With only a few weeks left until 16 teams but heads in San Francisco for the first round of the 2016 World Championship Group Stage, our League of Legends experts have assembled to break down where each team looks headed into the tournament.

These rankings were voted on by: Kelsey Moser, Emily Rand and Tim Sevenhuysen. Individual votes can be found at the bottom of this article.

1. ROX Tigers

Despite falling in last year's grand final to SK Telecom T1, this year the Tigers enter fresh off of dominant back-to-back regular season performances. They are the current champions of Korea, finally disproving the notion that their nerves kept them from winning important playoff matches or championships. Now they come into the 2016 World Championship as favorites.

Much of the Tigers' mystique comes from their friendly nature and obvious love of the game. It's difficult to not have fun watching the Tigers because they make it so easy to smile with precise, coordinated gameplay and visible enjoyment. Top laner Smeb is the best player in the world right now and while they lack the aggression of certain Chinese bot lanes, PraY and GorillA are not to be taken lightly. The only question for the Tigers is that of jungler Peanut. He's been one of Korea's best for two splits, but has also underperformed in two LCK Finals series, especially in comparison to his dominant regular-season showings.

However, when one member of the Tigers falters, another rises to the occasion, and they move as a team. An assembly of good friends who communicate well and also happen to be some of the best League of Legends players in the world will prove to be a tough task for their adversaries.

2. EDward Gaming

Photo: 刘一村

Yet again, EDward Gaming are projected to do well going into a World Championship, but this time around, barring another fluke illness, there are fewer indications that they'll perform poorly. Even last year, it was evident from frequent top/mid changes, that not everything was stable within EDward Gaming, and the abrupt meta shift hurt a team unable to adapt quickly to play around top side.

This time, top is still a weakness for them that teams can exploit that LPL may not have completely prepared them to face. Despite this, with some of deft's champions looking more prominent in the meta, and EDG's bottom land and clearlove looking more intimidating than ever, EDward Gaming are poised to break the Round of 8 curse. Eyes will be on whether or not they can open up the rest of the map through their support control or whether their bottom lane's occasional over-aggressiveness can hurt them if the counter-gank doesn't arrive in time.

3. SK Telecom T1

SK Telecom T1 hasn't played in a short while, so it's difficult to get a strong read on them prior to Worlds. With the upcoming tournament looming, SKT still have two underwhelming jungle options — Blank and bengi — which is perhaps why they've fallen a bit in the court of public opinion. With the rise of standard lanes, a proactive jungler is often crucial to a team's success since ensuring laning leads can quickly snowball to a victory. SKT's preferred LCK Spring style of waiting to 5v5 teamfight might not be enough to overwhelm an opponent with an already significant gold lead.

However, strong standard lanes are what SKT were built on. It's how they facilitated mid laner Faker in Season 3, and it's certainly possible after a month or so of practice. They still have the best player to ever play League of Legends in Faker along with a strong support staff that includes Coach KkOma. No other team in the world punishes an opponent’s mistakes quite like SKT, and no other team save the Tigers can brutalize opponents from a simple early gold lead. SKT are impossible to count out, especially when their most recent series was a five-game nail biter against KT Rolster featuring a Game 2 SKT blowout.

4. Team SoloMid

TSM aren't simply good by the often-incorrect method of ranking a region based on their most recent international performances. TSM are a good team whose strengths lie in their individual performers and proactivity. Few NA teams have been able to keep pace with TSM this split. AD carry Doublelift has had what is likely the best split in his long career, rookie Biofrost has been his perfect laning partner and TSM still have Bjergsen who continues to build his case as one of the best mid laners in the world.

That being said, the 2016 NA LCS Summer Finals showed that TSM still has a lot of work to do prior making dreams of at least a Semifinals appearance a reality. In Game 1, Cloud9 fought TSM, stymieing their usual early lane pressure. While this more proactive C9 didn't show up again in the Finals, TSM will need to prepare for stronger pressure from international teams.

5. Samsung Galaxy

Samsung have discernible individual weaknesses, which are amplified when the team doesn't play at the level they recently showed against KT. Top laner CuVee has difficulty against some of his region's best, and this isn't likely to change when introduced to the international talent pool, although he occasionally pulls out dominating showings. Until the gauntlet, Ambition had relied on support Wraith, looking lost the few times CoreJJ started during the regular season. Rookie AD carry Ruler has talent but his champion pool has rightfully been called into question, although he did pick up Jhin for Samsung's unlikely qualifying run.

It's difficult to place a team with so many caveats, and Samsung join a group of teams just below the top that include the likes of TSM and G2. Samsung certainly has the tools to go far at the World Championship, but they're inconsistent.

6. G2 Esports

Europe has low expectations this time around, primarily fueled by struggles at the Mid-Season Invitational and reshuffling of major teams. I don't think these are necessarily reasons not to expect things from European teams. If anything, G2's biggest issue may be a difficulty playing around more than one lane at a time, but they've been creative lately. The use of Ekko mid, though heavily criticized, allowed Perkz to set up flanks and take initiative in the EU LCS final. Trick will be extremely happy in a meta that prioritizes giving lane farm to junglers. With emphasis on bottom lane to control the map, G2 are also well-equipped.

G2 fall short when it comes to Expect, who has struggled to get advantages on his own. The top lane pool at the World Championship isn't extremely strong, but his decisions in trades and his occasional restrictions on Trick's pathing may make this Worlds more difficult for his team. It's a shame to sleep on G2, but there are definitely warning signs for the team.

