of five as the clear favorites, LMQ routed TSM 4-0 during the regular season. Looking to compete at Worlds for the first time, this could be a monumental year for LMQ. By topping the rankings in their inaugural split in the NA LCS, LMQ has the potential to represent their new home region if they win the series on Saturday. Written by Jack “NeoIllusions” Ho
  14. ( - ) Fnatic - Europe - Qualified for Worlds - 99pts
  15. ( - ) CJ Entus Blaze - OGN - 79pts
  16. (-4) SK Telecom T1 S - OGN - 70pts
  17. (+1) SK Gaming - Europe - Qualified for Worlds - 70pts
  18. ( - ) LGD - Qualified for China Regionals - 58pts
  19. (+1) Team SoloMid - #3 NA Regionals - 55pts By defeating Dignitas 3-1 in their quarterfinal match, Team SoloMid not only kept their 2014 Worlds dream alive but they can still become the only squad to compete in all four World Championships. However, TSM's road to Worlds this year is an arduous journey. Up first, TSM will have to find a way to upset LMQ, a team they have yet to obtain a victory against. Written by Jack “NeoIllusions” Ho
  20. (NEW) Taipei Assassins - SEA - Qualified for Worlds - 43pts
Others Receiving Votes: Curse, CJ Entus Frost, Jin Air Falcons, Team WE, AHQ, CLG 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 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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46 Comments

Brown Flame12 votes

I think Curse deserves a ranking on this list a lot more than TSM does. Curse played beautifully well against CLG, and they are roaring going into the semis. I don't think TSM played all that well against DIG, aside from the 4th game. The first three games all went to 50 minutes, and two of them ended in backdoors, and while flashy, they should never happen in a competitive environment with a good shotcaller. Their baron control was abysmal as well, even though they were so far ahead, DIG kept taking the barons and keeping themselves in the game. For a team that's hoping to make worlds, that's not the level of play they should have. I think Curse is looking MUCH stronger than TSM is heading into the semis.

Irvine Saix2 votes

Finally I'm not the only one thinking Curse deserves a spot or at least a mention on the power rankings. They have absolutely exploded as a team the last few weeks and I can't wait to see what happens when they face C9 this Sunday. #elephantonfire #letitburn

Bloodtotemz4 votes

I have to disagree with you on Curse looking stronger, both teams didnt really face strong competition.

Dig is a team full of solo Q stars because of their stream and have never really been a solid team other than in the beginning of the split when everyone was coming back from either a roster change or some sort of real world set back.

CLG, a team that was supposed to come back super saiyan, didnt and was really weak at that, they clearly didnt fully resolve their issue and never had a solid plan going into any of their matches, they got beaten at champ select every game.

i think both TSM and Curse doesnt deserve spots on this list as of yet because they havent face true competition which they will face this weekend. Time will tell if the Curse hype is real or if Cloud 9 will stomp their face in like they do in all NA playoffs.

Derpus the Fifth5 votes

While neither team faced really strong opponents, Curse at least looked solid against CLG, where TSM looked like trash against DIG. DIG got 9/10 barons in that series. TSM gave up 90% of the Barons taken in their series. That's horrible. TSM got jerked around the baron pit and responded to Zion's split push the same way a solo Q team would. At least Curse looked good taking down CLG. If TSM doesn't shape up they're going to get 3-0'd by LMQ and most likely get 3-0'd by the loser of C9/Curse.

Menbung1 votes

A team that can still win after losing 90% of barons is doing a bad job at taking baron but probably doing everything else very well.. Not a document for success but it worked.. just imagine if they keep the rest of the game going well and take 50% of barons.

darklingsshadow

It seems as if all the top 4 NA teams deserve a spot in the rankings now, since they have shown themselves to be on such even footing. Curse has been part of the only two 3-0's in the NA playoffs, while TSM has gone on to defeat both LMQ and C9 3-2. LMQ then had a comeback 3-2 win against Curse. Purely based off of results, the NA teams look just about even in skill level, even if their talents shine in different areas.

AverageTurtle2 votes

TSM has been on this list for six weeks now. Their playoff performance in that series also did not very accurately reflect what they are able of doing. They are expected to show up at the LMQ match.

Junebuck2 votes

But yet you fail to credit TSM for their own achievements that ended up winning the three games necessary to get in the semis. I do agree that Curse looked stronger overall, but TSM did some great playmaking (most notably teamifght disengages) and I think it's unfair to say that TSM really didn't play well. They SOMEHOW had to win those games. This is coming from someone who watched the whole event LIVE and not on Twitch.

TurbinePro8 votes

just curious, what does "not from twitch" have to do with anything....

Meanie404 votes

Curse will be able to prove it all in the 3rd place match against TSM.

ploki1222 votes

You're cute, C9's going down (I don't believe so, but strongly hope)

Bloodtotemz3 votes

Well this guys was COMPLETELY wrong. GG Cloud 9

Jathiel1 votes

Cloud 9 just stomps everybody. I think CRS has a shot vs. LMQ, but they will have to fix their pick/ban phase, and show some strong early games.... Exactly what they did not do vs. C9.

DPRK Rammus Ram1 votes

I think we're all missing the point here. The Curse and TSM matches shouldn't affect rankings because Curse is destined to take 4th and TSM to go to worlds and fail to beat any Korean teams. CLG and Dig didn't stand a chance against that kind of inevitability.

