We've altered our format a little bit to help make it easier to see the context of where each team sits in terms of strength. Each set of 10 gets its own category:
No. 1-No. 10 - World Contenders
No. 11-No. 20 - Playoff Contenders
No. 21-No. 30 - Middle of the pack
No. 31-No. 40 - Struggling
No. 41-No. 50 - Bottom of the Barrel
We also added a +/- for each team so you can see their movement from week to week.
Note that LPL did not play last week, and LPL and LMS are off until Feb. 18. As such, some teams which did not play may move up or down depending on the shuffling around them.
World Contenders
1. ROX Tigers
Record: 6-0 | League: LCK | +/-: --
The best team in the world didn't have the perfect week, dropping a map to the competitive Afreeca Freecs, but the ROX Tigers pulled out the 2-1 victory in the end. Amazingly enough, the Tigers are in last place when it comes to wards per minute in the LCK, but they continue to be one of the strongest squads on the planet when it comes to map awareness. They look to keep their perfect match record intact this week when they take on the pesky underdogs of e-mFire.
2. Qiao Gu Reapers
Record: 5-0 | League: LPL | +/-: --
Did not play in Week 4.
3. KT Rolster
Record: 4-1 | League: LCK | +/-: --
KT kept pace in the competitive LCK with a convincing win over e-mFire to put them in sole position of second place behind the perfect ROX Tigers. All eyes will be on KT this week as they go one-on-one with decade-long rivals SK Telecom T1 in this week's most anticipated League of Legends match.
4. AHQ
Record: 6-0 | League: LMS | +/-: +2
As expected, AHQ closes out the first half of the spring split undefeated. Chawy flies home to Singapore for Chinese New Years with plenty of reason to celebrate. The hangover's going to be fierce, though: Either they were taking XGamers too lightly, or the LMS is catching onto their laning phase sloppiness. The second half of the split will only become more challenging.
5. Immortals
Record: 8-0 | League: NA LCS | +/-: --
This team doesn't bleed: The Immortals remain undefeated and unchallenged. Even when a lane is losing, like with Wildturtle against Piglet, the Immortals seemed to deliberately set up their fights to reverse the deficit, presenting an unyielding and unified front against all opposition.
6. SK Telecom T1
Record: 4-2 | League: LCK | +/-: +3
SKT T1 might not be the top team currently in the world, or even South Korea in their current form, but it's hard to imagine that the star-studded cast led by the best player of all time, Faker, won't get it together come postseason time. A win over rivals KT Rolster this week would push them back into the top five.
7. H2k-Gaming
Record: 7-1 | League: EU LCS | +/-: --
No starting mid laner, no problem, at least for Europe's co-leaders. H2k had a soft schedule this past week with wins against bottom teams Splyce and Elements, so Week 5 will be their true test without Ryu in the center of the map. Unicorns of Love and fellow standing toppers G2 Esports will show us what this makeshift H2k team is truly capable of.
8. EDward Gaming
Record: 3-1 | League: LPL | +/-: --
Did not play in Week 4.
9. G2 Esports
Record: 7-1 | League: EU LCS | +/-: +1
Most pundits thought H2k-Gaming's revamped roster could lead to a title in Europe, but the samurai of G2 Esports have emerged as the league's biggest story. Asserting themselves as the must-watch team of Europe, the rookie LCS organization play at a breakneck speed that has led to swift (and extremely exciting) games.
10. Jin Air Green Wings
Record: 5-2 | League: LCK | +/-: -6
Jin Air's forward momentum was stopped in a mini-upset loss to the equally surprisingly good Samsung Galaxy. While the Green Wings might not be in the elite trio of ROX, KT, and SKT currently, they are still a team that have the tools and late-game grinding talent to beat teams stronger than them on paper.
Playoff Contenders
11. Royal Never Give Up
Record: 4-1 | League: LPL | +/-: --
Did not play in Week 4.
12. Samsung Galaxy
Record: 4-3 | League: LCK | +/-: +6
Every time this season when it looks like the new Samsung Galaxy is going to fade back into the dungeons of the LCK standings, they pull out a performance like they did against the Green Wings this week. With wins now over Longzhu Gaming and Jin Air, Samsung can start throwing their name confidently into the discussion for top four in South Korea.
13. Unicorns of Love
Record: 6-2 | League: EU LCS | +/-: +3
The Unicorns kept up their magical stampede in Europe this past week with a 2-0 round that puts them in striking distance of H2k-Gaming and G2 Esports. Regardless of who the team has decided to slide in the jungle role has worked out thus far, and the spring finalists of 2015 might be on the road back to that accomplishment this year.
14. Counter Logic Gaming
Record: 5-3 | League: NA LCS | +/-: -1
The reigning and defending champions of North America took their shot at the current leaders of the league in Immortals, but it wasn't a good enough punch to knock out the unbeatens. Still, CLG appear to be currently the second best team in the NA LCS, and their offseason changes seem to be working much faster than expected.
