NA LCS Week 6 Power Rankings

North American LCS earned bragging rights and a bit of confidence with their dominant showing over EU LCS at Rift Rivals, but little changed once play resumed back in the States. Phoenix 1 couldn’t keep the momentum going, Immortals rebounded, Team Liquid showed Echo Fox what throwing really means, and Counter Logic Gaming were their usual enigmatic selves. Another day at the office.

Still, there were some surprises. Team Dignitas rose from the dead, Team EnVyUs continued their inexplicable run into playoff contention, and Echo Fox sat Froggen because they didn’t like winning, or whatever. I guess he had non-refundable plane tickets to EVO?

Patch 7.14 will make its debut at NA LCS this weekend, tossing the meta into a blender yet again. Lethality, once nerfed nearly out of existence, is back with the vengeance. Expect Duskblades to be brandished, Cinderhulks to tick, and perhaps a Cho’Gath sighting (or two). If there was something League was truly lacking, it was more unavoidable burst damage. I can’t wait.  

Oh, and Kayn might make an appearance. You never know. With Week 7 upon us, let’s check in on the Power Rankings through Week 6.

Doublelift’s return has changed the complexion of Team SoloMid, allowing Bjergsen and Hauntzer more flexibility in draft while he carries. Ban Caitlyn and Doublelift will happily champion Tristana, boasting an unmatched 7-0 record on the Yordle Gunner this split. When TSM can trust their ADC to farm well, position correctly and consistently out-DPS the opposition, Hauntzer and Bjergsen can play more supportive, tanky champions that dictate engagements, something they couldn’t do successfully with WildTurtle.

Week 6 sweeps over Phoenix 1 and Team Liquid were prime examples of Doublelift’s ability to turn games by himself, highlighted by his spectacular 11-4-3 Game 2 against Liquid. Come for the 1v2 outplay against Goldenglue and Matt, stay for the delayed Quadra that enabled a free Baron, sealing the comeback victory. Pretty good for a B-tier ADC.

It won’t be long before TSM claim sole possession of first place in NA LCS, but a rematch with Team Dignitas this weekend could be tricky. Dignitas took the series 2-1 when they met in Week 2, and both teams have improved since then. Echo Fox balances out the weekend in a lopsided matchup no matter who they choose to start.

Immortals didn’t attend Rift Rivals, instead using the break to regroup after a pair of difficult loses to TSM and Phoenix 1. The extra rest paid off with a 2-0 week, highlighted by a 2-1 victory over a disjointed and jet-lagged Cloud 9. Credit Pobelter with handling Jensen in the mid lane, and acting as a de facto carry when it became clear C9 were committed to killing Cody Sun first in fights. Pobelter’s Corki survived laning stage and hid behind the beefy Xmithie/Flame frontline to finish 18-4-14 through their two wins. When Pobelter can play at this level, Immortals are hard to scheme against.

Xmithie seems to have found his grove again. The veteran jungler took a leaf out of young MikeYeung’s book and tried his hand at Nidalee, finishing 4-2-13 in a closeout game against Echo Fox. It was the first time Xmithie played the champion since Season 6, but with Cinderhulk now dominating the meta, I doubt he’ll make a habit of it.

Week 7 features an exciting rivalry reprise: Immortals vs Counter Logic Gaming. Xmithie and IMT swept CLG last time, but you’d better believe the mercurial Dardoch has been itching for Round 2. A favorable matchup with FlyQuest rounds out the week.

With Aurelion Sol constantly banned against him, Huhi needed a new wonky control mage to pilot. Enter Vel’Koz, the Eye of the Void, a champion so off-meta that no one in the world had played it this split until Huhi’s selection against FlyQuest. You can see the parallels; spammable magic damage from range, significant wave clear, choke point control. Vel’Koz is Aurelion Sol lite, with an ultimate that can’t be blocked by tanks. In two Vek’Koz games against FlyQuest, Huhi finished 11-0-19 and Counter Logic Gaming swept the series.

Vel’Koz was the 13th different champion Huhi has played this Summer, most of any mid laner. The same can be said of his teammate Darshan in the top lane. This versatility is a drafting asset for CLG, making them difficult to predict and demanding bans other teams do not draw. Dignitas banned out Aurelion Sol and Vel’Koz twice in their sweep of CLG; where else does that happen?

A deep champion pool is nice, but amidst that variety there’s been a noticeable downside: mediocre early games and erratic play. Per Oracle’s Elixir, CLG ranks next to last in the league in GD@15 (-567) and has the worst Early-Game rating (43.0) of all ten teams. Of their nine series wins, only three of them were sweeps, and of those three, two came at Team Liquid’s expense (for comparison, TSM has eight sweeps). You never know which CLG will take the Rift, and it will cost them against strong teams.

CLG face Echo Fox and Immortals this weekend. OmarGod will find his reps against Echo Fox; I doubt Dardoch will want to be subbed at any point during the Immortals series.

Team EnVyUs continue to surprise, completing their rise from relegation fodder to serious playoff contenders. Envy took advantage of a fatigued Cloud 9 2-0 and then held on to beat a Froggen-less Echo Fox 2-1, securing the kind of wins they were incapable of just a split ago.

