The LCS heads off to begin Week 9 with many teams realistically fighting for fourth place. FLY, TSM, and EG are all currently tied for second, which means they are all currently at fourth and above. However, 100T and IMT are only one win behind them, and TL would need a 0-2 week by one of the above teams followed by 2-0 of their own to steal fourth. With over half the teams in the LCS actively fighting for something so important, these matches that are typically more throwaway have major impact. There are too many matches that have major impact so watching all the matches this weekend is what you should be doing. With all of that said, here’s how the TGH crew power ranked the LCS teams heading into Week 9.
1. Cloud9
Another undefeated week for Cloud9, who are the undoubted best team in the LCS. They look to match Immortals’ Spring 2016 and TSM’s Summer 2016 record for best split in LCS history at 17-1
- Tyler Dunderdale
2. Team SoloMid
After TSM’s first 1-1 week of the split they find themselves in second place in our power rankings, a lot of this comes off the strength of their wins over C9 and Flyquest in Week 7 as well as their dominant performance against Golden Guardians in their first game of Week 8. We’re willing to look past whatever weakness IMT creates and exploits against them. TSM moves into the final week with a solid shot at securing second place. They will face 100T and DIG and winning both would secure them at least a tiebreaker match against Flyquest if they also win out. As for the third team in second place, EG, TSM has a 2-0 record in the head to head matchup so even if EG pull off the upset against C9 and the win against IMT it wouldn’t matter for TSM’s second place chances.
- Zack Davis
3. Evil Geniuses
What a performance. EG is now tied for second along with TSM and Flyquest. They’re putting all the pieces together at the right time, and other teams are paying for it. Daniele “Jiizuke” di Mauro in particular has reigned in his aggression and is being the explosive midlaner this team needs to fry teams. They’ve got it tough going against C9 this week, but should be able to at least split the week 1-1.
- Dalton Jewell
4. Flyquest
FLY maintains their spot tied for second, but needs to be wary this week. They’ll be playing TL who is looking to rise in the standings to make playoffs. Golden Guardians also shouldn’t be a slouch, as even though they’re practically out of the playoffs, they’ll want to fight for their pride and improvement towards the next split. The only thing that could be cause for alarm was an uncharacteristically bad week from Tristan “PowerOfEvil” Schrage, who will need to regain his top form if this team wants to make noise in the playoffs.
- Dalton Jewell
5. Immortals
Immortals sit solidly in fifth place on our power rankings, between FlyQuest and 100 Thieves. They have been all over the place these last few weeks. Immortals beat TSM, Team Liquid and CLG, but lost to FlyQuest, 100 Thieves and Golden Guardians. With an 8-8 record, Immortals is one win from second, and one win from seventh. These last two matches against Dignitas and Evil Geniuses will dictate if Immortals makes playoffs. No one would be surprised to see an 0-2, a 1-1, or a 2-0.
- Thomas Baker
6. 100 Thieves
100 Thieves is still in a dogfight to secure their playoff spot, and last week’s performance did help. While they were thrashed at the hands of C9, they were able to take down what was looking like a strong Flyquest team. This week they’ll play TSM who’s in the fight with them, and CLG. They can’t take either team lightly, especially CLG.
- Dalton Jewell
7. Team Liquid
They are going to have to 2-0 the last week of Spring Split in order to for TL to even have a chance at defending their title. It seems as though burnout has been apparent for the whole team and maybe a long break is exactly what they need.
- Robert Hanes
8. Golden Guardians
Unfortunately, the fate of Golden Guardians’ season is no longer in their hands. Losses to Team Liquid and TSM put them in a very difficult spot. Additionally, they looked weak in both losses. With the race tighter than ever, they will most likely finish outside of the top 6.
- James Clee
9. Dignitas
It seems like a long time ago when the Spring Split began and Dignitas looked good. They’re technically not out of the playoff race (they likely won’t make it), but their performances the past few weeks have not sparked joy. They’ve only won twice in the last month, and they’ll need luck to have teams above them lose this week. It started promising for DIG, but this month long stretch has been awful.
- Dalton Jewell
10. Counter Logic Gaming
Of course CLG is still at the bottom of the list. Despite some bright moments from Eugene “Pobelter” Park and a close game against C9 (until it wasn’t) CLG looks bad. There are still salvageable parts to this roster, but if the front office isn’t already throwing names on the white board for some mid season moves, then they certainly should be.
- Zack Davis
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Our voters for LCS Power Rankings: Robert Hanes, Dalton Jewell, Thomas Baker, Thomas Santos, Tyler Dunderdale, Justin Talley, Jordy Monsieurs, Austin Oliver, Richard Imp, Kalae Holck, Mani Dasoju, James Clee, Noah Schaar, Pranav Chaudhari, Niko Sjorgen, JJ Fonseca, Zack Davis