The LEC heads into Week 7, and many of the teams remain jockeying for a playoff position. G2 looks to be putting together another impressive run, while Fnatic and OG are tied right alongside them. What’s interesting is to see how MAD, Rogue, and Misfits will jump around the standings, especially with MAD and Rogue facing off. Even with that, it cannot be considered the match of the week as G2 faces not only OG, but also Fnatic in what will be the best way to separate themselves as the true number one overall. With a great schedule lined up for this week, here’s how TGH ranked the LEC teams heading into Week 5.
1. G2
Thanks to the GrabbZ interview via PGL, I don’t think G2 failed their Week 4/5 anymore. It helps that we got their attitude coming into the split, and what Week 4 did for them. It seems now that G2 decided to just play the game and not worry about being serious or tactical. Week 6 could be a farce since they played lesser teams, but their level of dominance was certainly a good return to form. This week will show us against Origen and Fnatic. Everyone should be excited for these two matches.
– Mani Dasoju
T2. Origen
Origen looked much better this past week, and while they’ve been a consistently good team, there were some individual components that were worrisome. Though it was against weaker competition, if they can carry the bravado they showed last week into their match with G2, they may be able to separate themselves from being tied with Fnatic.
– Dalton Jewell
T2. Fnatic
Origen gained some ground with their performances last week, but Fnatic still remain primed to challenge for first place. The fact that Oskar “Selfmade” Boderek and Tim “Nemesis” Lipovšek are becoming more and more comfortable as the weeks go on should be worrisome to the rest of the League. They should have an easy warm-up against SK before taking on G2 in their chance to prove what they’re capable of.
– Kalea Holck
4. Misfits
Via LolEsports Flickr
Coach Amazing said it best: Misfits just seem to be behind the meta at the moment. Against Fnatic, they put themselves into a high pressure situation through the draft. They were forced into building a huge lead early but were unable to do so before Fnatic came online. Against SK, they executed their draft successfully yet a single mistake almost cost them the entire game. It’s nerve-wracking that a team of rookies depends on the early game synergy of their core members. It forces them to stay ahead of their opponents in both meta and gameplay. Last week proves that when that doesn’t happen, things can easily go very wrong. Misfits will make the playoffs, but to go deep in them they’ll need to find a better level of consistency by then.
– Joaquin Suárez
5. Rogue
Rogue is in a difficult spot. They are currently almost the gatekeepers of the LEC. They beat the teams around them and below them, while losing to everyone at the top of the table. Significant growth will be needed for them to morph into a contender and they can prove it this week if they go 2-0.
– Aaron Preuss
6. Mad Lions
Even though MAD is still in 5th place, they are plummeting when it comes to assessed strength. With an 0-2 head-to-head record against Excel, MAD has to seriously fear losing their playoff spot. The biggest problem for Mad Lions remains their weak early game. While they are able to eke out victories against lesser teams through proficient teamfighting, against the top half they rely on the enemy team to not get too big of a lead. Aspiration is a playoff spot. For that to happen they need to improve on the first 10 minutes. Right now, Excel is a stronger team, which could leave MAD at 7th place right outside of playoffs.
– Noah Schaar
7. Excel Esports
Excel had an interesting week, falling to Rogue but defeating MAD. These are the two teams ranked directly above Excel, which fits perfectly with their current standings for now. It looks very possible that Excel could overtake MAD if they continue playing to their strengths, but their remaining opponents certainly won’t make it easy.
– Dalton Jewell
8. FC Schalke 04
Schalke faced two top teams in OG and Fnatic last week and the results showed, another 0-2 week. However, they’ve consistently raised their performance since bringing up Lukas “Lurox” Thoma and Nihat “Innaxe” Aliev. This week they’ll be able to flex their improvement against MAD and SK, two teams much closer to their skill level.
– Dalton Jewell
9. SK Gaming
First, the good news: SK traded blow for blow with G2 in the early game. Bad news now: after about 12 minutes, that trading stopped and G2 absolutely steamrolled SK. Then against Misfits this team didn’t really perform in the early game but was tenacious enough to hang around, even with kills becoming lopsided. With another top-tier match set against Fnatic, SK should start learning how to teamfight as the game gets later, but if they don’t they won’t be moving in these rankings any time soon.
– Dalton Jewell
10. Team Vitality
Vitality continues their run at the bottom of the power rankings, fueled by another 0-2 week. They didn’t have easy opponents, but at this point it’s clear that Vitality just won’t be putting it together this year. This team still isn’t sure which support, Pierre “Steeelback” Medjaldi or Jakub “Jactroll” Skurzyński, should be starting and with losses across the board the answer won’t come easily.
– 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
