The 2021 League of Legends World Championship group stage is halfway through, and it’s come with plenty of shake ups and surprises already. The League of Legends Pro League and League of Legends Champions Korea are cruising through groups while North America and Europe struggled tremendously in the first round robin.
There are still four days of games left, which leaves plenty of time for underperforming teams to turn things around and those in the lead to stumble. Here are Upcomer’s updated Worlds 2021 power rankings based off of Group Stage performance.
1. DWG KIA (LCK 1st seed)
The defending champions and 2021 Mid-Season Invitational runner ups have come into Worlds ablaze. Kim “Khan” Dong-ha has improved drastically and Heo “ShowMaker” Su is still deathless. They’re unstoppable.
— Parkes “Parqueso” Ousley
2. Edward Gaming (LPL 1st seed)
The LPL first seed has proven that snagging the trophy this summer was no fluke. Zhao “Jiejie” Li-Jie, in particular, is putting on a stellar performance.
— Ousley
3. Royal Never Give Up (LPL 3rd seed)
The 2021 MSI champions haven’t quite reached their peak, but they’re still strong enough to go 3-0 in the first round-robin.
— Ousley
4. T1 (LCK 3rd seed)
T1 have seen unexpected improvement from their jungler so far. Moon “Oner” Hyeon-joon was a bit quiet this summer, but he’s really stepping up when it matters.
— Ousley
5. LNG (LPL 4th seed)
LNG’s topside has impressed all tournament long. It’s a pleasant surprise to see them carry their momentum from play-ins into groups. I’m sure it also helps that MAD and TL are underperforming.
— Nick “Asher” Ray
6. FunPlus Phoenix (LPL 2nd seed)
Yes, FPX haven’t looked nearly as sharp as we know they can be in the group stage, but where have we seen this before? It was the same story in 2019, and they ended up walking away with the trophy. Let’s just see Kim “Doinb” Tae-sang on more impactful picks.
— Ray
7. Gen.G (LCK 2nd seed)
As League of Legends Champions Korea caster Maurits “Chronicler” Jan Meeusen put it in our last power rankings, “Gen.G is going to do the most Gen.G thing possible by making everyone upset by stomping their group and then not doing anything else in the tournament.”
— Ray
8. PSG Talon (PCS 1st seed)
In my Pick’ems, I called out PSG as a team that could very realistically advance to top eight, and they’re doing just that. PSG support Ling “Kaiwing” Kai Wing is confident that they can make a statement at Worlds 2021. They also haven’t moved a spot from our initial Worlds 2021 rankings.
— Ray
9. Hanwha Life Esports (LCK 4th seed)
While Jeong “Chovy” Ji-hoon hasn’t necessarily been bad, as the team’s engine and one of the world’s best, he will need to take his play (in-lane and across the map) to the next level if he wants to make his third straight worlds knockout stage.
— Tyler “Fionn” Erzberger
10. Rogue (LEC 3rd seed)
There have been few better AD carries this event than Rogue’s Steven “Hans Sama” Liv, the French marksman being one of the few silver linings so far for not only Rogue but the entire Western region.
— Fionn
11. Team Liquid (LCS 2nd seed)
After their game versus MAD, they looked like contenders. After their match with LNG, they looked like they didn’t belong in Iceland. After their match with Gen.G, I don’t know what to think anymore.
— Fionn
12. 100 Thieves (LCS 1st seed)
We’re still waiting to see what position substitute player Lil Nas X plays and when he’ll make his Worlds 2021 debut.
— Fionn
13. MAD Lions (LEC 1st seed)
The biggest contender for biggest disappointment of Worlds 2021. Heading into Worlds, they were the hope of the EU. Even though they are 1-2, the group is still up for grabs, but time is running out.
— Warren Younger
14. Cloud9 (LCS 3rd seed)
This team is a mess. Although they were able to stick around in their game against FunPlus Phoenix, they have not shown any consistency.
— Younger
15. DetonatioN FocusMe (LJL 1st seed)
The Wildcard darlings of Worlds 2021. DetonatioN FocusMe are just happy to be here, but they are definitely able to play spoiler in Week 2.
— Younger
16. Fnatic (LEC 2nd seed)
Yep. Their very close back and forth game against PSG Talon makes you wonder what could have been if they had Elias “Upset” Lipp been there instead of their untested rookie, Louis “Bean” Schmitz (who hasn’t been that bad actually).
— Younger