Gone are the days of throwing games after the clock struck 20 minutes. Envy can win with leads now thanks to a dramatically improved mid lane that has allowed the side lanes to flourish. Sure, Seraph has a dodgy game every so often, but Apollo and Hakuho have become a bot lane to be reckoned with. Lira remains a world-class jungler whose influence on the team extends beyond the rift.

Against Jensen Cloud 9, Nisqy’s aggressive laning was preferred over Pirean’s more supportive play and the selection paid off. The import held Jensen to a 0-0-0 Game 1 line in a matchup that slightly favored Jensen’s Corki over Nisqy’s Syndra. His comfort Cassiopeia didn’t bottle up Jensen’s Taliyah the same way (4-2-9 to 5-1-3), but when Lira decides to hard carry as Nidalee, the best a mid laner can do is not feed.

Nisqy and Pirean have helped guide Envy to the best early game in NA LCS with an average GD@15 of 1,024, a staggering number when you consider the next team on the list has a GD@15 of 344 (Immortals). Even more incredible is usually that gold comes purely from CS. Envy has only secured First Blood or First Turret 50% of the time, but Apollo, Pirean, and Nisqy all average higher than 9 CSM. Lira is first among junglers with 5.1 CSM; Seraph is third among top laners at 8.7 CSM (the highest is 8.8).

With that kind of strong, consistent farm, Envy puts themselves in position to beat anyone, but it comes down to their late game execution as to whether they’re successful or not. An easy Week 7 against FlyQuest and Team Liquid should strengthen their case for playoffs.

It’s easy to forget that before their two-week slump, Team Dignitas might have been the best team in NA LCS, sprinting out to a 5-1 record that included wins over TSM and Team EnVyUs. Ssumday looked unstoppable on Fiora, Shrimp’s aggressive carry jungling caught most teams flat-footed, and the other two lanes were serviceable enough.

Then, teams adapted. Fiora and Kennen dropped out of the meta, forcing Ssumday on to tanks that had difficulty laning, and that was before opposing junglers began repeatedly pathing top to hinder him. The rest of NA LCS challenged Dignitas to win through other lanes, and for two weeks they had no answer.

Enter Altec and Adrian. Dignitas were in desperate need a bot lane that could take advantage of space and carry games, and so far this new duo has done just that, providing the edge LOD and BIG lacked. Together, Altec and Adrian won their lanes handily against CLG and P1. Altec finished a full CSM over Arrow and Stixxay, while Adrian’s 5-2-13 performance on in Game 2 against CLG help close out the series. The Kalista/Thresh bot lane has proved particularly potent in NA LCS; add Altec and Adrian’s undefeated record with that combination as evidence why.

Dignitas will be put to the test this weekend with TSM and Cloud 9. I doubt they’ll be able to pull off another 2-0 week, but if they do, expect to see Dignitas in Boston.

When Jensen finishes a game 0-0-0—as he did against a substitute mid during the Team EnVyUs series—something is terribly wrong. Cloud 9 can’t consistently win games when Jensen pops off; how are they supposed to win when he doesn’t show up?

C9 returned from a mediocre Rift Rivals fatigued, sick, and off their game, getting swept by Team EnVyUs and barely putting up a fight against Immortals. There’s only so much Jensen can do when his side lanes consistently lose their lanes. To be fair, Sneaky was under the weather for most of the week, but even so his combination with Smoothie was poor at best. Neither Ray nor Impact can find success in the top lane, and C9’s insistence on switching between the two must be straining their confidence, to say nothing of establishing a rhythm.

History tells us that C9 will be there at the end; after all, they’re one of only three teams that have ever lifted the NA LCS trophy. But at 6-6 with 6 games left, a bye into the semifinals is all but out of reach. C9 were excellent in their 2-1 over TSM, but have looked average against everyone else recently. Time is running out. 

Hopefully rest will help Cloud 9 regain their form, but with Phoenix 1 and Team Dignitas this weekend, they had better find that form soon.

After such a strong showing at Rift Rivals, it was disappointing to see Phoenix 1 unable to take a series upon their triumphant return to domestic play. Second best in the West to 9th place in NA LCS is a long way to fall.

Still, consider the opposition. TSM were eager to make a statement and had the players to do so, and Dignitas surprised everyone with how well their bot lane played. The P1/Dig series was probably the most exciting series of the weekend; both teams trading stomps as games were decided by incredibly narrow margins. P1 didn’t embarrass themselves, but they simply didn’t execute well enough to win.

MikeYeung continues to show skill beyond his years, but the meta might be shifting against him. Much like Shrimp, who burst on the NA LCS stage rocking carry junglers, MikeYeung made his name with crowd favorites like Nidalee and Lee Sin. Unfortunately, carry junglers can’t take advantage of Cinderhulk, the jungler enchantment de jour, and with the meta favoring tanky junglers because of this, Magic Mike will need to learn new tricks fast. On bursty, carry-oriented junglers (Elise, Lee Sin, Nidalee), Mike is 8-9 (5.8 KDA). On Cinderhulk tanks, he’s 1-4 (2.9 KDA). Can the kid adjust, or is P1’s fate already sealed?

