Upcomer is back with the latest iteration of the weekly League of Legends global power rankings. As we make our way through the mid-split checkpoint, regional competition has heated up across the standings during the past week.
This time around, the League of Legends Champions Korea’s Liiv SANDBOX slot their way onto our list after showing promise with their recent 2-0 week. In the League of Legends Pro League, Top Esports’ are finally starting to look as strong as we expected them to be at the start of summer. A 2-0 win against the first place Edward Gaming led the way for TES’ triumphant return to the top three of our ranking after a brief absence. Meanwhile, Rogue remains as the only team from the League of Legends European Championship to stay on the list.
Otherwise, here are the 10 teams that impressed us the most last week followed by our top five regional rankings down below.
10. Liiv SANDBOX, LCK
Record: 5-3 (12-9) | This week: 2-0 (4-2) | Movement: New
Liiv SANDBOX comes into this week’s rankings as part of the back-and-forth League of Legends Champions Korea mid-table. But, unlike their peers in Afreeca Freecs and NongShim REDFORCE, SANBOX are on a hot streak. They have won their past three series, going 2-0 this week, and have only lost against Gen.G since Week 2. The team did go 0-2 in Week 1, but have grown past those losses into another threat to the top LCK squads. Their best players through the win streak have been Lee “Effort” Sang-ho, Park “Summit” Woo-tae and Yoo “FATE” Su-hyeok. However, their recent rise has more to do with team play than individual performances.
The team does own the second highest total deaths and second lowest Kill/Death ratio in the league, but they are in the top four for combined kills per minute, according to Oracle’s Elixir. SANDBOX are also top three in first tower, first three towers and Rift Herald control rate. The team knows how to snowball from the early game and they are not afraid to dive in for fights in a meta where dive is king. They also own the lowest average game time at about 32 minutes. If SANDBOX continue their win streak, they will climb the LCK, and Upcomers, rankings.
— Declan McLaughlin
9. JD Gaming, LPL
Record: 5-3 (12-8) | This week: 2-0 (4-1) | Movement: New
JD Gaming have snuck back on the power rankings after a few weeks off the list following a 2-0 week, including a win over Rare Atom. Before that victory, the only decent team JDG had beaten was Top Esports in the opening week. Otherwise, they had only lost to the other top teams and beat all of the worst of the LPL. However, their series against RA showed their improvement and sets them loosely in the mix of contenders for Worlds.
Fortunately for JDG, they’ve already played the best LPL teams this season. Unfortunately for them, they have all of the “should be strong, but aren’t yet” teams coming up in their schedule. They face Invictus Gaming, Royal Never Give Up and Suning Gaming in the next two weeks.
If JDG want to cement themselves at the top of the standings, they’ll need to win these games. That being said, all of those teams are going to be hungry to claw their way into the LPL playoffs, and it’s hard to imagine RNG will roll over for them, even if they currently sit at 1-5. These next two weeks are incredibly important for JDG, so throw them some attention if you’re looking for an LPL dark horse.
— Parkes Ousley
8. Rogue, LEC
Record: 7-2 | This week: 2-0 | Movement: +1
Rogue climb up the rankings and remain the only Western team on the League of Legends global power rankings. Their presence is no surprise given their consistency in the first half of LEC summer split. They finished Week 4 with another 2-0 record after defeating SK Gaming and spring split champion, MAD Lions.
In the series against MAD, Rogue showed their ability to quickly turn a game around, as they were down four kills in the first 10 minutes. They also showcased their excellent teamfighting prowess, especially around neutral objectives. Rogue’s mid laner, Emil “Larssen” Larsson, proved instrumental to his team’s success with an 8/2/8 KDA on the Orianna.
Moreover, both Steven “Hans sama” Liv and Adrian “Trymbi” Trybus have continued to dominate bot lane in the LEC. While the pair had a rough start in the game against MAD, they still made crucial plays in teamfights. Both players ended with eight kills and 20 assists in total. Aside from their powerful bot lane, the other members of Rogue have also performed well throughout the split. Compared to other teams in the LEC, Rogue look more stable and cohesive. However, they face a tough test of defeating G2 for the first time in Week 5 to maintain an upward trajectory.