DarkestDreams241 votes

Do you still think this after yesterday sir?

Soley5 votes

Someone really likes Alliance... They move up without even playing...

Fiet2 votes

they moved up because other teams higher then them previous weeks looked worse then them this week it's totally legit. So it's not really that they moved up, Najin white shield just moved down. Also Najin white shield should have a -1 next to their name.

Gaxx D6 votes

So did C9 and LMQ, both moving 2 spots, even though none of these teams played in 4 weeks. I don't see you bitching about that?

Thingi1 votes

Exept this haven't been updated since they actually did play in the finals of EU. Sooo.. your point is invalid :i Alliance looking stronger and stronger and moving up because of that.

Leon9872 votes

Just of you to know Power Rankings DID update on Wednesday 21.08 3 days after EU LCS finals. So yeah ALL moved up without even playing. Your point is invalid. P.S. look previous Power Rankings

ARCDRlVEFlNISH4 votes

Wait...cloud 9 above Jin Air Stealths?

PadreSibyla3 votes

As much as I would like to see SKT T1 K in worlds, I think they don't deserve to qualify anymore after Samsung White sweeped them 3-0. They don't seem to be the same team that dominated S3. KT arrows or Najin white shield should take the last spot for worlds. They might have a better showing than what SKT has right now.

Necropolistic4 votes

While I agree the KT Arrows are in a better position to represent Korea at worlds at this moment, don't for a second think that Shield would do a better job than K. Yes, K got stomped 3-0 but they played a team in contention for best in the world, and almost every other team in the world would meet the same fate. In other news, T1 K stomped najin black sword 3-0 who in turn beat out shield to get to that finals in NLB so while K may look weak against White, there's still no chance they couldnt beat Shield.

PadreSibyla1 votes

Najin White Shield won against the world #1 KTA. So we'll see who qualifies for worlds tomorrow

Gaxx D2 votes

Winning one OGN championship doesn't make you #1 in the whole world, korean dickrider.

Pewyr1 votes

They're still playing at relatively the same level in mid lane, jungle, and ADC. Support and Top not as much, but Samsung White/Ozone has always been strong against SKT K.

Skumfúk2 votes

faker died every game 1 v 1 against pawn.. hes just to arrogant

TauNoob13 votes

"LMQ faces Team SoloMid in the first semifinals series on Saturday. Going into the best of five as the clear favor LMQ routed TSM 4-0 during the regular season" LMQ "as the clear favorites" against TSM, yeah there's something seriously wrong there...

heyitsRengar3 votes

The amount of TSM fans are unreal

Slashiroth3 votes

ALL > SK > C9 > FNC

Thats the real order

im Cris1 votes

SK before FNC and C9? What are you smoking, because I want some.

Englishh1 votes

excuse me, but your list is incorrect TSM > Every other team. Kappa

Phoenix Kotori 2 votes

Welp too bad rito didn't make this a bit later, since KTA were crushed by White Shield today item 3070.

Can't wait to see how much Shield Ryze in the ranks next week after they qualify for worlds tomorrow, since they're extremely favored over SKT now.

Phoenix Kotori 1 votes

Yup can't wait to see how this impacts the rankings!

VegitaTarble2 votes

Just saying but EDG has a really good records in scrims against top Korean teams and Korean teams take scrims very seriously.

Jathiel1 votes

TSM are entirely undeserving of their spot on this list. I feel this panel looks at results all too often, rather then looking at how those results came to be. TSM did not play well vs. a DIG team that has been playing poorly as well. I am not saying CRS deserves their spot (yet) but TSM is not the 19th best team in the world right now.

killingu651 votes

i couldnt agree more yes curse was under 500 team and that should be ounished but tsm has had alot of lucky wins and shouldnt have won any of those first three games against dignitas one for 12 on barons reliannce on digs support to throw games he was awful in that series zion destroying dyrus, turtle playing well, bjergsen slightly better than shiphtur and crumbz absolutely making amazing look like a bronze player in the entirety of the series like crumbz smite stole a dragon and two barons in one game not to mention crumbz stealing amazing jungle from amazings NUNU which is as secure of an objective focused champion as it gets minus chogath ult smite like curse completely made clg look completely helpless and found a way to stop the best bottom lane in the world in aphro doublelift which hasnt been a formula discovered until curse did and dignitas looked alot worse going into the playoffs than clg did. ike there were no bad performances BY ANY CURSE MEMBER while minus bjergsen and wildturtle everyone else looked awful in that series like i dont think youi couldve played better series than curse which definitely dispatched a clg team so hard i mistake them for cloud nine players in disguise and tsm sure as hell aiant better than taipei which would beat them ahq, and looked arguably worse than the international qualifying teams

Meanie401 votes

What happens when it's Blue and White in the finals at Worlds?

Man Nav Pautu1 votes

ugh that would not be cool. Blue - White series happen way too often. I think last 2 splits in Korea there was a teamkill series between them

Skumfúk1 votes

blue have always beaten white #montecristo

OSRS Player1 votes

KT Rolster fan here, I think its ridiculous that EDG is ahead of SKT lololololol

Spirit of Fate1 votes

FNC has also been to worlds 4 times...

Gaxx D4 votes

Not quite, they didn't qualify for season 2 championship.

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