At Rift Rivals, P1 proved they can beat and compete with the best, but at this point it might be too late to affect their NA LCS chances. Winning out can only get them to .500, and with C9, CLG and TSM still left to play, I doubt they’ll achieve even that. Week 7 brings series against C9 and Team Liquid, and while P1 can sweep the week, I predict a 1-1 split.

There isn’t much more room to rise or fall for FlyQuest, who settled into their middle class spot after beating a woeful Team Liquid yet suffering a sweep at the hands of CLG. Floor, meet ceiling.

Hai favors his assassins mid, Balls occasionally plays as strong as his biceps suggest, and WildTurtle does his best to farm well and position accordingly. With the changes to Lethality sure to bring Jhin firmly back into the meta, Turtle will have comfort to choose from, but will it make a difference? Tied for 7th place, FlyQuest have a puncher’s chance at making playoffs, yet have shown little sign that they’ll do anything once there.

Shot calling has improved since Hai returned to a more vocal role, but it hasn't been enough. FlyQuest find themselves near the bottom of the league in GDM (-117) and K:D (.75), and it’s difficult to win games when you’re unable to farm efficiently or win fights. It’s no longer a question of macro or shot calling; at this point the skill gap is too large.

Immortals and Team EnVyUs are on the schedule this weekend, and unless I’m very much mistaken, FlyQuest will end the weekend 0-2.  

In basketball, the frequent use of substitutions is part of the game. Shooters go cold, guys need a blow, bench players play hard in practice and earn themselves more playing time. Lineups are fluid, and the starting five know their status isn’t guaranteed if they play poorly over a long period. Teams regularly boast of being eight or ten guys deep, with different weapons to beat different teams in different ways.

But League of Legends isn’t basketball, as much as Rick Fox and Jared Jeffries would like it to be. Success in League comes not from a deep bench but a starting five that synergizes so well it borders on symbiosis. Knowing tendencies, strategy, strengths and weaknesses at an instinctual level is a must when a split-second choice can decide an entire game. Chemistry matters, and constantly rotating through lineups or resting players during crucial series diminishes their ability to succeed together, ultimately costing wins.

Echo Fox have taken substitutions to another level this split, subbing every role except Support (they do not have an official Support substitute). Brandini, Damonte, Grig and Mash all saw time in Week 6 against Immortals and Team EnVyUs, while Froggen—arguably one of the best mid laners in the West—did not play at all. No other team has been so loose with their lineups, but then again, no other team claims to go 10 players deep or refuses to scrim outside their own players.

Speaking of scrims: if these subs are getting playing time because they need experience against NA LCS completion, you know a great way to build experience? Scrimming other NA LCS teams! Maybe a winning lineup would emerge, but instead Echo Fox perform trial and error on stage where losing matters. In a league where teams miss playoffs by one or two losses, throwing away series like they did in Week 6 is going to cost Echo Fox a shot at playoffs.

TSM and CLG will not show any mercy to this team in Week 7, no matter who logs in for Echo Fox.

If the injury of being worst in the league wasn’t severe enough, TSM added insult to Team Liquid’s horrid Summer Split, erasing a 6k gold lead and completing a sweep during a Game 2 they almost assuredly trolled for 25 minutes. Sven on Sejuani jungle? A cheesy Level 1 invade after completely reading the Liquid draft? Come on.

You can draw a straight line from that embarrassment to Liquid’s opening game of the season against CLG, where Liquid were handed a handful of pre-5 minute kills and couldn’t snowball. Liquid simply do not know how to win, putting resources into Piglet only to watch him get consistently caught out and killed at the start of team fights again and again. The talent difference is just too steep, and no amount of subbing is going to change this.

Liquid face Team EnVyUs and Phoenix 1 in Week 7, and I’d be genuinely surprised if they take a game off either of them, or anyone else from here on out.

NA LCS Week 5 Power Rankings

I’m not going to talk about Rift Rivals in this edition of the Completely Subjective and Only Occasionally Named This Way Power Rankings, mostly because these are NA LCS Power Rankings and while it’s fun to see North America test itself against quality international competition, their play abroad doesn’t affect the domestic league that much.

Still…is NA up? Sweet!

Week 5 of the NA LCS threw a wrench into my beautiful predictions, with upsets from FlyQuest and Phoenix 1 breathing new life into what looked to be a predictable, stagnant league going into July. FlyQuest benefited from improved shot calling and playing two of the most throw-prone teams—Team Dignitas and Echo Fox, though did I really need to clarify this—in North America. Mikeyeung’s legend continues to grow, as the youngster’s electric play shocked P1’s dead carcass back to life. Phoenix 1 are 3-1 since Mike took the stage, and have yet to embarrass themselves at Rift Rivals (fingers crossed).

I still fail to understand why people think Rek’Sai is good. Last week, she went 5-9 in NA LCS, 2-4 in LPL, 4-5 in LPL, 2-2 in LMS, and 8-7 in LCK. The jury is still out, but pros do seem to like that unstoppable ultimate and creative gank paths. Whatever.

Anyway, put on your yellow-tinted computer glasses and let’s get into the rankings. New graphics!

