League of Legends global power rankings through June 6

Tyler Erzberger, ESPN EsportsJun 6, 2017, 11:39 AM ET
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- 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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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.

The NA LCS, EU LCS, LCK and LMS are entering Week 2 of competition. The +/- indicates the change since the previous ranking. Since it's the first global power ranking of the summer split, there will be no changes.

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: 1-1 (2-2) | League: LCK | +/-: --

Reasons why SKT shouldn't be No.1 in the Global LoL Power Ranking: It lost its opening match of LCK summer to Samsung Galaxy, its rival for the top spot. And to be honest, the series really wasn't close.

Reasons why SKT should be No.1 in the Global LoL Power Rankings: It won the LCK spring final over its arch-nemesis KT Rolster -- a team that created the greatest super lineup of all time for the sole purpose of defeating SKT -- in a one-sided 3-0 stomp. It won the Mid-Season Invitational for the second straight year. It came into its match with Samsung with little to no time to prepare for the mid-season patches, and the team rebounded in its second match later in the week. Three world titles. Six domestic titles. It's SKT. We'll give the champ the benefit of the doubt, at least for one week.

2. Samsung Galaxy

Record: 3-0 (6-2) | League: LCK | +/-: --

Samsung is an elite team and a resounding 2-0 win to open the domestic campaign over SKT sure was impressive, but it's hard to forget about the club laying a goose egg in last season's semifinal against KT Rolster. The team looks improved with tank junglers coming back into the meta and team leader Kang "Ambition" Chan-yong back in the captain's seat, so there is cause for optimism for the Worlds runner-up. KT Rolster might have been built as the team to stop SKT, but it could be Samsung, the squad rebuilt carefully over three years, that is the one to stop the behemoth.

3. Longzhu Gaming

Record: 2-0 (4-1) | League: LCK | +/-: --

This could seem a bit premature, it being Incredible Miracle/Longzhu and all (the best finish the organization has ever had in its five year League history was a quarterfinal appearance four years ago). Still, this team has all the tools to be successful in the league, and a possible contender for a final if things continue to click. The club finally embraced the young talent it had on its roster, and bringing in top laner Kim "Khan" Dong-ha could be a stroke of genius if the once maligned LPL import can continue his strong play.

Oh, and that Gwak "Bdd" Bo-seong guy that was considered the best South Korean prospect since Lee "Faker" Sang-hyeok a year ago? Turns out he's actually pretty good if he isn't on CJ Entus. A 24 KDA after one week of play, including a series against spring season finalist KT Rolster, is not too shabby for the boy prophesied to challenge God.

4. G2 Esports

Record: 1-0 (2-1) | League: EU LCS | +/-: --

G2 Esports has come a long way since its early exit from the 2016 World Championship after a disastrous group stage performance. The squad dispelled its woes on the international stage, making SK Telecom T1 bleed in a 3-1 defeat in the Mid-Season Invitational final, and it also opened the summer split in a 2-1 victory against Team ROCCAT without Luka "PerkZ" Perkovic (sidelined due to illness), Ki "Expect" Dae-han and Kim "Trick" Gang-yun (taking rest). In short, "life is good."

5. Afreeca Freecs

Record: 1-2 (4-5) | League: LCK | +/-: --

If the Team Liquid is No.4 meme is good and dead (look for TL later. Much, much later in our rankings) then the Afreeca Freecs and No.5 could be the next meme to replace it. Afreeca has finished in fifth place twice out of the last three seasons, and it has finished fifth three straight times in the playoffs, losing in the first round each time. Afreeca is truly the middle of the LCK. It's good enough to beat SKT on occasion, and poor enough to drop games to the worst team in the league. As the fourth or fifth best team currently in South Korea, that's enough to have them No.5 on our Global LoL Power Rankings. Wow, South Korea is really good. Next we'll find out Team SoloMid really wasn't the fourth best team at Worlds last year.

6. Team WE

Record: 0-0 (0-0) | League: LPL | +/-: --

Team WE had a lukewarm experience at MSI and were trashed by Invictus Gaming in the Demacia Cup, but it's still the cream of the crop in China. Team WE is at its best when it plays more conservatively and lets Xiang "Condi" Ren-Jie do his thing, so as long as that style remains, another LPL title is in sight.

7. KT Rolster

Record: 2-1 (4-4) | League: LCK | +/-: --

SKT broke KT Rolster. Sure, the team is still one of the better ones in the world, but for a team that was created to take down SKT, it's far off from where it needs to be to accomplish that feat by year's end. A 0-2 start of the season vs. Longzhu wasn't pretty, and if it wasn't for Heo "PawN" Won-seok reminding us that he still knows how to play the game at a high level, KT could be a lot worse off than it currently is. The team resembles itself from last season when it trudged through the regular split before turning on the jets in the postseason en route to a final against sworn enemy SKT; for KT's sake, hopefully another loss to SKT doesn't break the team completely.

8. Royal Never Give Up

Record: 0-0 (0-0) | League: LPL | +/-: --

Royal Never Give Up won the Demacia Cup last weekend and surprisingly enough gave playtime to Wang "Wuxx" Cheng over Jian "Uzi" Zi-Hao. That probably doesn't mean a lot in the long run, but it may play a crucial role in how RNG plays side lanes, if it decides to switch between the two AD carries again.

9. Fnatic

Record: 2-0 (4-0) | League: EU LCS | +/-: --

Fnatic has showed signs of progression -- a scary prospect for opponents at large -- as it dismantled Misfits and Ninjas in Pyjamas. In its matchups, it has displayed its ability to stray away from the "animal" style that it adopted in the playoffs, choosing calculated aggression and more strategic play over all-out brawling. That may help them greatly in overthrowing G2 Esports in the two teams' first clash since the LCS spring playoffs.

