Mid-spring LCS power rankings: Who can beat Team Liquid?

The League of Legends Championship Series is currently experiencing one of its most exciting seasons yet. Between Team Liquid and Cloud9 showcasing stacked rosters and key upsets happening almost every week, it’s a great time to be a League fan in North America. It feels like any team can win on any given day -- unless you’re TSM -- and there’s nothing better for fans of the league. Even so, a hierarchy has been set halfway through the season and here’s how the teams stack up.

1. Team Liquid

Team Liquid is enjoying a season fitting of a superteam. Despite having the same record as Cloud9 -- and also dropping games to lower ranked teams -- Team Liquid’s peak performance is without a doubt the best in the league. Gabriel “Bwipo” Rau slipped back into the top lane with ease and has been a complete rock for the team while Soren “Bjergsen” Bjerg and Steven “Hans sama” Liv distinguish themselves as the best carry duo in the league. The bot lane situation has been a bit unstable with support Jo “CoreJJ” Yong-in missing a few games, but support Bill “Eyla” Nguyen has been top tier in his own right when called to substitute.

2. Cloud9

Fans were concerned when Cloud9 suddenly parted ways with head coach Nick “LS” De Cesare -- especially after bringing exciting picks like Soraka mid to the league -- but it’s clear that the roster’s individual talent is more than enough to take this team to the top. Park “Summit” Woo-tae was one of the most talented top laners in League of Legends Champions Korea (LCK) last year, and he continues to prove that he is likely the best in North America, creating so much pressure that his carry lanes can often operate with ease. Ibrahim “Fudge” Allami’s role-swap to mid lane has also gone off without a hitch, making Cloud9’s solo lane combo one of the most exciting to watch thus far.

3. 100 Thieves

100 Thieves are in third place, but only because the competition is so stiff this season. When considering the overall consistency and peak of the roster in its wins, it’s fair to overlook losses against turbulent teams like Dignitas in the meantime. Even so, 100 Thieves will have to adjust if they want to keep pace with Team Liquid’s superteam and Cloud9’s meteoric rise to the top. With Can "Closer" Çelik still being arguably the best jungler in the league and Kim “Ssumday” Chan-ho having one of his best LCS seasons thus far, 100 Thieves will always have those points of power in a long season.

Photo by: Colin Young-Wolff / Riot Games via ESPAT

4. Golden Guardians

Stay gold, Golden Guardians. Golden Guardians were far from profiling as a top-tier contender, but it might be time to start considering the potential of their roster. Lawrence “Lost” Hui and Kim “Olleh” Joo-sung have been a surprisingly potent duo thus far, pushing more established bot lanes to the limit for cheap early game leads. Bot lane control always makes things easier for LCS teams and that’s especially the case for Golden Guardians, who are also enjoying the blossoming of sophomore mid lane star Nicholas “Ablazeolive” Abbott. Golden Guardians lack the consistency to pick up wins against the Team Liquids of the world every week, but it’s great to have middling teams that keep the top on their toes.

5. FlyQuest

FlyQuest started the season strong with Colin “Kumo” Zhao often leading the charge from the top lane, but strength of schedule and a general downturn in play have FlyQuest near the middle of the league after starting 5-1. Even so, Flyquest are still punching above their weight with a seldom exciting, but always satisfactory style that checks their opponent’s side wave control. Loïc "toucouille" Dubois is the team’s greatest surprise thus far as he continues to perform well as a scaling mid laner that holds down the fort for Kumo’s endless assault on side lane towers.

6. Dignitas

It feels like Dignitas always starts the season hot before eventually flaming out and gatekeeping the bottom half of the league. Kim “River” Dong-woo continues to lead the charge, but targeted Jarvan IV bans have clearly hindered both his personal performance and the team’s overall performance since Week 2. At the end of the day, though, Dignitas hardly lacks for firepower with Toàn “Neo” Tran still silently being one of the best AD carries in the league and mid laner Ersin “Blue” Gören being the stable force the team needs.

7. Evil Geniuses

Evil Geniuses’ performance thus far has to be among one of the most surprising. They hardly look weak compared to the field, but there is a lack of consistency in their play that makes the lineup less potent than the individual talent would have you assume. Even then, it’s clear that Evil Geniuses are not far behind teams like Dignitas, Flyquest and Golden Guardians. They just can’t afford to lose to teams like Counter Logic Gaming when the league is as competitive as it is right now.

8. Immortals

Immortals are yet another 4-5 LCS team nipping at the heels of whichever teams own the last few playoff spots. The current formula relying on Tristan “PowerOfEvil” Schrage’s scaling champion pool is a relatively reliable one -- especially when he gets to play Orianna or Viktor -- but similar to TSM last year, lacks a bit of punch against more aggressive teams. It’s that general lack of proactivity that has Immortals near the bottom of the power rankings, but a shift in playstyle could easily propel the team to FlyQuest’s or even Golden Guardian’s place in the league.

9. Counter Logic Gaming

Counter Logic Gaming are near the bottom of our power rankings, but not without their fair share of positive performances this season. With a roster largely focused on Academy level talent, it’s not surprising that Counter Logic Gaming have struggled to keep pace with the league this early into the season. Even so, the team continues to nail key wins against teams like Evil Geniuses and TSM, while also reasonably challenging the top, even taking a game against Cloud9 a couple of weeks ago. It’s hard to say whether CLG will make its way to the middle of the pack, but it’s also clear that they’re far from being locked into a bottom-tier team.

10. TSM

Disaster is the only word that can describe TSM’s spring split performance. TSM decided to take a new approach to roster building this season by signing talent from China’s League of Legends Pro League, but communication has clearly been an issue for the historically top-tier organization -- both in-game and out of it. Support Wei “Shenyi” Zi-Jie was subbed out for support Wang “Yursan” Shen-Yu after the team’s rough start, but that change hasn’t made a difference. TSM doesn’t appear to lack the talent to at least challenge the middle of the league, but the lineup definitely lacks a solid direction and is struggling to maintain any form of identity this season at 1-7.

Lead photo by: Tina Jo / Riot Games via ESPAT