League of Legends

LoL global and regional power rankings for Mar. 14

LCK teams capitalize on the LPL's weird week of games and rise in the rankings as C9 sneak in

03/14/2022

Provided by Riot Games Cloud9's win streak has earned them a place in the global top 10 this week

Things are heating up in the major regions as most leagues are looking toward playoffs — though the League of Legends European Championship is in playoffs mode already. With this in mind, Upcomer once again gathers its biggest brains together to decide the delicate positions of top 10.

The first thing to note is that the absence of LEC teams isn’t due to weakness, but rather the fact that their playoffs don’t start until March 25. We firmly believe the LEC’s top teams, such as Fnatic or Rogue, can contest for top 10, and we will look to welcome them back once playoffs begins.

Otherwise, T1 continues to reign as the demonic overlord of the League of Legends Champions Korea with a few teams stepping up to challenge them. Meanwhile, the Chinese League of Legends Pro League has been their usual self: volatile, except for Victory Five.

With us welcoming a new face from our NA brethren too, let’s dive in to who we think are the top 10 teams globally this week.

10. Weibo Gaming, LPL

Record: 10-4 (21-14) | Results this week: 0-2 (0-4) | Movement: -7

Just like they climbed up impressively in the LPL rankings, Weibo Gaming were at a third position in our ranking last week. Back then, a loss against Royal Never Give Up was possibly forgivable, but their series against LNG Esports should have been a red flag.

During their last week of play, Weibo Gaming have now lost to both Top Esports AND Rare Atom. This suggests that they’re much weaker than their ranking and 10-4 record may indicate.

However, they’re still a top team in the LPL and have really strong players like Kang “TheShy” Seung-lok. Tenth feels like a fair place considering both their strength and recent performances — though they might thank Fnatic for not playing this week.

— Brieuc “LEC Wooloo” Seeger

9. Cloud9, LCS

Record: 11-2 | Results this week: 2-0 | Movement: new

Cloud9 have continued their win streak into Week 6 of the LCS and don’t look like they have been challenged since they started. With an impressive stretch of victory, and with a win over Team Liquid, Cloud9 slot into the bottom end of the power rankings.

Congratulations to @C9Summit on winning the @MastercardNexus Player of the Week for week 6 of the 2022 #LCS Spring Split! pic.twitter.com/DwFIqUijVK

— LCS (@LCSOfficial) March 14, 2022

A big pillar of the team’s strength right now is their top laner, Park “Summit” Woo-tae. He has been smashing his lane opponents (averaging positive statistics in every differential) while also playing champions that help him control teamfights with the rest of the team.

— Declan McLaughlin

8. Edward Gaming, LPL

World Champions Edward Gaming remains in the top 10 for this week | Provided by Edward Gaming via Twitter

Record: 9-5 (21-12) | Results this week: 1-0 (2-1) | Movement: –

Edward Gaming came off their most embarrassing loss of the season at the start of Week 8 against Anyone’s Legend. However, in the time that has passed since that loss and this week’s global power ranking, EDG actually went undefeated in series wins. Still, that isn’t saying much. Their one game on the schedule was against the middle-of-the-pack BLG squad. Credit to EDG, though, for pulling off the 2-1 victory to get back into the winner’s lane.

EDG’s star mid laner Lee “Scout” Ye-chan had a good series, as he picked up both of EDG’s player of the game honors. This actually puts him tied for the league lead at 10. The team is still far from their Worlds 2021 champion form, but this is a step in the right direction.

— Warren Younger

7. DRX, LCK

Record: 11-5 (22-15) | Results this week: 2-0 (4-1) | Movement: new

DRX have been in and out of the top 10 due to inconsistent performances week to week and the rise of other teams in western and LPL. But this week, they put together a consistent showing with a 2-0 week against the bottom of the LCK table after doing the same the week prior.

DRX have found a consistent groove and are dealing with the bottom and mid table of the LCK like a true playoff contender. While most weeks it’s a toss up between DRX or DWG KIA for the third-best LCK squad, DWG KIA did us a favor and ran into Gen.G this week, thus falling gracefully outside of this week’s list.

— McLaughlin

6. JD Gaming, LPL

Record: 9-5 (22-12) | Results this week: 2-0 (4-0) | Movement: new

JDG were our team to make 10th last week, actually, but we decided to keep them at 11th and see if they passed our comprehensive and objectively best power ranking test: gut feeling.

Our guts agreed this week that JDG indeed merit a spot in the top 10 based on their sheer consistency, as well them taking down league leaders Victory Five in a shocking 2-0 victory. JDG struggled early this season but they look like they’re beginning to find their groove and reinforce the style they wish to play.

Most eyes would look towards star jungler Seo “Kanavi” Jin-hyeok as the crux of their current rise — though I argue that JDG’s bot lane of Wang “Hope” Jie and Lou “Missing” Yun-Feng are worthy of attention and have provided JDG a solid pressure point in recent matches.

