EU LCS Power Rankings Heading Into Week 7

After an interesting week 6 in the EU LCS, some teams have improved their position, while others have slipped a little. With so little time to go in this split, let’s see which teams are climbing the ladder, and which teams are barely holding on.

G2 Esports

G2 entered last week tied for first place and left squarely in second, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t still an incredibly dominant team in the EU LCS. Their loss to Fnatic last weekend may have knocked them down a peg, but G2’s strength is usually shown in the post-season, where the individual games matter less than the overall series. Special recognition to G2’s top laner, Martin “Wunder” Hansen, for keeping G2 ahead in gold almost singlehandedly, though at the same time, this might have given viewers the impression that G2 were doing better as a team than they actually were.

Fnatic

Fnatic may have had a rough start to the split, winning just two of their first five games, but they’ve certainly stepped up the pace since then, going on an incredible seven game win streak. Fnatic are certainly a lot more comfortable when it comes to messy late-game team fights, a skill that helped them in their victory over G2 Esports. AD Carry Martin “Rekkles” Larsson has also stepped up in recent weeks, making much more aggressive moves in the bot lane to help snowball his team to victory.

Misfits Gaming

Misfits aren’t so much climbing as they are staying put while others fall around them. Their performance last week showed that while they have the skills to compete with the best, they are still making basic errors when it comes to objective control. Top laner Barney “Alphari” Morris has been putting in work, winning lane where he can, and mitigating what should be a losing match-up elsewhere, fairly indicative of Misfits as a whole really. If they want to improve, they’ll need to start doing more than just “losing less” and become a much more proactive team.

Team Vitality

Despite a shocking last two weeks, Vitality shouldn’t be written off just yet. The strategy of playing to the late game has worked for them in the past, and can work for them again if they can fix their co-ordination. Mid laner Daniele “Jiizuke” di Mauro still has potential to be a threat if the opposing team doesn’t put in work to shut him down, so Vitality can always work to give him some breathing room. Besides, in the EU LCS, you should never discount the ability for any team to suddenly upset any other team in a wild late-game team fight, something Vitality have proven to be quite good at.

Splyce

Splyce’s strategy seems to be to draft and play for the late game, while also hoping that the enemy team will make a crucial mistake at some point. While this might work in solo-queue, it’s too reliant on outside factors to work with any real success in the EU LCS. While no team is above making mistakes, you can’t just rely on them to happen to give you the win, so Splyce needs to demonstrate that they have a game-plan of their own, otherwise they will almost certainly fall flat when Playoffs roll around.

Giants Gaming

Another team that relies too much on the mistakes of others, Giants are an odd bunch in that they seem to play to the level of their opponents. Performing well against top teams and performing poorly against weaker teams, Giants need to capitalize on their good teamwork and find a plan that will allow them to identify their win condition and work towards them, rather than hoping to make a lead in the early game and wait for the opposing team to come to them.

FC Schalke 04

Schalke are still making mistakes that cost them games, and it’s only their ability to steal games away from teams that seem certain to win that keeps them this high. If ever there was a time for Schalke to prove that they have more than luck going for them, it’s not, as Playoffs are rapidly approaching and it’s unlikely that victory will be as easy to achieve when the individual games turn into full series.

H2K Gaming

H2K have been making rapid progress since their mid-season roster change. Jungler Ilyas "Shook" Hartsema and mid laner Marcin "Selfie" Wolski have been a breath of fresh air in a team that otherwise would have languished at the bottom of the ladder with only a couple of wins to their name. If their record continues to improve, then at this rate H2K stands a good chance of climbing back into Playoffs contention.  

Team ROCCAT

ROCCAT seem to have slipped in the last few weeks, making sloppy mistakes that should not be happening at this level of play. Unforced errors are costing them far too much, and ad this rate they could find themselves slipping out of Playoffs contention. Previously, their bot lane duo of Martin "HeaQ" Kordmaa and support Tore "Norskeren" Hoel Eilertsen have shown that they could match up against the best, but lately they seem to have lost the fire that they possessed early in the split. Whatever is going wrong behind the scenes needs to be fixed quickly, before it becomes too late.

Unicorns of Love

The Unicorns of Love had their first 2-0 week last week, and much of that came off the back of mid laner Fabian "Exileh" Schubert. The Unicorns have been playing well all split, they just haven’t managed to find that spark that would let them win games, until now it seems, which could prove problematic for the other teams in the EU LCS. If the Unicorns are actually on the rise, then expect to see them play spoiler to the other teams, especially the ones already looking a little shaky.

The games to come should prove extremely exciting as the teams jockey for seeding in Playoffs. With the bottom half all being so close to each other in skill, it should make for an enjoyable viewing experience. For more EU LCS action, check out how H2K rallied in their final team fight against Giants to steal the victory, and to see when these teams will be facing off next, check out the Official Schedule page, here.