After weeks of chaos in both Riot’s European and North American LCS leagues, things are finally starting to settle down in NA. The playoff field is nearly decided after week seven with OpTic and FlyQuest both going 0-2, giving sixth-place TSM a significant lead. The only team left that can contend is CLG, who suddenly look like world beaters. However, it may be too little, too late for them.
To find out which teams still have a chance, our staff ranked each team from 1 to 10. We start at the bottom where despair reigns.
Out of the picture
The playoffs are over for these teams, but they can’t relax just yet. Each has one thing to solve before the summer split.
10) OpTic Gaming
Looking at their roster, we knew this year was going to be rough for OpTic. The lane phase, which was a pleasant surprise earlier in the split, has been abysmal lately. Their jungler, Akaadian, has been playing a lot of Sejuani, a champion that is not strong in the early game. The challenge for this team is to get more proactive play from Akaadian and support Lemonnation. If they can’t figure it out in the next few weeks, roster changes may be in order before summer.
9) Golden Guardians
The Guardians have finally started taking our advice and focusing on the side lanes. And it’s worked! We want to see them continue to prioritize their ADC, Deftly, in the lane phase and see if he can carry with the right tools.
8) FlyQuest
This team was built around two Korean imports, Fly and Flame. Flame has been holding up his end of the bargain, but Fly has been terrible. If he can’t figure out how to carry or help influence the map, FlyQuest may need to make a change. Fly taking up an import slot means he needs to carry.
Can they make a run?
CLG somehow managed to bounce back in the playoff race after falling to 10th in the power rankings last week. They probably won’t make it, but they have some exciting matchups coming up against Echo Fox and TSM.
7) CLG
CLG took down the two strongest teams last week with strong play from their bot lane. This has been inconsistent for them this split, but Vincent “Biofrost” Wang has stepped up in the playmaking role. While CLG is unlikely to make playoffs this split, they have built a foundation that can work, which is important for their future.
6) 100 Thieves
100 Thieves have been playing very scattered League in recent weeks, relying heavily on Aphromoo to make plays. This reliance can hurt them in the long run.
5) TSM
TSM lost to 100 Thieves last week, but they are still in the running because they are improving. Their support, Mithy, had a rough game, but he’s becoming a more integral part of the team and its shot calling. TSM is also handling lane assignments well, even when things don’t go their way.
4) Team Liquid
Liquid continues to drop games they shouldn’t. The issues identified earlier in the season, like Xmithie being abused early, haven’t gone away. They are relying solely on talent right now.
Top of the class
The top teams suffered some surprising losses last week, but their issues are more apparent and fixable.
3) Clutch Gaming
We’ve been hesitant to elevate Clutch due to their inconsistent performance and weak top lane. However, they went 2-0 last week, even though their wins came against bottom-tier teams. This shows that beating any team this year is no easy task.
2) Cloud9
Just when we thought Cloud9 were improving their macro play, they had a disappointing game against CLG. They managed to secure Baron, but failed to convert it into meaningful objectives. This is surprising given the buffs to Baron minions on Patch 8.4.
1) Echo Fox
Last week’s loss to the Golden Guardians may have been a fluke, but it revealed a weakness in Echo Fox’s strategy. They tend to respond to pressure in the bot lane by sending their jungler top to get Huni fed. However, they can’t neglect the bot lane against all teams. Altec and Adrian need some help.