LCK Week 7 stats on Wednesday, but last week threw the standings into a convoluted tie scenario. With 4 teams at a 4-8 record, the power rankings are probably the least clear that they have been since Week 2. With that being said, here is how The Game Haus ranks the LCK teams heading into LCK Week 7.
[Suggested: Check out Week 6’s Rankings!]
10: Hanwha Life Esports (3-9)
Hanwha is so disappointing. Every week it feels like they will finally win some games. Unfortunately, it just never happens. They are either really close series or they get blown out. This week was the blowout variety losing both series 2-0.
Now on paper that is damning, but HLE, unfortunately, needed to play subs due to covid. In their Liiv Sandbox series, their savior samD was the only player not there. Versus T1, they were missing samD, Vsta and OnFleek. Would they have beat T1 with their full roster? Probably not. And versus Liiv there was plenty of other issues with the team besides samD missing.
At the end of the day HLE is not winning, despite how competitive the team may seem at times. As of now, they deserve the 10th place spot.
9: KT Rolster (4-8)
KT has been playing awful. Really no other way to put it. This team somehow beat Gen.G, but then gets slaughtered by the Kwangdong Freecs and Fredit Brion. These series were not close at all. KT just got eviscerated by two teams who they needed wins desperately against.
There isn’t much more to say, KT is just a massive disappointment as per usual.
8: Liiv Sandbox (4-8)
Liiv Sandbox almost won two series this week, pretty impressive when considering they were ranked 10th last week. Now sure, their strength of schedule was weak playing versus Hanwha Life Esports and a struggling Nongshim RedForce, but a win is a win. In a league as top-heavy as the LCK is right now, getting wins versus any of the bottom-half teams has a huge effect on the standings. As a result, Liiv is now in a 4 way win-loss tie. If they got the win versus Nongshim, Liiv would have been in sole possession of 6th place.
This was a great week for the roster. If Liiv can keep this up, they might finagle their way into a playoff spot.
7: Fredit Brion (4-8)
Fredit Brion had a solid week picking up a win against KT and losing 2-1 to DRX. On paper, Fredit Brion is one of the weakest teams in the LCK, so fans should be excited to see the team somehow remaining rather competitive these last two weeks.
The whole team this week in particular stepped it up. This is the best LCK fans have seen Fredit Brion all year. Fredit Brion has a rather easy schedule next week with Hanwha Life Esports and Nongshim. This could easily be a 2-0 and possible sole possession of 5th or 6th place. Crazy to think about.
6: Nongshim RedForce (4-8)
Nongshim has probably had the most unlucky year in the LCK. They had covid hit against cakewalk opponents and lost close series. That being said, the whole squad was FINALLY back for a full week and they did alright. They lost 2-0 to Gen.G, which while still disappointing, isn’t too shocking. Gen.G is just really good. The good thing for Nongshim fans is that they beat Liiv Sandbox. Was it clean? No. But the team needed this win for their morale.
Nongshim has a great roster and has shown glimpses of what they could do before the covid weeks. Fans should hope to see that form of Nongshim again if it can reappear these next few weeks.
5: Kwangdong Freecs (5-7)
Kwangdong Freecs are somehow in sole possession of 5th place. For weeks straight, they were the punching bag of every power rankings. Making fun of Kwangdong was so easy to do. They made TSM look like World Champions.
Then suddenly, Kwangdong turned it all around. They went on a 4 game winning streak. And while these were easier opponents, they still won. Furthermore, FATE, Ellim and Hoit actually started playing League of Legends instead of calibrating their monitors to black and white. Hoit in particular has been the most impressive with his incredibly impressive Nautilus. Teams are now even target banning the pick.
In this week’s games, the Freecs beat KT while losing to Damwon Kia. Honestly, based on the last couple of weeks, these were expected results. The analyst for both English and Korean broadcasts all picked Kwangdong to beat KT. From the worst team in the LCK to 5th in just three weeks. Mind-boggling.
4: DRX (7-5)
DRX were in a weird spot heading into Week 6. They were on a massive winning streak that was suddenly abrupted by HLE of all teams. So Week 6 was a test of if DRX could keep winning after momentum ended. The answer to that is, well, somewhat. DRX did go 1-1 this week and the results were as expected. They beat Fredit Brion and lost to Gen.G. The issue is that they almost lost to Fredit Brion and then got slaughtered by Gen.G.
The issue is that this week’s performance just leaves DRX fans feeling yucky. For a team that relied so much on momentum, it really does feel like the brakes have been put on. DRX has two give-me games next week. They need to beat both KT and Liiv Sandbox in a convincing fashion in LCK Week 7.
3: Damwon Kia (7-5)
Damwon Kia feels like they are stuck in this purgatory between Gen.G and whoever is in fourth. They are clearly not as good as Gen.G or T1, but they are also much better than anyone beneath them. As a result, they just feel stagnant. This isn’t to say they haven’t improved. Burdol for instance has shown massive signs of improvement over the split. The issue is that growth isn’t enough to compete with either Gen.G or T1 leading to that feeling of stagnation.
Damwon beat Kwangdong 2-0 and lost to T1 2-0. It feels wrong trash-talking a team like Damwon who is so clearly good, but they need to do something more if they want any chance of actually competing for a title.
2: Gen.G (10-2)
Gen.G did Gen.G stuff this week with another 4-0. Despite having 2 series losses, Gen.G only has 2 less individual game losses then T1. They have lost 7 while T1 has lost 5. The difference isn’t that far apart and unlike T1, Gen.G’s roster had covid issues.
Speaking of T1…
1: T1 (12-0)
As with every week, there isn’t much to say about T1. They are really damn good, but the only matchup that even feels like a competition is this week. Gen.G T1.
Last time these two teams played T1 played their Academy team due to covid issues. Unfortunate, but it was the reality of the situation. This is the first time these two teams will play with, hopefully, their full squads. If there was a single series that fans should watch all year, this is it. How good really is T1 when put against the other best team in Korea?
LCK Week 7 is going to be spicy.
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