League of Legends global power rankings through July 30

2. Royal Never Give Up

Record: 9-1 | League: LPL | +/-: --

RNG might not be the first-place team in China's LoL Pro League -- that's Kim "Doinb" Tae-sang's FunPlus Phoenix -- but they are certainly shaping up to be the best team in the region and the second-best team in the world. Things have been pretty simple for RNG -- they run into an opponent, take a 2-0 victory and move on to the next match. After decimating both Suning and LNG last week, RNG continued to prove that they're more consistent than any other team in the LPL right now, hardly fooling around with the mid-tier teams. Usually a team performing well has one standout star, but each and every game, RNG is a well-oiled machine. Playoffs aren't quite locked for RNG, but that should be the only thing on the players' minds now.

-- Xander Torres

3. FunPlus Phoenix

Record: 10-1 | League: LPL | +/-: --

Two words: Doinb's Poppy. No matter how FPX performs, there's no denying how exciting the team is, especially on the back of their mid laners' creative "anti-meta" picks. Doinb picked Poppy to hold Lee "Scout" Ye-chan's Irelia in lane, and it worked beautifully. FPX always had the first fight early in the game and capitalized with ease. Unfortunately for FPX, the team's mid-game teamfights have hardly been as clean, as their fight selection decays with every minute of the game. FPX is creative, exciting and dynamic, but none of that matters if the team can't slow things down once side lanes and team compositions start to settle.

-- Torres

4. Damwon Gaming

Record: 10-3 | League: LCK | +/-: --

Last week, we posed a question: "Is Damwon Gaming the best team in South Korea?" This week we have that answer, though it still comes with a slight caveat: Yes, for now. Whether you think that's a good thing or a bad thing is up to you.

Many teams are clustered at the top of the LoL Champions Korea standings, each with their own issues that we'll dive into shortly. Damwon have emerged as the front-runners due to their record and the individual prowess of their players, particularly top laner Jang "Nuguri" Ha-gwon. Damwon's series against Sandbox Gaming this past week didn't exactly instill confidence, despite the 2-1 win. We've said this about Kingzone DragonX previously, and now we'll say it about Damwon: They need to be more consistent in their gameplay if they are to maintain their position as the best team in the LCK, especially with SKT rising.

-- Emily Rand

5. Top Esports

Record: 9-2 | League: LPL | +/-: +1

Top is still near the top of the rankings, with good reason, handling most mid-tier LPL teams with ease. They had a slip-up last week against Suning as well as a less-than-inspiring Rift Rivals performance, but both incidents involved alternate rosters. When a team so dependent on outmuscling its opponents switches players from its starting five, there are bound to be issues. Regardless, Top showed few signs of cracking against Victory Five, a team that has surprised fans with numerous upset wins this split. Top aren't necessarily in the conversation for best team in the LPL, but the talent will always be there to keep them in the running.

-- Torres

6. SK Telecom T1

Record: 8-5 | League: LCK | +/-: +5

There's a somewhat popular saying that an SK Telecom T1-Griffin series always delivers, and I must confess that I disagree with this wholeheartedly. Due to both teams' tendency to wait for the opposition to make a mistake -- or in Griffin's case, not going for a play that isn't at least 90% likely to succeed -- it can make for a lot of boring early-to-mid games. Fortunately, even when SKT isn't as proactive as they are capable of, they are good at recognizing openings. Once they grab that opportunity, they can close fairly quickly, like we saw in Game 1 against Griffin this week. SKT have been on the rise since Rift Rivals and are currently on a seven-series winning streak. That plus general confidence in the organization itself places them atop the cluster of LCK teams below Damwon.

-- Rand

7. Splyce

Record: 9-3 | League: LEC | +/-: +2

Splyce emerged with a 2-0 record in a tough week, and they showcased marked improvement despite their struggles. Their game against Team Vitality showed that beyond their macro strength, they were game-savvy: They recognized Team Vitality's tricky plays before they happened, and they snatched a victory from the jaws of defeat.

Their tough Team Vitality matchup showcased their weakness in teamfight execution in the mid game, a weakness that disappeared against Schalke 04. Shockingly, their transition from the laning phase to the mid game was unlike their previous performances: Instead of playing a grind-it-out kind of game, they executed their strategy effectively against Schalke 04. Should they do the same against Excel Esports in Week 7, they might become G2's strongest opponent.

-- Chouadria

8. Kingzone DragonX

Record: 8-5 | League: LCK | +/-: -3

When I do count the score and standings now,
And see Kingzone down one to the Freecs,
With streaming schedules moved and time allowed
To fix consistency these past few weeks.
And was it all for naught? Game 2 says no,
Despite vic'try, bounced back and forth a win
With Deft Kai'sa, Naehyun Yasuo.
When the Freecs claim Game 3 to much chagrin
Then of thy chances do I question make
That thou among the standings should so rise
Despite a higher ceiling, give headache
What was once confidence through tests of eyes
To those who rank LCK and beyond
Recall the Kingzone of which we were fond.

-- Rand

9. Gen.G

Record: 9-5 | League: LCK | +/-: -1

As soon as Gen.G came to the table with specific compositions for their opponents, we wondered how long they could stay consistent. We're still not sold on Gen.G since they don't seem all that flexible in a meta that, while more bot-lane focused, still rewards flexibility above all else. Thus far, Gen.G have made the most of mid laner Song "Fly" Yong-jun's oddball champion pool, with champions such as Lux, Veigar, Vel'Koz and Taliyah, and top laner Lee "CuVee" Seong-jin's signature picks. Most importantly, Gen.G still know how they want to play, allowing Park "Ruler" Jae-hyuk to run amok from the bot side of the map. If we had to highlight one standout during Gen.G's rise, it would be support Kim "Life" Jeong-min, who is finally showing why people were hyping him up at the beginning of the year.

-- Rand

10. Fnatic

Record: 9-3 | League: LEC | +/-: -3

Fnatic's mastery over Patch 9.14 is not as advanced as their skill on 9.12 and 9.13. Misfits Gaming exposed lapses in their mid-game skirmishing, and Origen nearly exploited their skirmishing-focused composition's weakness during teamfights. Although their Week 6 results were mixed, their strength is undeniable.

Fnatic have shown that they have identified their in-game issues, and that might be a blessing in disguise: Their Week 7 opponents, the steady Schalke 04 and powerhouse G2 Esports, will punish mistakes, especially in the early game. Should they find a pick akin to their Twisted Fate to surprise G2, they might send shockwaves through the league.

-- Chouadria