Follow me on Twitter for updates on posts!

My power rankings will be less in depth this week due to excessive amounts of school-work, I still hope you guys enjoy them. If you want to know more reasoning on why I placed a team where i did, hit me up on Twitter or Reddit.

We have now entered a stage of the split where we should be able to take strength of schedule so far into consideration while comparing teams. This will probably be the best power ranking to determine team’s strength so far. A lot of teams went either 2-0, or 0-2 this weekend, and the standings were shook up. A lot of the teams that people expected to struggle before the season are still at the bottom parts of the standings, while the bigger teams that had a slow start are starting to pick up some wins. That doesn’t mean they get highly ranked on my power ranking though, as I will focus a lot on which teams has played who so far. Here is the link for last weeks power rankings for you to compare.

Header explanation:

Ranking. (change since last week) Team Name, Score (Week Score)

1. ( +2 ) Team Liquid, 5-1 (2-0)

W vs FlyQuest

W vs Golden Guardians

I struggled a lot to decide which team to place first this week. Arguments could be made for all the top four teams, but in the end I decided on Team Liquid. TL have had the easiest schedule out of all the top teams so far. They have yet to play Echo Fox, Cloud 9 and CLG, which can be considered some of the strongest opposition in the league. Despite all this, I ended up placing them first due to how dominant they have been in their wins. They have four out of the four fastest wins this split, and an average game time of only 32.1 minute, 5.5 minutes faster than the second best team in Clutch. They have gotten first tower in all their games so far, and has the highest gold difference at 15 on average. It is therefore very hard to go against this team.

Week four will be the biggest test for Team Liquid so far, they will be facing both Cloud 9 and Echo Fox. I expect them to match up better against Echo Fox due to TL having what most people consider to be the stronger botlane, which is where TL plays through. Using that strength against C9 will be a lot more difficult though, as Sneaky and Smoothie have looked amazing so far this split, it’s going to be very exciting to follow that botlane matchup.

2. (0) Cloud 9, 5-1 (2-0)

W vs OpTic Gaming

W vs Clutch Gaming

Cloud 9 have still only lost to Echo Fox this season, and continues to look strong. All their laners are looking incredibly strong, and it is hard to not see them as a top top team in the league right now. The only thing holding me back from declaring them as the number one team is that Svenskeren hasn’t shown amazing synergy with the laners yet, and a lot of their plays have come from their botlane.

They could be up against a tough week four, as TL looks very strong, and FlyQuest doesn’t look like pushovers despite being low in the standings. They will be expecting to go out of the second week with at least one win, but maybe even two.

3. ( -2 ) Echo Fox, 5-1 (1-1)

L vs CLG

W vs OpTic Gaming

Echo Fox got handed their first loss of the season up against CLG, and they didn’t look overly convincing against OpTic. Due to this they fall down from first to third on my power rankings this week, but they remain very close with Team Liquid and Cloud 9.

They will be starting week 4 with a game against Golden Guardians, a game they should be able to win quite easily. Their laners just seem to strong for this game to be close. Their second game will be a lot more exciting, they will be going up against what many consider to be the strongest team in the league right now, Team Liquid. FeniX and Dardoch will be facing their old team, and I expected Echo Fox to be highly motivated for this game. One of the most exciting games of the week.

4. (0) 100 Thieves, 4-2 (1-1)

W vs Clutch Gaming

L vs TSM

It is really hard to figure out how strong 100 Thieves really are. They have beaten TL, but they have also lost to TSM and C9. I think their highs are equal to TL, Echo Fox and C9, but they are showing less consistency compared to the other top teams. It has to be taken into consideration that have had maybe the hardest schedule so far, and that the only top team they have left to face in the first half is Echo Fox.

They will have to go 2-0 next week to remain a top four team, but I definitively expect them to. They will be playing against FlyQuest and Golden Guardians which are probably the weakest teams in the league right now.