Team SoloMid is the best team in NA LCS, and none of us should be surprised. They are who we thought they were, a team of enormous pedigree and skill that, after weeks of beating up cupcakes, finally ate the whole meal. A close loss to rival Cloud 9 was a wake-up call, with Hauntzer losing top lane to Ray’s Fervor Rumble and Contractz’s unkillable Nunu wreaking havoc during a deciding Game 3. It was TSM’s first non-2-0 series—and first loss—since Week 2, but don’t hold it against them. These two squads always seem to go back and forth. It’s true, Cloud 9 evened the season series with TSM, but where’s your money going when they square off come playoffs?

Fresh off a defeat to a rival and angry after a Week 1 loss, TSM approached the Immortals series focused and ready to make a statement, and, well, message received. Bjergsen drafted Syndra in Game 1 and promptly went 11-2-3 against Pobelter’s Orianna, proving yet again that this Dane/dame combo should always be banned. Game 2 was all Doublelift, popping off on Tristana with the help of some excellent Thresh hooks from Biofrost. Every time Immortals would take an objective or find a pick, TSM would answer, stonewalling any comeback as their efficient macro took its toll.

It’s clear that TSM will go as far as Bjergsen and Doublelift carry them, and if that’s the case, strap in for a long ride. After they return from Berlin, TSM will face Team Liquid and their Rift Rival Compatriots Phoenix 1. What looks like a 2-0 week on paper means little when Mikeyeung continues to re-write what’s possible for a rookie. Watching NA’s strongest side try to contain NA’s hottest jungler is absolutely appointment viewing. 

Aurelion Sol is an incredibly difficult champion to play, let alone play well. The dragon and his stars form a wonky kit with a finesse disable, a seemingly underwhelming ultimate and flying speed that easily places the novice out of position. But put Aurelion Sol in the hands of a master like Huhi, and he quickly becomes the most oppressive champion in League of Legends.

Cloud 9 decided to do just that in Game 1 against Counter Logic Gaming, and Huhi showed them—again—exactly why this champion had been banned against CLG in 20 out 27 Summer Split games. Of the seven games Aurelion Sol has been left open, Huhi’s drafted the dragon three times, winning all three games with a combined score of 19-2-27. That Cloud 9 had already watched Huhi decide their previous series with a 7-0-10 performance on Aurelion Sol made it even more maddening that they let him have it again, but here we are. Huhi finished Game 1 of the rematch 7-1-9 and CLG beat Cloud 9 2-1 in an otherwise closely contested series.

The Liquid series was much more one-sided. Dardoch looked awful while bullying Reignover on an arrogant invade that ended up feeding Liquid his First Blood, but luckily the rest of CLG played solidly enough to overcome their early disadvantage. Darshan improved his split-pushing this week, correctly breaking down turrets and patiently holding his Teleport instead of rushing toward every fight.

When CLG can successfully execute the 4-1, few teams in NA have the macro to punish them. They’ll have more chances to do so in Week 6 against Team Dignitas and FlyQuest, teams whose desperation will catch CLG off-guard if they’re not prepared.

Everyone was focused on the titanic Bjergsen-Jensen matchup in the mid lane when TSM met Cloud 9 for Round 2, but it was Contractz who secured top billing with his best series of the Summer.

Contractz was everywhere as Elise in Game 1, landing cocoons that would have snowballed C9 to victory against a lessor team. Jensen hard-carried C9 to a Game 2 win on his first-pick Orianna, but Contractz finished deathless with 12 assists, and it was his masterstroke on Nunu in Game 3 that keyed a C9 upset. The Stoneborn Pact keystone mastery plus Warmog’s Armor and Gargoyle Stoneplate meant major heals during team fights, and Nunu’s ability to consume objectives secured an early game advantage C9 never let falter. Hats off to the Spring Rookie of the Split, whose work often goes overlooked. Jensen’s massive CS leads in the mid lane come from somewhere, as does top lane stability amidst the swapping between Impact and Ray.

C9 dug their own grave in the CLG series, believing they had an answer to Huhi’s Aurelion Sol when they did not, conceding a game they otherwise could have won judging by how close Games 2 and 3 were. As good as Jensen played over the back-end of the TSM series, he was uneven on Syndra against CLG after Huhi pulverized him with stardust. That defeat kept C9 out of the #2 spot; despite looking stronger than CLG on the whole, they’ve now lost the season series 0-2, 2-4.

Returning to American shores in Week 6 means dates with Immortals and Team EnVyUs, which should provide plenty of opportunities for Contractz to prove his worth again. Faced with two excellent junglers looking to escape personal slumps, I don’t imagine it’ll be easy.

Week 5 was a steep fall for Immortals, losing their throne after an understandable beatdown by TSM and a less-forgivable reverse-sweep to Phoenix 1. Xmithie will be seeing highlights from Games 2 and 3 for years to come, and for all the wrong reasons.

Credit to TSM, they had a point to prove and did so by running over Immortals through the mid lane. Pobelter was little more than a mobile ward against Bjergsen’s Syndra and Cassiopeia, finishing 1-8-13 and dealing half the damage of his counterpart’s carry mids. Few teams can beat TSM when Bjergsen stomps mid lane, and Immortals are no exception.