10. Flash Wolves

Record: 0-0 (0-0) | League: LMS | +/-: --

Flash Wolves were scheduled no games last week, likely to get extra rest after the Mid-Season Invitational. Although its MSI performance was rather weak, it's hard to imagine any other team topping the LMS this summer. However, Flash Wolves will play this week with subs in the top lane as Yu "MMD" Li-Hong and Lu "Betty" Yu-Hung were suspended for disciplinary reasons.

Playoff contenders

11. Ever8 Winners

Record: 1-1 (3-2) | League: LCK | +/-: --

Winners is a fun team to watch, but one that could definitely tumble down these rankings next week if things go south. The team overly relies on its ace, Park "Cepted" Wi-rim to do the brunt of the team's work, and the side lanes are seemingly only there to funnel the resources through the mid and jungle. Even so, Cepted lived up to his team's expectations and became a star at least for this week with a flurry of highlight reel plays. But for every team like MVP that comes through the minor leagues and stays above water, you have a BBQ Olivers or SBENU Sonicboom, who have a quick start and drown as the top teams pick up more information throughout the split. The jury is still out if Winners can continue its namesake.

12. EDward Gaming

Record: 0-0 (0-0) | League: LPL | +/-: --

EDG have been in a finicky position for some time when it comes to the jungle with Zhao "Fireloli" Zhi-Ming struggling to match the impact Ming "Clearlove" Kai had in the past. Side lane pressure for EDG has seemingly been a problem as the team relies far too much on Lee "Scout" Ye-Chan's performance in the mid lane.

13. H2K Gaming

Record: 2-0 (4-0) | League: EU LCS | +/-: --

H2K Gaming's early showing was more of the same ol' macro-centric H2K, with a dash of risk-taking on Marcin "Jankos" Jankowski's end. When Jankos' early-game jungle invade backfired in Game 1, the squad bided its time and prevailed through savvy objective focus and teamfights. When it succeeded in Game 2, he immediately followed it up by securing leads across the map, essentially winning the game at the five-minute mark. Had he (and his teammates) showed the same level of aggression in lane against Fnatic in the spring playoffs as they did in Week 1, H2K would have been sitting on more than 20 circuit points heading into the summer split.

14. Immortals

Record: 2-0 (4-1) | League: NA LCS | +/-: --

15. Counter Logic Gaming

Record: 2-0 (4-1) | League: NA LCS | +/-: --

It's impossible to talk one club without the other at the moment. The trade between the two clubs in the offseason, swapping starting junglers Jake "Xmithie" Puchero and Joshua "Dardoch" Hartnett, was seen as a possible risk for both. After one week, both teams are happy with their transactions, the two teams atop of the league at perfect 2-0 records, and both having played at least one tough opponent in Week 1. Immortals needed a shot-caller and distributor to open the gates for their proficient mechanical players in all three lanes, and Counter Logic Gaming needed a jungler with a bit more oomph that could give the team necessary firepower against the best offensive teams in the league. While Xmithie outperformed Dardoch in Week 1, it's a good sign for CLG that the team can win without its mechanically gifted jungler putting up big numbers, something Immortals failed to do with Dardoch last split.

16. Unicorns of Love

Record: 1-0 (2-0) | League: EU LCS | +/-: --

Unicorns of Love's return left no room for worry. It was as swift as it was decisive, against a Vitality squad that was adapting to changes in the support and coaching roles. The 2-0 sweep was secured off the back of an improved teamfighting prowess, although whether some of it was due to Andrei "Xerxe" Dragomir's play on Zac or Vitality's crime -- letting Zdravets "Hylissang" Iliev Galabov play Thresh in the first place -- remains to be seen.

17. OMG

Record: 0-0 (0-0) | League: LPL | +/-: --

OMG is back and is no longer a bottom-feeder in the LPL, with Hu "Xiyang" Bin and Xia "Icon" Tian-Yu proving to be a solid solo lane pairing. When OMG plays, there are sparks, but hardly enough to sustain a fire to win the LPL. OMG will need to find stability in its macro game if it hopes to challenge the top three in the LPL.

18. Team SoloMid

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

TSM come in as the third best team in NA for Week 1, but that doesn't stand for much as the league seems to be in a major shift of power, with the top teams from last split getting off to slow starts. TSM smashed Cloud9 in its finals rematch, but was outmaneuvered and outplayed by Immortals in its second outing of the season. Søren "Bjergsen" Bjerg, the three-time MVP and best offensive player in the league, was handed Galio for both games in the Immortals set, and the mid tank lineup didn't suit TSM, its often crisp teamfighting disjointed with Bjergsen on the beefy goliath.

19. MVP

Record: 1-1 (2-3) | League: LCK | +/-: --

MVP is a smart team, probably one of the smartest in the world. When it comes to individual talent, it's there in the bottom lane with superstar support Jeong "Max" Jong-bin but lacking elsewhere in the starting lineup. Following a decent start to the split with a win, MVP got knocked out in a sweep by the newly promoted Winners, the difference between Cepted and An "Ian" Jun-hyeong apparent. Unlike Afreeca who has the firepower but lacks the consistency to fire it correctly, MVP has the reverse: a smart game plan and a leader in Max who can make gold out of tree bark; however, when it comes to competing with the best, the team falls short in some roles.

20. ahq

Record: 1-0 (2-0) | League: LMS | +/-: --

Ahq made a key offseason acquisition in the AD carry position with Liu "LBB" Ping-Hsin, but he was unfortunately sidelined due to ahq's first set of games being pushed back by Taiwan's typhoon weather. Chou "An" Chun-An and Liu "Westdoor" Shiu-Wei took the stage against bottom-feeder Wayi Spider, but expect to see them out of action against stiff competition.