The LEC heads into Week 6 today, and has some fantastic matches this weekend. While no top-tier teams will be facing off against each other, many of the middle-tier teams will be looking to stake their claim towards the upper echelon. With a great schedule lined up for this week, here’s how TGH ranked the LEC teams heading into Week 6.
1. Fnatic
It is the Fnatic way to start out a split looking a wee rough around the edges. Could it be bad meta-reads? Maybe some slight issues working on their synergy? Do they lack team cohesion? One might start to wonder if it is all just a game-plan to them; they make themselves look weaker so that their opponents will start underestimating them. It could be all of the above, but it could also very well just be a coincidence. What we do know is that they always claw their way back to the top. That was once again proven from their 2-0 this week, which have them tied for first. This team will fight dirty and they’ll fight strong. So, LEC, watch out. Fnatic are coming for it.
- Kalea Holck
2. G2
As it stands, it’s hard to say G2 is still the team it was from last year. There’s times they want to go for the ‘troll’ drafts, but in the current meta it’s too risky to do. Week 5 showed them coming back to standard comps and playing a hard game, where they defeated Excel but lost to Mad Lions. I think MAD has become really good, and G2 underestimated them. G2 needs to treat each team fairly and avoid making random plays that don’t ensure their deaths, because that’s been happening a lot. On the other hand, because of Rasmus “Caps” Winther’s playstyle, Marcin “Jankos” Jankowski has a lot of work to do in the early game and that strain puts the game at risk.
- Mani Dasoju
3. Origen
Ever the hallmark of consistency, Origen find themselves comfortably at the top of the standings. It seems this team has a constructive approach to the Spring Split. According to coach André “Guilhoto” Guilhoto, they are experimenting in both drafts and strategies to learn what works and what has potential. This fact is rendered evident when looking at their losses, such as against Misfits or recently vs FNATIC. Even then, the team rarely seems outright outclassed and the players are always capable of bringing some impact to the table. With strong laners throughout on the lineup, it really does seem like Origen has the potential to create opportunities everywhere on the map. Come playoffs, expect this team to become a lot scarier.
- Joaquin Suárez
4. Misfits
Misfits is ranked 4th, but still feel like they have much more to prove. Key areas of improvement would be the team’s consistency and drafts before they can be considered a true top-tier team alongside G2 and Fnatic. Ju “Bvoy” Yeong-hoon and Petr “denyk” Haramach always seem to have a weak laning phase. The team depends on mid game oriented strategies which are weak to stall and have high execution requirements. This team is still poised to make the playoffs, however if they don’t focus on improvement they won’t get far.
- Joaquin Suárez
5. Rogue
Rogue struggled against the skirmish heavy style of FNATIC but had a solid performance against Misfits. They sit in the middle of the power rankings as many view the potential they have in each game, however they’ll need to find a way to consistently access it to be the best versions of themselves.
- Aaron Preuss and Dalton Jewell
6. Mad Lions
MAD Lions continue to show up-and-down performances. The way they lost to Misfits on Friday was concerning. They were not able to withstand the early game pressure. Misfits, Fnatic and Origen are better early game teams and G2 and Rogue are both slightly better teams as well. Which leads to MAD on the bottom half of this week’s rankings.
- Noah Schaar
7. Excel Esports
Excel played two different tiers of teams last week, and got two very different results. They were handily defeated by G2 on the back of a poor performance from Marc Robert “Caedral” Lamont. Against Schalke, Excel started strong, but then began to waver as Schalke’s champs began to scale. Excellent play from Patrick “Patrick” Jírů and Ki “Expect” Dae-han saved the game with a backdoor play. Both matches highlighted the continued weakness as games get later, and Excel will really need to buckle down as they face the two teams ranked above them this week.
- Dalton Jewell
8. FC Schalke 04
Schalke has finally showed up to play and it’s about time. They look much better in both their individual and macro play. If they can keep this up they might be able to steal away 6th place. For now they stay comfortably in 8th and with matches against OG and Fnatic, Schalke will need to play to their strengths.
- Dylan Balos
9. Team Vitality
A 1-9 scoreline can be deceiving. Though it is undeniable that vitality stands as one of, if not the weakest team in the LEC, the gap between them and the rest of the squads is not as wide as it may initially appear. Their performances often leave them just short of a victory, even against some of the top tier teams. Furthermore, due to complications, Vitality is still lacking Aljoša “Milica” Kovandžić, the former midlaner of Giants that had played with Misfits. With some guidance, perhaps from an upgraded coaching staff, the elements would all be there for Vitality to rally and pull off a comeback later in the year.
- Joaquin Suárez
10. SK Gaming
After dropping another 0-2 this past week, SK find themselves at the bottom of the rankings. This week doesn’t offer much hope either, with both G2 and Misfits on tap. Much like Schalke’s early criticisms, the team just seems to be playing individually rather than together. If they can put together half-decent performances this week, they may end up above Vitality once again.
- Dalton Jewell
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Our voters for LCS Power Rankings: Robert Hanes, Dalton Jewell, Thomas Santos, Aaron Preuss, Noah Schaar, JJ Fonseca, Richard Imp, Niko Sjogren, Mani Dasoju, Joaquin Suarez, Kalea Holck