I expect more out of the veteran Xmithie, who did well to pressure Hauntzer but otherwise couldn’t stop Bjergsen or Doublelift from getting anything they wanted. Against Phoenix 1, Xmithie’s combination of surprise and disrespect allowed Rookie of the Split Mikeyeung to out-jungle a player who should have known better. All this to say that Week 5 exposed Immortals as being incredibly reliant on Xmithie to set up winning lanes and influence the late game. When he does neither, Immortals lose the luster they’ve built in Summer and look more like the middling team of Spring. Case in point: Immortals are 4-9 when Xmithie dies 4 or more times.

Immortals face another tough test in Cloud 9 this coming weekend paired with an Echo Fox side searching for something positive. The meeting with C9 (and CLG later in the season) will determine if Immortals has a chance at a Top-2 seed in playoffs.

Team EnVyUs somehow moves up the rankings despite a god-awful series with Phoenix 1 last Friday and the patience to wait out Dignitas until they self-combusted.

Re-reading my P1-NV series notes, phrases jump out at me:

·       “We’ve been in the river for, like, 2 minutes”

·       “My guess: Lira’s tilited”

·       “Mid lane outer from P1 dies at @42:45, I wanna die”

·       “Equivalent of monkeys throwing feces at each other”

·        “…abominations of cowardice and tilt”

Long story short—and I mean long, Games 2 and 3 lasted 106:56—the series was so bad no one deserved to win, but Envy deserved it least. Zero decisive shots were called in the late game, with strategy devolving into farming until six-slotted and praying for a pick. In other words, they played like EU teams, and it hurt my head to watch. Barons were poorly contested or not contested at all. Players roamed over the map with the vague notion of pushing lanes, but inevitably found themselves outnumbered and killed. There was no confidence to anything Envy did, and so I hoped this space would be used to put them on blast for 500 words.

Alas, Envy denied me my rage and pulled together a half-decent series against Dignitas. Sure, Dignitas presented that series on a platter for Envy multiple times over multiple games, but it takes a certain quality to punish those mistakes and on that day, Envy had it. Pirean was reliable in the mid lane, looking especially effective when he gets Taliyah—his most-played champ that also has his highest win rate at 71.4%—as he did in Game 3. Nisqy will continue to warm the bench if Envy can get games like that out of Pirean.

But for Envy to contend for a playoff spot, they need to fix their late game deficiencies. Lira has the highest GD@15 (+415) and XPD@15 (+544) of all starting NA junglers, helping Envy achieve the highest GD@15 (+998) in NA LCS. Yet they do nothing with those advantages; Envy are tied for lowest First Dragon Rate (37%) and second-lowest Baron control rate (44%) in the league. At some point, any early advantage Envy gains will cease to matter; teams will stall out the game until gold equalizes and push fights and objectives Envy can’t win.

Cloud 9 and Echo Fox aim to punish Envy’s late game in Week 6. Well…maybe only C9.

Magic Mikeyeung has lit the fire and Phoenix 1 are reborn, achieving their first 2-0 of Summer Split just in time to challenge the Kings of Europe. The rookie’s undressing of Immortals in Games 2-3 cemented his folk-hero status—I’ve personally watched his Game 3 1v5 Baron denial half a dozen times already—and his post-game interview with Phreak, paused initially due to the roar of the crowd, was genuinely moving.

Who would have thought such a talent could emerge from troll-filled cesspool that is NA solo queue? Mike’s confidence has been off the charts since being told by his teammates to stop respecting his opponents too much, and his ability to bury opposing solo laners (see: Flame in Game 2) is among the best in the league. Put him on a carry jungler and watch the sparks fly. It’s too bad he’ll never be allowed to play Nidalee again.

Phoenix 1 shouldn’t be as good as they are, and despite their recent form, playoffs remain a long shot. The signing and starting of Xspecial has stabilized bot lane, but Arrow continues to underperform, his Spring Split MVP award an increasingly distant memory. Ryu has found new life on Corki, and Zig’s Renekton looks strong, but outside those picks they cannot consistently get ahead even with Mikeyeung’s undivided early game attention.

Mike raised the bar for Phoenix 1, but will his teammates meet him up there? Week 6 showdowns with TSM and Team Dignitas will dictate how close to playoffs this team can get.

Now reeling from four straight 1-2 series defeats, Team Dignitas have lost much of the momentum gained by their strong 5-1 start to Summer Split.

I wrote last week that Dignitas need to find ways to win that don’t involve Ssumday carrying, and this week was more proof. LOD was pulled midway through the FlyQuest series for Altec and immediately the bot lane looked more dangerous. Is the former FlyQuest man the answer? He looked great on Tristana, even securing the second pentakill of the split in Game 2 vs. Team EnVyUs. Still, ADCs are only as good as their team allows them to be, reliant on strong macro to select advantageous fights.

This is a problem for Dignitas, as it’s hard to take advantageous fights when your best player is too easily tracked via his Teleport cooldown. The 4-1 split pushing strategy that Dignitas favor separates Ssumday from his team, and when the opposition is confident in 4v4s or commits heavily to gank Ssumday without fear, what does this strategy accomplish?