15. Flash Wolves
Record: 3-1-2 | League: LMS | +/-: +6
Karsa and Maple have finally found their footing again, with Maple's Zed a particularly terrifying force. Their footing isn't quite steady enough to give AHQ a challenge yet, but the fight for second place has heated up considerably with Flash Wolves' involvement.
16. Team Vitality
Record: 5-3 | League: EU LCS | +/-: -2
Team Vitality are going through similar issues as their supposed super team peers Team SoloMid and Longzhu Gaming. There is obvious talent on this roster that could win a domestic title and do well on the international circuit, yet everything needed to produce those results hasn't come together at this point. But, even with their falters, Vitality are a capable team and should make it into the postseason without too much issue.
17. Invictus Gaming
Record: 3-1 | League: LPL | +/-: --
Did not play in Week 4.
18. Longzhu Gaming
Record: 3-3 | League: LCK | +/-: -6
Longzhu is quite possibly the most interesting team in the world right now. After spending big money in the offseason, the up-and-down Longzhu now have two distinct trios that they are seemingly fielding to see which is stronger heading into the second half of the split. The first is led by one of the best mid laners of last year, Coco, and the underperforming Chaser and solid Expession. The second squad has Crash, the brightest Korean rookie of this year, and the fire and ice solo lane duo of Flame and Frozen.
19. Machi
Record: 3-1-2 | League: LMS | +/-: +4
Not much to say about Machi, given that their only games in Week 4 were versus COUGAR E-Sport. The only real surprise was to see BoBo carry game two, as the Machi top laner's usually been more of a utility player than carry.
20. Cloud9
Record:5-3 | League: NA LCS | +/-: +9
It's hard not to rate Cloud 9 Hai-ly (ed. note - heh, heh) when their game against NRG was so immaculate. The Nunu jungle pick was inspired, playing to the team's strengths in coordination, but Hai's also looking great with Morgana's lockdown capabilities.
Middle of the pack
21. Fnatic
Record: 5-3 | League: EU LCS | +/-: +6
Fnatic's please-just-stop-this-they're-already-dead beatdown of winless Giants Gaming wasn't the stiffest competition for the newly formed team, but it did prove that they could play a clean game with their lineup. Things could change for better or for worse this coming week with the report that starting support Noxiak is out and a Swedish rookie, Klajbajk, will be taking his place.
22. Team WE
Record: 3-2 | League: LPL | +/-: --
Did not play in Week 4.
23. Hong Kong Esports
Record: 2-3-1 | League: LMS | +/-: +3
Two knock-down, drag-out fights against Flash Wolves made for the most exciting matches in Week 4, showcasing each team's relative strengths. For HKE, that'd be the team coordination pulled off by veteran jungler DinTer and mid laner Rokenia, who's settling nicely into the team dynamic.
24. Snake Esports
Record: 3-2 | League: LPL | +/-: --
Did not play in Week 4.
25. CJ Entus
Record: 2-3 | League: LCK | +/-: +6
CJ Entus made a large statement when they defeated four of their former members on Longzhu Gaming to get their second win of the year. Don't get us wrong, CJ is a work in progress until their prospects Bdd and Ghost are of age to play in March, but this scrappy team they've put together might keep them in the playoff hunt until their golden rookies arrive.
26. NRG Esports
Record: 5-3 | League: NA LCS | +/-: -7
NRG Esports are in that awkward position many LCS teams found themselves in after importing in talent that aren't fluent in English. GBM and Impact, their two solo lanes, are top tier talent mechanically and when it comes to team play, but they need to get on the same page as their English counterparts. And Moon, their rookie jungler, is also a promising player, but he is still making the jump from being a minor league jungler to playing against the likes of Reignover and Rush in the big leagues.
27. Taipei Assassins
Record: 3-2-1 | League: LMS | +/-: -12
Sadly, though REFRA1N had impressed in prior weeks, a split set against Midnight Sun puts the overall team to question. Jay, in particular, ate pretty much any damage aimed at him.
28. Team SoloMid
Record: 5-3 | League: NA LCS | +/-: --
The three-time NA LCS champions might be the most difficult team to rank this week. Yes, they did go 2-0. But yes, they also were pushed to their limits against Renegades and Echo Fox, two of the worst teams in the entire five major regions. TSM are still playing like a solo queue team, and they'll need to be leaps and bounds better next week if they want to stay in the top 30, or have a chance of moving up the ladder.
29. Team Liquid
Record: 4-4 | League: NA LCS | +/-: -4
The horses of Liquid finally had their forward momentum and four-game win streak halted when they met up with the Immortals last Sunday. At 4-4, Team Liquid are in a position where their season can either go two ways: steadily build back up and get into the playoffs with their young lineup to get a revenge date with Immortals, or go back into a slump now that their inexperienced roster has been knocked down.
30. Origen
Record: 4-4 | League: EU LCS | +/-: -10
We've reached the point with Origen where you can no longer give the 2015 Worlds semifinalists the benefit of the doubt. The team on paper should be right there with H2k-Gaming and G2, and yet they sit at .500 heading into the second half of the season this coming week. xPeke, the legendary Spanish mid laner, might have to pick up the keyboard and mouse again quicker than he would have liked if things don't improve in the next few games.
