BREAKING UPDATE: The LEC has suspended the 2020 Spring Split indefinitely due to health concerns over the coronavirus.
Important update about the #LEC pic.twitter.com/WSOZEQ21MZ
— LEC (@LEC) March 13, 2020
The LEC heads into Week 8 and there were some riveting games played last week. G2 took down their competition, cementing themselves as the number one. Fnatic and OG look to battle it out as the number twos, while Rogue and Misfits are right there. Teams didn’t end up moving much in both the standings and the rankings, but that’s just a testament to how close this split has been. With more great matches with playoff position meaning coming this week, here’s how the TGH crew ranked the LEC heading into Week 8.
1. G2
After G2 has decided to return to style and play for fun, there was such an important weekend to test them against their rivals, and they absolutely performed. In both the OG and FNC games, they played aggressively and made the usual errors with overstaying or being greedy for kills. In the OG game, they played with a counter strategy that worked. For the FNC game, they had so many equal trades to help keep the game at a standstill so they could build up leads elsewhere. G2 has found their new groove and will have a good chance against the next teams they face, only Misfits and MAD have a chance at beating this version of G2 in my opinion.
- Mani Dasoju
2. Fnatic
Fnatic split the week, able to take down SK gaming with a strange draft. This sort of strategy would be the beginning of their downfall against G2, as they allowed themselves to be banned and counter picked aggressively. All said and done, Fnatic are pretty much solidified in the number two slot along with OG. Strong individual play gives them the leg up in these rankings.
- Dalton Jewell
3. Origen
Origen split the week, taking out Misfits and falling to the leading powerhouse of G2. It seems the key to Origen’s performance may be in their midlaner, as Erland “Nukeduck” Holm had a split week himself. When he’s on, OG is on, and they should be able to pad the stats against Vitality and SK this week.
- Dalton Jewell
T4. Misfits
Now that the split is coming to a close, there are two perspectives applicable to Misfits as a team. On the one hand, a group of rookies and a single veteran managed to rise through the ranks of the most competitive of the major leagues. Misfits has surpassed all expectations and proven their potential beyond a shadow of a doubt. On the other hand, however, with how much potential this team has showed, it would break my heart if they were simply the “bridge” between the rest of the league and “the big three”.
Several problems, mainly concerning the drafts and minor mistakes caused by the inexperience of the players means that a deep run in playoffs will be difficult. FNATIC, Origen and G2 look undeniably stronger, and though the playoff spot is basically guaranteed Misfits are a likely candidate to be eliminated in the first rounds. Right now, from the very same coaching staff that did such a great job bringing the team together I demand more. Better drafts, with clear win conditions, more comfort picks, experiment and abuse. Misfits have to go beyond consistency and fundamentals.
- Joaquin Suárez
T4. Rogue
Strong performance from Rogue this week, dealing with Vitality as they should and manhandling Mad Lions. It’s a promising sign of what this team can do under the right circumstances. They’ll look to carry that momentum into the buzzsaw that is Week 8, facing G2 and Fnatic.
- Aaron Preuss
6. Mad Lions
MAD Lions did not show anything new this week. Once again 1-1. Luckily for them, Excel´s schedule is very hard, so MAD has high chances of getting into playoffs. Power-ranking MAD is a little bit of an enigma. I would still put them below Excel, as they lost the head-to-head, but because of the strength of schedule MAD will still make it as the 6th seed.
- Noah Schaar
7. Excel Esports
Excel’s week went just about as expected, losing to a better Misfits squad and taking out Vitality. Tore “Tore” Hoel Eilersten looked much better on a more traditional support in Nautilus over Galio, but his performance is key to building his ADC a lead.
- Dalton Jewell
8. FC Schalke 04
Schalke is looking better and better every week. Felix “Abbedagge” Braun and Nihat “Innaxe” Aliev can be huge potential carries if the team surrounds them properly. This current team looks like it can make playoffs and expose some of the better teams.
- Dylan Balos
9. SK Gaming
SK seem to be falling more and more in their match performance, but still find themselves above Vitality for now. One big issue that was highlighted last week was their ability to feed the other team’s carry. Against Fnatic, the opposing adc went 9-0-4 and against Schalke the opposing Sett went 8-2-5. If they want to improve they’ll need to limit the abilities of their lane opponents.
- Dalton Jewell
10. Team Vitality
As expected Vitality dropped both of their games last week, but a top performer on the squad was new addition Marcin “Selfie” Wolski. He was a clear upgrade over Lucas “Saken” Fayard, who now finds himself on the academy team while Vitality look to shore up their team cohesion.
- 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