You need a legitimate threat in the group of four to make the 4-1 work. TSM have Bjergsen and Doublelift. CLG has Stixxay. Even Echo Fox have Froggen. Who do Dignitas have? Altec is an improvement, but Keane hasn’t been pulling his weight for weeks now, and Shrimp looks a step slower than the jungler who confidently replaced Chaser in Week 2.

Dignitas will need to find answers quickly or their slide will lengthen. Maybe they’ll learn a thing or two from CLG and Phoenix 1 in Week 6.

I left this team for dead last week, so of course they finished Week 5 2-0. Sure, the competition (Dignitas and Echo Fox) was on the weaker side, but wins are wins, especially when last in the standings. Still, it’s fair to say FlyQuest were the beneficiaries of several throws, and were soundly beaten once in each of the three-game series.

To trigger a turnaround, Hai needed to step up and did so, finally giving WildTurtle the help he’s needed all split. Hai’s performances in two closeout Game 3s were fantastic, finishing 8-1-10 on Lucian vs. Dignitas and 4-1-5 on Orianna vs. Echo Fox. FlyQuest looked decisive in their shot calls during wins, often out-maneuvering their opponents late after sloppy early games.

For his part, Turtle has been putting up solid ADC stats, averaging 9.1 CSM and 561 DPM, the latter a league best. With Tristana and Jhin back in the meta, Turtle has more comfort to work with, but at 1-7 his Jhin might not be the best for FlyQuest in the long run (he’s undefeated in three Trist games). When Moon and Balls can contribute this team looks primed to compete, but those instances are few and far between.

Still, an overall positive week from FlyQuest. CLG and Team Liquid are up next in Week 6; at minimum a split weekend would be enough to keep their momentum going.

It’s the same old story from Echo Fox this week, yet again throwing away a winnable series vs. FlyQuest due to poor Baron control and a general inability to snowball early game leads.

Froggen can put up all the gaudy laning stats he wants; what’s the point if they can’t translate into wins? Individual performances aren’t the problem, as Fox proved they can win games when their ADC goes 0-0-0 (Game 1 win vs. Liquid). What is problematic is the disconnect between gaining mid-priority and securing Baron, something Froggen needs to be more vocal about seeing as it’s his lane they need to control. Fox were up 3k gold over FlyQuest in Games 2 and 3, losing both to a combination of picks, sketchy macro and a week bot lane supplying Turtle all the farm he desired.

The Liquid series should have been a clean 2-0 considering the gulf in talent, but three early deaths during a greedy river fight cost Echo Fox Game 2. Credit to Fox for eventually closing out the series, but letting the worst team in the league take you to three games isn’t something to build on. Akaadian and Keith had three kills combined over three games vs. Liquid. How many teams will Fox beat with stats like that from two of their primary damage dealers?

Immortals and Team EnVyUs are next, with Envy suffering from their own late game issues. If Fox can keep their heads in the mid game, we could have a pair of decent series. I’m not holding my breath.

The search for a serviceable starting five continues for Team Liquid, who showed some fight during their third 0-2 week of Summer but little else. The early triple kill by Goldenglue in Game 2 vs. Echo Fox and the victory that followed was the lone highlight of the week. That, and Lourlo debuting Irelia as an old-school counter to Darshan’s Gnar, back in the meta after buffs in Patch 7.13.

I’m not sure what to say about Liquid that hasn’t already been said. Their team fighting is scattered, objectives are lost without contest, and no magical combination of players seems to dramatically change results. Slooshi and Goldenglue are on par with each other, KonKwon hasn’t synergized with Piglet noticeably better than Matt, and Inori isn’t an upgrade over Reignover. Folks, Doublelift isn’t walking through that door.

Liquid have TSM and Flyquest next, two series they shouldn’t be able to win no matter the lineup.

NA LCS Power Rankings Week 4

Are we sure Rek’Sai is good?

I know this is a weekly space for NA LCS Power Rankings—and Week 4 did a lot to solidify them—but humor me for a moment and let’s talk about a certain jungle champion making the rounds worldwide. Ever since she was reworked in Patch 7.11, Rek’Sai has slowly tunneled into competitive play, with junglers logging hundreds of solo queue games.

Pros have seen something in the Void Burrower, but what? A strong initiation with Void Rush? New gank paths that utilize her unique tunnels? Better stat growth? Inventive pathing? More knock-arounds with Unburrow? What makes Rek’Sai a must-have now, after an entire split spent benchwarming? Was her lengthy competitive history enough to push her back into the meta the instant she received some dev love?

I don’t have those answers, but I do have numbers, and they…aren’t good. Since her Patch 7.12 buffs—the ones that made Void Rush less easy to dodge—Rek’Sai has been banned 8 times and picked 12 in NA LCS, an 80% presence that’s second-highest among junglers because Zac is still perma-banned. Only Jhin and Renekton have been picked more in NA LCS on 7.12.

Despite that presence, Rek’Sai is 3-9 (25% winrate) on 7.12, a win percentage next to dead last among all NA LCS champions. At 2.7, her KDA is lowest among junglers that have been picked more than three times, and her DPM is a middling 268.

This isn’t just an NA problem. As of 6/26, Rek’Sai has a 23% winrate among the major regions (LCK, LPL, LMS, NA, EU). No one has figured out how she works, if at all, and yet some teams are drafting her with the first pick. A small AD-ratio increase for Void Rush in 7.13 probably won’t turn her fortunes around. Am I missing something here?

