League of Legends global power rankings through March 7

Tyler Erzberger
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Tyler Erzberger
ESPN Esports
- Staff writer for ESPN.com
- Covered esports since 2011
- Worked with biggest teams across titles like League of Legends and StarCraft II
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Jacob Wolf
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Jacob Wolf
ESPN Staff Writer
- Staff Writer for ESPN.com
- Reports across multiple games, including League of Legends, Super Smash Bros., Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, and Call of Duty.
- Specializes in investigative reporting
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Mar 7, 2017, 11:00 AM ET

For League of Legends stats and standings, click here.

Welcome back to our League of Legends global power rankings. Every week, we look at each team in the five major regions and rank them according to how they are performing.

We're entering Week 7 of the LCK and NA/EU LCS. The LMS is entering Week 6, and the LPL is entering Week 5 of play. The +/- indicates the change since the previous ranking.

Nos. 1-10 -- World contenders

Nos. 11-20 -- Playoff contenders

Nos. 21-30 -- Middle of the pack

Nos. 31-40 -- Struggling

Nos. 41-50 -- Bottom of the barrel

World contenders

1. SK Telecom T1

Record: 10-1 (20-5) | League: LCK | +/-: +1

After a week at No. 2, SKT T1 is back where it has been most weeks. The "Telecom War" doubleheader against KT Rolster more than lived up to the hype, and SKT T1 established itself as the undisputed best in the world with two razor-thin victories. One of the biggest factors to SKT T1's dominance this season has been the resurgence of jungler Kang "Blank" Sun-gu. Blank is playing smarter and seems more relaxed in his role, having an undefeated record so far in the Spring Split as the backup to starting jungler Han "Peanut" Wang-ho.

2. KT Rolster

Record: 7-3 (16-7) | League: LCK | +/-: -1

KT Rolster was the machine built to beat SKT. But it was unable to defeat its rival in either of the Telecom Wars last week. It was a battle of titans, but KT's play style was far more limited than SKT's during both sets. Early-game snowball was the name of the game for KT and that one play style often left the team lacking options. It would be silly to say there's no hope for KT, but the team will have to re-evaluate its priorities if it meets SKT in the playoffs.

3. Samsung Galaxy

Record: 7-3 (15-9) | League: LCK | +/-: +1

Samsung made a fair share of mistakes in its two games against bbq Olivers during Week 6, but the team remained stable enough to take both sets. Lee "Crown" Min-Ho and Park "Ruler" Jae-Hyuk are a devastating carry duo, but Jo "CoreJJ" Yong-Jin keeps the team steady as it transitions to the mid-game after early game stumbles.

4. Longzhu

Record: 6-4 (14-11) | League: LCK | +/-: -1

It's a bit frustrating watching Longzhu. The potential to be a world-class team is there, and when the team fights as one, there are few, maybe none, as clean as the Dragons. But then there are the games where the club just can't close the door on an opponent. Some of the longest (and weirdest) games this season have featured Longzhu going to the limit against top and bottom teams alike. On the bright side, mid laner Song "Fly" Yong-jun has been fantastic. He leads all players at his position in KDA (kills/deaths/assists ratio) and is a trendsetter as one of the few players to make hyper-assassin Talon work in the recent meta.

5. MVP

Record: 7-4 (16-11) | League: LCK | +/-: --

MVP is a team that consistently punches above its weight. None of the players on the team are "bad," but there's a difference in overall depth when it plays a team like Longzhu versus a team like Jin Air Green Wings. MVP managed to stay competitive in both best-of-threes against Longzhu in Week 6 and came out 1-1, turning Longzhu's aggression and late-game mishaps against it.

6. Flash Wolves

Record: 6-0 (12-1) | League: LMS | +/-: --

Unfortunately for Flash Wolves, top laner Yu "MMD" Li-hong was sick this week and left the team without its starting top laner. Substitute top laner Shen "Rins" Po-Ju was shaky in his first start of the season and almost caused the team to drop a map to Fireball, but Flash Wolves' bottom lane provided the side lane heel to take the series.