Struggling
31. Vici Gaming
Record: 2-3 | League: LPL | +/-: +1
Did not play in Week 4.
32. Masters 3
Record: 2-3 | League: LPL | +/-: +3
Did not play in Week 4.
33. Afreeca Freecs
Record: 1-5 | League: LCK | +/-: --
Afreeca Freecs might be a disappointing 1-5, but they can take solace in the fact they're probably one of the best 1-5 teams League has ever seen. They're a solid team with a good roster that has the ability to upset top teams -- like they did in Week 4 with their map win over the ROX Tigers -- but not the consistency to lock down match victories.
34. e-mFire
Record: 1-5 | League: LCK | +/-: -4
Speaking of talented 1-5 Korean teams, here we have another one in e-mFire. While they might not be as talented as their standing peers from Afreeca, e-mFire are a vexing team that can put scares into better teams on paper like SKT T1 and Longzhu Gaming.
35. Dignitas
Record: 3-5 | League: NA LCS | +/-: +2
Top laner BillyBoss has steadily improved -- he wasn't the main reason for their disastrous loss to Team Liquid, and actually performed admirably well against Echo Fox.
36. XGamers
Record: 2-1-3 | League: LMS | +/-: +2
XGamer went 0-4 this week and still came out looking okay by giving AHQ a serious, early-game scare. The rookie team had a rough schedule, but fearlessness in the face of the top LMS team is worth consideration.
37. Team Impulse
Record: 3-5 | League: NA LCS | +/-: -3
Losses against CLG and NRG stalls out Impulse's unexpected rise through the standings. They have a good shot against a disjointed TSM and Dignitas next week, but there's definitely a sense that they've found their current ceiling.
38. LGD Gaming
Record: 1-4 | League: LPL | +/-: +1
Did not play in Week 4.
39. OMG
Record: 2-3 | League: LPL | +/-: +2
Did not play in Week 4.
40. Elements
Record: 3-5 | League: EU LCS | +/-: -4
Everything seemed so perfect for Elements only two weeks ago. At 3-1, they were proving their critics wrong and putting together a Cinderella story for the ages. But after moving from the soft part of their schedule, Elements have experienced four straight losses and are on the verge of falling into the relegation zone.
Bottom of the barrel
41. Splyce
Record: 2-6 | League: EU LCS | +/-: -1
Splyce are currently in a relegation spot, but the silver lining of the situation for the rookie team is that they're not alone at the bottom. Elements, Splyce, ROCCAT and Giants Gaming have established themselves as the worst teams in the league -- and one of them will be able to avoid relegation if they can finish seventh or above.
42. SBENU Sonicboom
Record: 0-6 | League: LCK | +/-: +1
Sonicboom's 42nd placement on this ranking while having zero wins has less to do with how good they look and more about how the teams below them are performing. SBENU, which had to wait until the last few weeks of last season to get a win, might be in the same situation again.
43. Energy Pacemaker.All
Record: 1-4 | League: LPL | +/-: +1
Did not play in Week 4.
44. Midnight Sun
Record: 0-2-3 | League: LMS | +/-: +1
Still second-lowest-ranked team in Taiwan, but things are looking up. Wulala put on a show of force on Elise, scaring the pants off of TPA. The question is whether he has anything left in his champion pool -- and if the rest of his team will match his skill.
45. ROCCAT
Record: 1-7 | League: EU LCS | +/-: -3
ROCCAT won their first game of the season against a supposed super team in Team Vitality. It has been downhill since, though, and ROCCAT have now lost seven games in a row. Luckily for them, Giants Gaming still haven't won a game.
46. Renegades
Record: 1-7 | League: NA LCS | +/-: --
Trading one rookie support for another isn't doing Renegades any favors. Freeze finally getting past the Great Wall of Visa might be a mechanical upgrade for the team, but he's without the support he signed up for. And the rest of the team is running around without a mid- or late-game plan.
47. Hyper Youth Gaming
Record: 0-5 | League: LPL | +/-: --
Did not play in Week 4.
48. Echo Fox
Record: 1-7 | League: NA LCS | +/-: --
Echo Fox finally showed some teeth against Dignitas, even finding a lead throughout most of the game -- just to throw away all their hard work in a badly coordinated, late-game teamfight. Hard and Stunt don't seem to be reading from the same script as the rest of their team, at least not during the critical moments.
49. Giants Gaming
Record: 0-8 | League: EU LCS | +/-: --
Giants are only 10 losses away from doing the reverse-Fnatic and becoming the first LCS to lose every single game in an LCS split. But, looking on the bright side, they're only one good weekend away from jumping over a few teams to put themselves back in a position to fight off the relegation rounds.
50. COUGAR E-Sport
Record: 0-6 | League: LMS | +/-: --
Another week, another total defeat. SpeaR is showing some signs of life on Graves jungle, but the changes to top and support haven't yet helped the team find their footing.
We promise we'll find their logo if they finally win a game in the LMS. Hopefully you like waiting.