Good luck trying to make Rek’Sai happen.

1. Immortals (7-1, 14-6) (+2)

Immortals answered all questions after an impressive week that saw them knock off rivals CLG and Team Dignitas to take sole possession of first place. Led by Xmithie and some truly otherworldly play from Flame in the top lane, Immortals have amassed wins against all top five teams in NA LCS, an unimpeachable résumé  built on strong individual performances and excellent macro.

Xmithie continues to make his case for MVP of the split, finally settling who won the CLG/Immortals jungler swap by completing outclassing his aggressive counterpart. But Xmithie isn’t the only new acquisition impacting the team. Coach SSONG has brought direction and confidence to a team that had been bereft of both. You can see his influence in how Flame—a fellow Longzhu Gaming ex-pat—has dramatically improved from last split.

Taking the throne is one thing; keeping it is another. Immortal’s first defense will come Saturday afternoon against…

2. Team SoloMid (6-2, 13-5) (Even)

Did Team SoloMid even break a sweat this week? Quick 2-0s over FlyQuest and Echo Fox were finished before they began. Bjerg and Co. were too savvy to slip up against dysfunctional teams, especially when Bjergsen is allowed to play Syndra. Note to NA LCS teams: Before drafting against TSM, read the manga first.

My heart skipped a few beats when Doublelift locked in Tristana twice. The little yordle cannoneer terrorized WildTurtle for two consecutive games, proving that the energizer build is perhaps over-tuned. Svenskeren was useful in the jungle, dying only once against Echo Fox in his most complete series of the split. When TSM gets that kind of game from Sven, there aren’t too many teams in the region that can stay with them.

TSM 's Week 5 is so packed,  Jensen and C9 quest for revenge is an undercard to the bout with Immortals tomorrow. If Sven shows up to both series, my money’s on TSM to board a plane to Berlin securely atop the NA LCS standings.

3. Cloud 9 (5-3, 12-7) (+2)

Cloud 9 will have a tough time losing games when Jensen plays like the best mid laner in the world. An absurd 16.7 Week 4 KDA was more than enough to secure his team wins against Teams Liquid and Dignitas, further propelling C9’s recent trend upward. I’d like to see more from Contractz and Impact, whose inconsistent play is troubling. Then again, it’s easy to overlook small errors when Jensen is attracting attention like the gravitational well of a star.

Truthfully, I thought C9 would slip up against Dignitas even with Jensen on perpetual fire, but the team was able to follow Immortal’s lead and shut down Dig by subduing Ssumday. It turns out that an experienced team that rarely loses lanes is hard to beat.

Jensen will have his chance to snatch the “Best Mid NA” belt from Bjergsen today in what should be an excellent competitive tune-up for Rift Rivals next week. Bring the popcorn, hold the NA LCS nachos.

4. Counter Logic Gaming (6-2, 13-9) (-3)

It’s odd to see a trash-talking, highly motivated, highly competitive team completely fail to show up in a series billed beforehand as Week 4’s best, but that’s exactly what happened when Counter Logic Gaming took the Rift against Immortals. For all their boasting, CLG were badly swept by Immortals and struggled to close out Team EnVyUs the following afternoon.

Let’s talk for a moment about Dardoch, who decided to play Rek’Sai and Kha’Zix for the first time this split—against his old team no less—and failed miserably, finishing 6-6-8. Immortals’ success stemmed from their vision advantage generated by Dardoch building Stalker’s Blade over Tracker’s Knife twice (he finally admitted his mistake midway through Game 2 by reluctantly purchasing a Sightstone). Chilling Smite it a great dueling tool, but at this level the kills must be game-breaking to overcome your team’s vision disadvantage. For Dardoch, the kills didn’t materialize, Immortals had complete map control from the early game onwards, and here we are.

CLG have a chance to rebound with Team Liquid and Cloud 9 to play this weekend, with summer playoff implications abound in the latter matchup. If CLG can rein in Jensen and Darshan can return to form, they have an excellent chance of beating C9 and a realistic shot at a bye into the semifinals

5. Team Dignitas (5-3, 13-10) (-1)

If they can’t win through top lane, Team Dignitas can’t win at all.

That was the logic Immortals and Cloud 9 proved correct this weekend, resulting in two reverse-sweeps that saw Ssumday unable to meaningfully contribute. Dignitas couldn’t adapt, revealing the weakness built into the heart of the team: Without Ssumday, they cease to be elite. LOD, BIG and Keane are serviceable at their positions but rarely take over games. Shrimp has been excellent as Chaser’s replacement, but the way he served himself up to Xmithie and Flame during an ill-executed gank top in Game 3 was astonishing. Who was responsible for that call, and why is he still in LCS?

Luckily, Dignitas have a chance to refine their early game and rebuild confidence against Team EnVyUs and FlyQuest for Week 5. I doubt Ssumday stays slumping for long, but it’s time that Dignitas find other ways to win.

