Esports

NA LCS Week 3 Power Rankings | The Heist is On

07/04/2018

After the third week, the North American League of Legends Championship Series looks as competitive as ever. Four teams are in a tie for first, and three teams are in a tie for second. Will any of the top teams gain any breathing room in the coming weeks? Or will some of these middle-of-the-pack teams push for a top spot themselves? Everything is still up for grabs, and nothing is for certain. It’s time to update the NA LCS Power Rankings for Week 3.

Biggest jump: 100 Thieves, Team Solo Mid [⬆ 3]
Biggest drop: Counter Logic Gaming [⬇ 3]

1. Team Liquid (4-2) [↔️]

Not the way they wanted to enter Rift Rivals, but TL fans don’t need to worry: Team Liquid still looks like the best team in North America. Even though they lost against Clutch, they went on to solidify themselves as the best in the region with a win against Echo Fox. Now they’ll have a chance to score some bragging rights against the rivals across the sea.

2. Echo Fox (4-2) [↔️]

This week has the Fox stumbling a bit going forward. Losing to Team Liquid goes to show that Echo Fox still has some kinks to work out coming into week four. TL has taken the crown as the best team in North America, for now. However, with Rift Rivals starting very soon, they have time to try out some new strategies and iron out any wrinkles before heading back stateside.

3. 100 Thieves (4-2) [⬆ 3]

The Heist was back on for Aphromoo and the boys this weekend. 100 Thieves were able to impress with great wins against Clutch Gaming and a 10-0 smackdown versus OpTic. Ssumday was looking unstoppable for 100T, and the team seemed to be on track once again.

However, a big question mark was raised with the whole Meteos trade situation. I am not completely sold on Levi playing on this team, and I think communication problems with your jungler can only spell bad news. Ssumday looks to be one of the most important players on the team, yet 100T swap him for an Academy top laner in Brandini. 100 Thieves also confirmed they would be starting AnDa for week four of the LCS. It will be interesting to see how they balance their lineup with three imports.

4. Team Solo Mid (4-2) [⬆ 3]

TSM fans have nothing to fear this season, except Clutch Gaming. They were able to win a decisive game against Golden Guardians. They also had a good comeback win against Cloud9 with the return of Jensen and Smoothie. Team Solo Mid seems to be cruising along in the regular season, as per usual. This upcoming break for Rift Rivals will also be great to regroup and plan for the next weekend of games. Coming up next week is a huge challenge though, with games against two of the top teams in Echo Fox and the rising 100 Thieves. If they can manage another 2-0 week, you can probably start wearing your TSM jerseys in public again.

5. Clutch Gaming (3-3) [⬇ 1]

People seem to regularly underrate Clutch Gaming. I’ve been guilty of this myself. Maybe it’s time for this team to be taken a little more seriously after a decisive victory against Team Liquid. That said, a loss to 100 Thieves, an arguably worse team than TL, shows that Clutch Gaming still have a ways to go. Clutch has a pretty easy week four coming up against the Golden Guardians and OpTic Gaming, so watch for CG to hop up in the standings and in our NA LCS Power Rankings.

6. Counter Logic Gaming (3-3) [⬇ 3]

CLG had a couple of good looking matchups this week to gain some ground on their competition. OpTic Gaming is one of the weaker teams in the LCS right now, and FlyQuest was arguably the worst team in the league. Their game against OpTic went just as planned, but FlyQuest was able to surprise them with a relatively strong performance. CLG showed this week that they still have trouble transitioning from the mid-to-late game. They will need to get things together if they hope to challenge Echo Fox in week four.

A mediocre week coupled with other teams showing marked improvement resulted in CLG dropping down in our Week 3 Power Rankings.

7. FlyQuest (3-3) [⬆ 2]

Are we witnessing the rise of FlyQuest? Is JayJ the savior this team needs? Two very convincing wins against the Golden Guardians and Counter Logic Gaming are giving people a little bit of hope for this squad. I will give them this: they looked like a completely different team than they did in prior weeks. However, I am not completely sold. It is easy to say that FlyQuest only won their games this week because of off days from both CLG and GGS. They need to show fans a little more consistency in the next few weeks for them to really move up our NA LCS Power Rankings. They will have a real test of strength next week when they go head-to-head against Team Liquid.

8. Golden Guardians (2-4) [⬇ 3]

We said last week that if Lourlo and Contractz can stay steady with their play, GGS would be a great candidate for a playoff position. Well, they have completely let me down this week. TSM and FlyQuest were able to make quick work of them, with FLY actually beating them in under 30 minutes. Here’s to hoping this was just an off week for GGS, although their players are known for being inconsistent with their play.

9. OpTic Gaming (2-4) [⬇ 1]

OpTic looks pretty weak right now. I am not sure whether or not to blame their lack of an in-game leader or what looks like a lack of cohesion between team members. It honestly may be a mixture of both. PowerOfEvil has not been blossoming into the leader he could be, and the rest of the lineup looks lost. They have also resorted to switching around their lineup by placing Gate in the jungle. However, not every team can be successful in manipulating the meta, and it showed. OpTic Gaming is looking like a team who will skirt the bottom of the NA LCS Power Rankings this season.

10. Cloud9 (1-5) [↔️]

Jensen and Smoothie are back, but it has not done Cloud9 a lot of good. They continue to struggle, especially with their experimental lineup with Goldenglue in the bottom lane with Smoothie. It’s hard to determine exactly how they plan to fix their problems and whether they have any plans of returning Sneaky to the main roster. Maybe if they add him back to the lineup, they can go on some kind of run to squeeze into the playoffs. As of right now, it’s not looking good at all.

What do you think of our Week 3 NA LCS Power Rankings? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below! If you missed the Week 2 edition, check it out here!