5. (0) Clutch Gaming, 2-4 (0-2)

L vs 100 Thieves

L vs Cloud 9

Clutch Gaming is the team that decides whether a team belongs in the top, or the bottom of the standings. They have lost to all four teams ranked above them, and beaten all the teams they have played below them. So despite being 2-4, they are probably in a way the most consistent team in the league. Many may be surprised that I have them at fifth place, but the fact that they have faced all the top teams in the league with three games remaining of the first half of the split, results in me giving them the benefit f the doubt.

Their first game of the week is going to be very exciting to watch. They will be facing TSM which looks to be on the rise. The question will be whether they can pass “the Gatekeepers” in Clutch. Their second match should be winnable, when the two European midlane imports for the split, in Febiven and PowerOfEvil, will be squaring up.

6. ( +2 ) TeamSoloMid, 3-3 (2-0)

W vs Golden Guardians

W vs 100 Thieves

I had a bold statement regarding TSM’s week three, saying that they had to win both games to show that they still can be a top team. And they answered. They roar up the standings with their 2-0 week, and picked up a very important win against 100 Thieves. This will give them a lot of confidence moving forward, and they will be hoping to show that their slow start was only that.

Both their games this week is going to be very interesting to follow. They will start the week against “the Gatekeepers”, in Clutch, hoping that they can show that they are a top team. Their second game will be against another team trying to climb the standings, CLG. Few would have expected that this would be a match between two 0.5 teams at this point in the season.

7. ( +2 ) Counter Logic Gaming, 3-3 (2-0)

W vs Echo Fox

W vs FlyQuest

I’m very confused regarding CLG, I both considered keeping them in the bottom three, and to put them in the top five. They had a very good win against a super-strong Echo Fox team, and picked up another one against FlyQuest. Their early games have been good the entire split, but this week they were able to keep that going into the mid- and lategame.

The first game of the fourth week will be a good indicator on if I did right in placing them above OpTic. They will be going up against each other, and I don’t expect a close game. The only problem is that I don’t know which team will be the dominant one. Their second game of the week will be up against their big rival in TSM, and people will be very excited for that one. I personally think CLG will struggle, but I could be very wrong on that one.

8. ( -2 ) OpTic Gaming, 1-5 (0-2)

L vs Cloud 9

L vs Echo Fox

OpTic is 1-5, but I still have this feeling that they aren’t that bad. On paper I think they look like a bottom two team, but from watching their games they always seem to have the potential to go on a three game winning streak. That winning streak did not come this week, as they lost to two of the strongest teams in the league, Cloud 9 and Echo Fox.

They will be going up against CLG and Clutch in week four, two tough, but beatable opponents. CLG is an enigma at the moment, and despite the fact that Clutch have beaten teams below them so far, they could get beaten by OpTic.

9. ( -2 ) FlyQuest, 2-4 (0-2)

L vs Team Liquid

L vs CLG

FlyQuest doesn’t look to good in my eyes. If you look away from their TSM win, they have never really looked like challenging. They spent the last week trying to change up their staring lineup a bit, but without any success. AnDa and Keane have both looked okay so far, but I expected a lot more from Flame and WildTurtle.

Next week is going to be very though for them as they go up against 100 Thieves and Cloud 9. I heavily expect both those games to end in a loss. And considering the last remaining team they have to face are Clutch, I don’t see them having a good couple of weeks going forward.

10. (0) Golden Guardians, 0-6 (0-2)

L vs TSM

L vs Team Liquid

Golden Guardians sacked their coach “Locodoco” just before going into the weekend, and the one thing I hade going for them, their growth, totally disappeared. I’m not gonna say anything on the decision as a whole, but if you only consider it from a competitive standpoint, I think it is the worst decision they could make. I think Loco is one of the better coaches in the league, and despite some of his problems, I think he is one of the few people that might have been able to do anything with this roster. Taking this, and the quality of their opposition this week, into consideration, it was no surprise that they went 0-2.

Where I used to see a lot of hope for Golden Guardians, I don’t anymore. They will be playing Echo Fox and 100 Thieves next week, and I expect them to lose both those games heavily. It is going to be interesting to hear from Locodoco when he says something on the matter, cause I think that Golden Guardians would have to have had a really go reason to justify this decision.