— Rashidat Jimoh
7. Gen.G, LCK
Record: 7-1 (14-5) | This week: 1-1 | Movement: -3
Gen.G took a dip in our League of Legends power rankings for two reasons this week: the first, and most obvious, being that more powerful LPL teams are beginning to show their true colors and earn a spot. The second reason is that, despite still having a tight grip on first place in the LCK, third place DWG KIA made quick work of the team in a 2-0 sweep on Sunday.
As the rest of the LCK continues to catch up to them, Gen.G’s style of living and dying by Park “Ruler” Jae-hyuk’s ability to carry is as much a blessing as it is a curse. We’ve seen how it has benefitted them in the past; Ruler still tops the league in damage per minute (645) and overall damage percentage (32.4%) according to Oracle’s Elixir.
With DK on the verge of a possible return to their pre-Mid-Season Invitational form and teams like NongShim REDFORCE and LSB nipping at their heels in the standings, Gen.G can’t be satisfied with superior teamfighting alone. We’ll be keeping a close eye on the Korean frontrunners in hopes for more strategic diversity from the team as Patch 11.13 approaches.
— Nick Ray
6. DWG KIA, LCK
Record: 5-3 (12-9) | This week: 1-1 (3-2) | Movement: –
DWG KIA split their two series this week and showed some growing pains after the players returned to their natural roles. This was their first week back with Jang “Ghost” Yong-jun in the starting rotation and every other player in their natural role. The transition looked rough in their first series loss against NongShim REDFORCE. Ghost and his lane partner, Cho “BeryL” Geon-hee, looked out of sync as they both died to ganks and got caught out multiple times. Their champion picks also did not smooth the transition, with the duo picking up the Senna and Heimerdinger combo again.
DWG KIA’s series against Gen.G was a different story. They swept the first place LCK squad in two convincing games and looked back in form with Ghost playing well on Varus and Jhin. The rest of the team stepped up against tough competition, too, with ShowMaker carrying Game 2 on LeBlanc with 18 kill involvements across the game and a 20 stack Mejai’s Soulstealer by the end of the game. The team showed up in the second half of the week and looked like the DWG KIA of old. If this continues into Week 5 of the LCK, they may climb back to their previous heights in the rankings.
— McLaughlin
5. FunPlus Phoenix, LPL
Record: 5-2 (11-6) | This week: 0-1 (0-2) | Movement: -2
FunPlus Phoenix had a bit of a quiet week with only one series against Invictus Gaming, which they lost 0-2. Fortunately for them, IG has a lot of name value, so losing to IG doesn’t reflect too poorly on them. At the same time, however, IG is chilling along with Royal Never Give Up at the bottom of the LPL after a really rough beginning of the split.
Despite the 0-2, FPX haven’t lost all their thunder. They’re a fast team and play very boldly, which can at times get them in trouble if the early game doesn’t work out. That’s how they lost to IG, but that’s also how they beat RNG and the others.
FPX is now running into an issue, however, where most of their wins are from lower tier teams in the LPL. With Bilibili Gaming and LGD Gaming up this week, they have a good chance to change that narrative. They also need to work on their game plan beyond snowballing off early leads if they want to move up the rankings, especially if they plan to make it to Worlds and get out of the volatile best-of-one group stage.
— Ousley
4. Rare Atom, LPL
Record: 6-2 (13-7) | This week: 1-1 (3-2) | Movement: +1
Like nearly every team in the LPL, Rare Atom had a very eventful week. The marquee matchup of Week 4 in the LPL pitted the undefeated Li-Ning Gaming against RA, two teams that have taken the LPL by storm during the summer split. The series didn’t go to Game 3 like many RA series have, but the 2-0 sweep did go in the favor of RA.
Heading into the matchup, it was LNG mid laner Xie “icon” Tian-Yu leading the MVP standings, and the series against RA did showcase one mid laner outclassing the other. However, it was RA who came out ahead. Chu “FoFo” Chun-Lan won back-to-back player of the game awards in the 2-0 series.
Game 1 was a 46 minute back and forth affair, but the combined team effort by RA (led by FoFo’s 7/2/5 Leblanc) sealed the initial victory. Game 2, meanwhile, was a methodical stomp. At around the 10 minute mark, FoFo opened up the game on Akali, snowballing a double kill into a 8/0/6 final score line in a 30 minute victory.