6. Team EnVyUs (4-4, 10-11) (+1)

Nisqy made his North American debut at mid lane for Team EnVyUs, to mixed results. Fresh off promoting Fnatic Academy to the EU LCS (though not really), Nisqy did a job and nothing more. The Cassiopeia that relegated Giants didn’t make much an impression against FlyQuest or CLG, especially when faced with Huhi’s punishing Aurelion Sol. Some internal politics might favor Nisqy over Pirean at the moment, but by my eye the two don’t look dissimilar.

Lira continues to do Lira things, but the real catalyst for Envy’s improved Summer Split has been Apollo and Hakuho. They were excellent in a favorable Ashe/Braum matchup (vs. Caitlyn/Morgana), finishing a combined 5-0-18, but were lackluster otherwise. Remember, Envy’s bot lane resurgence had come in large part to Lira’s freedom from babysitting Ninja mid. Now, with uncertainty in the middle of the map, Lira doesn’t have as much freedom top snowball bot lane with both mid laners and Seraph struggling recently.

Envy have a legitimate shot at playoffs a split after they were nearly relegated, but if the team can’t rediscover the balance they had to begin Summer, I can’t see them making the trip to Boston in September. Week 5 delivers two winnable series against down-trending teams (Dignitas and Phoenix 1), but Envy will struggle if bot lane can’t get help.

7. Echo Fox (3-5, 8-10) (-1)

Another week, another egregious throw. It’s all in a weekend’s work for Echo Fox, a team that has all the pieces to be great, yet cannot put the puzzle together.

After a week in which they were roundly roasted for leashing Baron for the other team, they did it again in Game 2 against Phoenix 1. It wasn’t enough for Echo Fox to leave a half-health Baron to the oncoming P1 Curtain Call, no no, Akaadian had to literally feed himself to Zig via the most unfortunate ward hop I’ve ever witnessed live. Against TSM, a team that will take a mile if you give them an inch, Echo Fox supplied yards of rope to hang themselves, losing objective after objective despite another excellent early game.

Call them Dark C9 if you like, the similarity is uncanny. Echo Fox rely on an outstanding European mid laner to win games surrounded by an above-average supporting cast. The difference is that C9 have the synergy to convert their mid laner’s atomic performances into late game wins; Echo Fox haven’t figured out that part yet. If they ever do, watch out, but as the season rolls on I increasingly doubt they will.

A reprieve comes in the form of Week 5: Charmin-soft Team Liquid and FlyQuest are just what the doctor ordered.

8. Phoenix 1 (1-7, 7-14) (+1)

Peaks and valleys for Phoenix 1 in Week 4. The Rift Rivals attendees found their first series win of Summer, but it wasn’t against the team we expected them to beat.

MikeYeung and P1 turned in two excellent games against Echo Fox, taking advantage of Fox’s Baron throw in Game 2 while surviving their own in Game 1. Arrow looked like his old self on Jhin, sniping off squishy carries and finishing 10-1-18 across both games. At the time, it seemed like P1 were poised for a full recovery.

Then, the Liquid series happened, and all optimism flew out the window. Arrow was back to his brittle Summer form, Zig didn't get any traction against Lourlo in the deciding Game 3, and MikeYeung couldn’t replicate his surprising Game 2 Rek’Sai performance. Normally a 2-1 loss to cap an otherwise hopeful weekend would be easier to take. But, it was Liquid, so...

Immortals and Team EnVyUs will provide us a better sense of P1’s progression halfway through the split, but the four-week hole they’ve dug themselves makes playoffs unlikely even with a successful Week 5. The P1 that showed up against Echo Fox could take games off these opponents. I’m not counting on it.

9. Team Liquid (2-6, 5-14) (+1)

In a scramble to find something, anything that works, Team Liquid threw three subs to the wolves this week with varied results.

Slooshi took over for Goldenglue mid and held his own against Jensen and Ryu. KonKwon was an outstanding 0-2-20 in the deciding Game 3 against P1, and Inori…didn’t warrant another start after an ineffective debut for Liquid against Cloud 9. It was almost cruel to Inori; while still on Phoenix 1, he was permanently subbed out for Meteos after Contractz destroyed him, and in his first game back on the LCS stage, Contractz and C9 were waiting for him. At least Inori’s paid well.

The victory over Phoenix 1 was well earned—their Game 3 demolition was a high point—but Liquid are playing for next season, and no combination of current players is going to change that. Echo Fox and CLG will find little resistance when Liquid bumps up against them this weekend.

10. FlyQuest eSports (1-7, 5-14) (-2)

There will be no magical run to the playoffs this year. After a 1-5 week where little went right, FlyQuest continue to regress, barely putting up a fight against TSM despite the WildTurtle/Doublelift beef and nearly got swept by Team EnVyUs (losing 1-2 instead).

For all his experience and skill, Hai has underwhelmed in the mid lane and his team suffers for it. Coordination in team fights is lacking, with the players often splitting damage between targets instead of focusing, and focusing when they should be splitting. Constant pressure in the mid lane that needs to be addressed by Moon leaves the side lanes out to dry, further compounding Balls’ sub-par play.

Hopefully the Edens family doesn’t reconsider their investment when the bill for franchising comes due, because in the old system, this team would be relegation fodder. Echo Fox and Team Dignitas will not drop games to FlyQuest in Week 5.