7. Royal Never Give Up

Record: 6-1 (12-5) | League: LPL | +/-: --

When other teams in the League of Legends Pro League decided to open their wallets for fancy South Korean imports, RNG looked inward to build its team following the departure of former world champions Cho "Mata" Se-hyeong and Jang "Looper" Hyeong-seok. Following a stumble early on in the season, Royal has been on a clear upward trajectory, wrapping up last week with a statement victory over rival and current LPL champion EDward Gaming. Superstar AD carry Jian "Uzi" Zi-Hao has never won the Chinese league, but RNG might change that if it continues its impressive form.

8. G2 Esports

Record: 8-0 (16-3) | League: EU LCS | +/-: --

Another week, another victory for G2 Esports in the European scene. The squad's win against Vitality may not have helped it prove its mettle as much as a top team would, with its early game looking rather porous. The team's mid game play and teamfighting transitions constitute the strongest assets in the region, but consistency in the early game would help internationally.

9. EDward Gaming

Record: 5-2 (10-6) | League: LPL | +/-: --

EDG has been known as a mid-game fighting team for some time, but it made plenty effort to be more aggressive in the early game against Royal Never Give Up. Unfortunately, EDG didn't succeed and was outmatched in the mid-game as RNG top laner Yan "LetMe" Jun-Ze inhibited EDG in teamfights with great Gragas and Shen play.

10. Afreeca Freecs

Record: 5-5 (12-13) | League: LCK | +/-: +1

A 2-0 week has pushed the Freecs back into the top 10. However, its opponent was Kongdoo Monster, so while the Freecs did get back to .500 overall for the season and into the cutthroat Legends Champions Korea playoff race, the team still has a lot more questions than answers. Veteran jungler Lee "Spirit" Da-yoon has lost in his past five appearances, and unless he bounces back soon, he might find himself on the bench permanently in favor of upstart rookie Lee "Mowgli" Jae-ha. Following a loss in his debut against KT Rolster, he has won four in a row.

Playoff contenders

11. Team WE

Record: 5-2 (11-6) | League: LPL | +/-: +11

12. Cloud9

Record: 10-2 (21-8) | League: NA LCS | +/-: +3

During Week 6, Cloud9 proved its worth at the top of the NA LCS standings, putting another win on the board against former sister team FlyQuest with a second best-of-three win. Meanwhile, Cloud9's win over Echo Fox revealed a clear divide between middling teams and top teams in the region. Despite that, Cloud9 has the same record as Team SoloMid, pitting the two back-to-back in our global power rankings. Just like last split, it'll come down to C9 and TSM to battle it out and see which is the best team in North America.

13. Team SoloMid

Record: 10-2 (20-11) | League: NA LCS | +/-: -1

14. ROX Tigers

Record: 4-6 (11-15) | League: LCK | +/-: -1

OGN commentator Christopher "PapaSmithy" Smith said it best: Son "Mickey" Young-min thinks he is Lee "Faker" Sang-hyeok. Sometimes, that works in favor of ROX Tigers, with Mickey (and his 500 MVP points) carrying the team with his all-or-nothing style and flair for the dramatic. Other times -- like we saw at IEM Katowice, where the Tigers should have defeated European leaders G2 Esports and made the finals -- Mickey's bravado can get the best of him and the team plunges downward because of his aggressive tendencies. After back-to-back wins over hapless Jin Air Green Wings, the Tigers find themselves within striking distance of the playoffs if Mickey & Co. can find success against some of the better teams in the league.

15. bbq Olivers

Record: 4-7 (10-15) | League: LCK | +/-: -5

16. Misfits

Record: 7-1 (15-4) | League: EU LCS | +/-: --

Despite a tense second game against bottom-ranking Origen, Misfits proved why they're contenders for the European crown. Their rotational play may have been slow, but they were able to limit the amount of mistakes they would normally make. Their teamfighting prowess differentiates them from the competition, and their early game pressure could be an edge against G2 in a future rematch.

17. H2K Gaming

Record: 6-2 (14-5) | League: EU LCS | +/-: -3

Since a 2-1 series loss against the LMS' Flash Wolves, H2K Gaming is trending upward. Teamfighting remains a weakness, although it may be a good sign since they have strengthened their early game phase and rotational play.