Despite the win, RA came crashing back down to Earth as their series against Jingdong Gaming didn’t go so well. Game 1 looked like RA were taking the first step into the elite echelon of the LPL as they dispatched JDG in 29 minutes behind another good performance by FoFo and a player of the game worthy performance by support player Fu “Hang” Ming-Hang on Rakan. But games two and three went the complete opposite route. JDG took game two in sub 30 minutes and game three in 34 minutes to pull off the reverse sweep.
RA showed once again they can hang with the big boys and even 2-0 them. But with consistency issues plaguing the team, the enigma of the LPL continues to tread choppy waters at full speed.
— Warren Younger
3. Top Esports, LPL
Record: 4-2 (9-5) | This week: 2-0 (4-1) | Movement: +1
After a few weeks of hovering just below the global top 10, Top Esports have recemented themselves as one of the best teams in the world following a convincing 2-0 over Edward Gaming in Week 4 of the LPL summer split. Top Esports have proven themselves over the past year as an incredible contender but started the summer off a bit slow, with some shaky performances in the new meta after the fall of the Chemtank junglers.
Now, they’ve reestablished themselves and they’re performing well both individually and as a team. This summer, they’ve been playing with a new top laner, Yu “Qingtian” Zi-Han, after picking him up from the famous LDL team, Young Miracles, this May.
Top Esports still has some room for improvement, but they’ve definitely cleaned up their play since the start of the summer, and their 2-0 victory over EDG was rather controlled, which bodes well for their future.
— Ousley
2. LNG Esports, LPL
Record: 7-1 (14-6) | This week: 0-1 (0-2) | Movement: –
LNG Esports still look like a top team in the LPL despite a swift series loss to Rare Atom this week. They looked outmatched at certain points in Game 1 and 2, specifically in the mid lane. But, just like many of the world top teams this week, recording a loss doesn’t move them down far in the rankings. If anything, it solidifies their top second place status in the LPL and our League of Legends power rankings.
Lee “Tarzan” Seung-yong and Xie “icon” Tian-Yu continue to look like a top mid-jungle duo internationally, despite icon’s recent performance taking some shine off of his MVP campaign. LNG’s bot lane also continues to pad their stats with the highest KDA’s on the squad with Wang “Light” Guang-Yu recording a 8.3 KDA and Liao “Iwandy” Ding-Yang clocking in at 6.6 according to Games of Legends.
Their response to a tough loss, however, may decide LNG’s fate in later rankings as they take on 13 placed Ultra Prime in Week 5.
— McLaughlin
1. Edward Gaming, LPL
Record: 8-1 (16-3) | This week: 2-1 (4-2) | Movement: –
Edward Gaming came into the week undefeated and as the top dogs in the LPL. After a hectic, three series slate against Top Esports, Ultra Prime and Oh My God, EDG are no longer undefeated. They did at least save face to remain on the top of the LPL mountain.
Their first series against the bottom dwelling Ultra Prime was uneventful. Both games in the 2-0 stomp were not contentious. EDG bot laner and LPL spring split MVP Park “Viper” Do-hyeon looked particularly dominant, going a combined 17/3/9 in the series on Varus and Kalista.
Their series against TES wasn’t a stomp, but it was a 2-0 — just in the wrong way for EDG. TES snapped EDG’s 7-0 record along with their 14 game win streak. Both games went past the 40 minute mark. EDG did not go quietly.
With all eyes on EDG after their first loss, the 5-2 OMG squad picked a bad time to try to kick EDG while they were down. In what might be the most dominating series from them so far this split, EDG dismantled OMG in two sub-25 minute stomps. OMG failed to take a tower in either game.
That all being said, the death of EDG has been greatly exaggerated. After a shocking loss to end their fourth week, EDG came back and destroyed a good OMG squad to send a message to the world that the path to the LPL championship still runs through Edward Gaming.
— Younger
Regional Rankings
LCS
- 100 Thieves (100)
- TSM (TSM)
- Cloud9 (C9)
- Team Liquid (TL)
- Evil Geniuses (EG)
LEC
- Rogue (RGE)
- Misfits Gaming (MSF)
- Fnatic (FNC)
- MAD Lions (MAD)
- G2 Esports (G2)
LCK
- DWG KIA (DK)
- Gen.G (GEN)
- Liiv SANDBOX (LSB)
- NongShim REDFORCE (NS)
- Afreeca Freecs (AF)
LPL
- Edward Gaming (EDG)
- LNG Esports (LNG)
- Top Esports (TES)
- Rare Atom (RA)
- FunPlus Phoenix (FPX)