No matter the deficit, no matter the odds, @JDGaming always have Hope! #LPL pic.twitter.com/9d9SeqHx9E

— LPL (@lplenglish) March 4, 2022

However, JDG still have two tough tests before playoffs. They have to face giant slayer Rare Atom and WBG this week. Let’s see what our guts tell us after two more series.

— E.G. “Megalodontus” Kant

5. Top Esports, LPL

Record: 9-5 (20-17) | Results this week: 1-1 (3-2) | Movement: –

Top Esports rode an impressive six-series win streak into Week 8 of the LPL 2022 spring split, which earned them the fifth-place spot on last week’s global power rankings. TES started the new week off with a fantastic 2-0 win against the then LPL frontrunners, Weibo Gaming, which looked fantastic on TES’s chances to improve on their fifth-place ranking. However, there is a reason why they are still only fifth this week.

That’s because in their second series of the week against Invictus Gaming, TES finally saw their win streak snapped at seven when they lost to 1-2. It’s way too early to tell if the loss is meaningful or not, but with two more matches against lesser competition on the schedule, TES need to win out if they want to secure a top-five seed — not only on the global power rankings but also in the LPL.

— Younger

4. Royal Never Give Up, LPL

Record: 10-4 (21-13) | Results this week: 1-1 (2-2) | Movement: -2

“The Church of the Tiger Emperor is a big, fat lie!” I hear some cry, accompanied by the sound of paper tearing. As the mouthpiece in charge of proselytizing the masses, let me explain.

Yes, RNG did uh… stumble against Team WE, the second to last team in the LPL. Yes, mid laner Li “Xiaohu” Yuan-Hao looked more like a tiger cub in those matches than the usual dominating form people are used to (tiger cubs are still adorable, at least). Top teams in the LPL often drop puzzling matches and, in my opinion, Team WE stepped up big and gave a lackluster RNG a big boot up the ars— rear.

Before this loss, RNG have, at times, looked like a top two or three team in the LPL — especially with them taking down both WBG and EDG last week. So, based on that merit, they remain in the top five for this week.

Now with that being said, you lot can stop crying now. And here’s another pamphlet. Services resume against Ultra Prime on March 19th!

— Megalodontus

3. Gen.G, LCK

Record: 13-3 (26-11) | Results this week: 2-0 (4-1) | Movement: +3

In a fictional world without T1, Gen.G sit at a 13-1 series record for this split. T1 are the strongest and most consistent team in the world right now, but Gen.G from the LCK can’t be ignored.

They’ve just had a 2-0 week with one of their opponents being DWG KIA. Gen.G did drop the first game in that former series. However they still won it with Baek “Ophelia” Jin-seong playing in the mid lane instead of Jeong “Chovy” Ji-hoon. This proves that Gen.G isn’t a “Chovy-only” team.

Congratulations to @GenG Peanut for earning his 1,200th LCK kill! 🥳🎉👏

Peanut is 13th on the #LCK All-Time Kill leaderboard! pic.twitter.com/MS8URkA2Lf

— LCK (@LCK) March 12, 2022

This was overall a very strong week for a very strong team from a very strong region, as Gen.G move up three places in the rankings. It’s worth noting, though, that a lot of LPL teams being inconsistent lately did contribute to this change.

— Wooloo

2. Victory Five, LPL

Record: 12-2 (25-11) | Results this week: 2-0 (4-1) | Movement: +2

Victory Five had an eventful week in the LPL. After coming off a scrappy win against Bilibili Gaming in their first contest of Week 8, V5’s jungler Hung “Karsa” Hau-Hsuan, who had an off series against BLG, came down with fever-like symptoms. This caused the LPL to actually postpone their remaining match of the week against Anyone’s Legend. However, to kick off that next week, they were forced to play with their sub-jungler Li “XLB” Xiao-Long in their match against the last-place ThunderTalk Gaming. V5 team didn’t skip a beat as they dismantled TT 2-0.

As the only top LPL team to go undefeated on the week, V5 increased their stronghold on the first seed and now have a two-game lead over second place. V5 only have two games remaining and are likely to be the top team in the LPL heading into the playoffs.

— Younger

1. T1, LCK

T1's Faker giving the thumbs up — Faker giving the thumbs up after their match, which extended T1’s win streak | Provided by Riot Games

Record: 16-0 (32-6) | Results this week: 2-0 (4-1) | Movement: –

T1 continue their march toward an undefeated spring split in the LCK as they stomped on Fredit BRION and Kwangdong Freecs. The perennial LCK playoffs favorites are now two more series away from making history and solidifying their status as the top team in the world.

While they may have a few things to prove come the Mid-Season Invitational, T1 reign supreme again. Their young players thrive around Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok.

As the LPL continues to cannibalize itself, T1’s position at the top remains unchanged.

— McLaughlin