18. QG Reapers

Record: 4-2 (9-6) | League: LPL | +/-: --

19. ahq

Record: 6-1 (13-2) | League: LMS | +/-: --

20. Unicorns of Love

Record: 6-2 (13-6) | League: EU LCS | +/-: -3

As the dust settles from the sixth week of European LCS, the Unicorns of Love have asserted their need for better communication. Although Kiss "Vizicsacsi" Tamas, the squad's top laner, has admitted that some of their teamfighting mistakes were because of botched executions, the squad's road map heading into the playoffs is clear.

Middle of the pack

21. Invictus Gaming

Record: 4-3 (10-6) | League: LPL | +/-: -1

22. FlyQuest

Record: 7-5 (17-12) | League: NA LCS | +/-: +7

Before the IEM Katowice break, FlyQuest had a rough week with two losses. After the break, it beat Team EnVyUs and lost to its former sister team, Cloud9. FQ lost some steam, but that doesn't take away from the fact that it's strategically ahead of many of its peers in the NA LCS. The upcoming week is a true test for the boys in gold. It'll need to beat Phoenix1 and Immortals to maintain this position in our rankings (or move higher).

23. Phoenix1

Record: 7-5 (18-11) | League: NA LCS | +/-: +2

Phoenix1 took a 1-1 record over the week, with a loss to Counter Logic Gaming (ouch) and a win over Team Dignitas. Both of these teams are middle of the pack and the loss to CLG shows P1 has some work to do if it wants to compete for the title against Cloud9, Team SoloMid and FlyQuest. Surprisingly, it's jungler William "Meteos" Hartman who has looked more than serviceable for the firebirds.

24. Splyce

Record: 5-3 (11-7) | League: EU LCS | +/-: +2

Splyce has finally awakened from its long slumber with a thorough destruction of Vitality 2-0, just in time for a Week 7 clash against G2 Esports.

25. Kongdoo Monster

Record: 1-9 (5-19) | League: LCK | +/-: -2

26. J Team

Record: 5-2 (10-6) | League: LMS | +/-: -2

27. Counter Logic Gaming

Record: 6-6 (14-16) | League: NA LCS | +/-: +3

28. Fnatic

Record: 4-4 (10-11) | League: EU LCS | +/-: -1

29. Jin Air Green Wings

Record: 1-10 (6-20) | League: LCK | +/-: +1

30. Echo Fox

Record: 5-7 (12-17) | League: NA LCS | +/-: +6

Struggling

31. Hong Kong eSports

Record: 3-3 (6-8) | League: LMS | +/-: +2

32. I May

Record: 3-3 (6-7) | League: LPL | +/-: +7

33. Newbee

Record: 2-4 (6-9) | League: LPL | +/-: -8

34. Vici Gaming

Record: 2-4 (6-9) | League: LPL | +/-: --

35. Immortals

Record: 5-7 (14-16) | League: NA LCS | +/-: -4

Don't let their place in the standings fool you. Immortals looked awful returning from the break, losing to Team Liquid and Team EnVyUs, the two last-place teams in the NA LCS. Immortals didn't seem to improve during the break and the team does not look anything close to its former self. Immortals need to get on track or they'll be facing relegation if Liquid and EnVyUs begin an upward trajectory.

36. Machi

Record: 3-3 (7-7) | League: LMS | +/-: +6

37. OMG

Record: 2-4 (5-8) | League: LPL | +/-: --

38. Team Dignitas

Record: 4-8 (12-18) | League: NA LCS | +/-: -3

39. Game Talents

Record: 2-5 (6-11) | League: LPL | +/-: +10

40. LGD Gaming

Record: 2-5 (7-10) | League: LPL | +/-: +8

Bottom of the barrel

41. Team EnVyUs

Record: 3-9 (8-19) | League: NA LCS | +/-: +2

42. Fireball

Record: 2-5 (7-10) | League: LMS | +/-: +3

43. Team Liquid

Record: 3-9 (12-20) | League: NA LCS | +/-: -2

Midlet? With the news of World Champion AD carry Chae "Piglet" Gwang-jin moving to the mid lane, all hope seemed lost for Team Liquid. They even switched mid laner Jung "Youngbin" Young-bin to the AD carry position. And when things seemed all but over, the team managed to defeat Immortals and take Echo Fox to three games. Team Liquid looked better than before the break (that's not saying much), but it's still trying to battle out of that last-place spot.