7. Cloud9

Cloud9's growth from a loose assortment of talent into an actual team has been one of North America's most fascinating narratives across the 2016 NA LCS Summer split. Accompanying their improvements towards the end of Summer were top laner Impact’s carry performances on Gnar. Impact stepped into the spotlight just as C9 needed him in two tough series against Immortals, first in the Semifinals and then in the regional qualifier. With the ever steady Jensen in the mid lane and AD carry Sneaky in the bot lane, Impact provided an extra carry threat that made it difficult for C9’s opponents to shut them down completely. Impact is also fairly self-sufficient and doesn’t have to rely on jungle attention from Meteos. Many of his early leads came off of besting opponents in lane.

There are still a few cracks in C9’s armor. Impact was stunning in the playoffs and the gauntlet, but still fails to time his Teleports correctly and was frequently just ahead or behind his teammates in teamfights. Meteos has been hit or miss, with obvious communication problems not only with Impact but his two other lanes. C9 have developed into a formidable opponent, but still suffer from communication or decision-making errors that will continue to ease with time and practice, just like their dramatic improvement over the course of the split. They’re still a likely quarterfinals candidate, but any deeper run would require these team coordination mistakes to be resolved.

8. Royal Never Give Up

Photo: 刘一村

Despite a spectacular Mid-Season Invitational performance and a projected AD carry upgrade, the LPL summer split has not been as kind to Royal Never Give Up. They've had visible difficulties adapting to an absolute bottom lane-centric style, and they've been unable to convert advantages acquired by their top and mid laner well. Teleports have felt disconnected, and Mata and xiaohu haven't been performing close to their Spring level. Though requiring more proactivity from the jungler has opened up Mlxg, more thoughtful countergankers may cause him difficulties with more emphasis on creative pathing.

Royal have an incredibly high skill ceiling, and they boast some of the best laners at the tournament. Theoretically, they should be able to acquire strong early game leads. It's just about closing the game and being able to utilize the advantages they gain. Betting on Royal is a gamble, but this team is full of players who have done extremely well at international events, including Looper and Uzi who famously over perform.

9. Flash Wolves

In many ways, the Flash Wolves are still the Flash Wolves. They rely on getting gold onto NL to get ahead and use him as a risky bait. But more and more this season, they've relied on Karsa as a carry. His style of all-or-nothing ganks has tempered, and he and Maple are the battering ram force. Having secured a first seed spot for themselves, they have a strong chance of making the bracket. Yet they've lost some of their strengths in the change of patch, as they are unable to easily secure a safe laning phase for their side lanes with creative set ups.

With the drop of J Team, LMS feels like they've sunk slightly since last year. With members of this roster hinting that they may look for other opportunities next year, this feels like a last hurrah for the Flash Wolves. That can either give them energy to defy the odds and make it further than they ever have at an international event, or it can wear on them.

10. Splyce

Splyce are a relatively unique team in that their laning phase has overall been weak. This is something they all have said they really need to focus on in bootcamp, but the question is whether they can overcome this weakness in time. The impressive thing about Splyce is their ability to use the top side of the map to set up bottom side advantages, as well as their ability to identify and isolate openings throughout the game, especially from behind.

If there are confusing aspects of the new patch, Splyce is a team to figure them out. Their ability to get a good read on patches has been a calling card throughout the regular season, and as a result, they may take to Worlds quickly, giving them a boost in group stage that allows them to escape. In general, Splyce seem like a more adaptive team between games in series, which will help them against more intimidating opponents, should they escape group stage.

11. H2k-Gaming

Like Royal Never Give Up, H2K can either blow past their competition and make it all the way to semifinals if they're on form and utilizing the talents of their roster, or there will be wasted resources in their play. H2K's strengths are in early game and prioritizing lane transitions, but they've struggled to figure out what kind of jungler Jankos can be. Within a single game, H2K are adaptive, and can decide where to send Jankos, but their adaptation between series has been called into question, even by the team members themselves.

To succeed at this event, H2K Gaming want to be able to use a top lane advantage to Teleport bottom and open the map extremely early. This has been something they've done consistently since FORG1VEN joined the team, and with Ryu stepping up considerably, I think weak synergy between top and bottom lane may be the only thing that is holding them back. Despite drama, the players are all willing to work for success, and if there's a time to get around their series adaptation hangups, it's now.

12. Counter Logic Gaming

No longer NA's shining example of improvement, Counter Logic Gaming have fallen in favor throughout the spring split. Spring CLG was a well-oiled machine that knew how to make up for their individual weaknesses with team strength and smarter objective trades. This fell apart in the summer split when top laner Darshan had trouble finding his footing and mid laner Huhi still struggled with champion choices. Jungler Xmithie had a fantastic season, but with multiple lanes bleeding out was often left with few options.

CLG were delicately balanced. Add a few odd draft decisions or one underperformance and the entire team looks all the worse for it. Their strength is that they know this more than anyone, and will use their preparation time wisely to find a new strategy that works for them as a team while fitting the current meta. While he’s often cited as the weak link, this is shaping up to be a good meta for Huhi if he can frequently push out mid so he can roam and affect side lanes, where he operates best. It’s certainly possible for them to advance, and CLG seems to work best when the odds are stacked against them, but they’ll face stiff competition from a much-improved G2 Esports and haven’t been nearly as consistent as Europe’s first-place squad.

13. I May

Photo: 刘一村

I May adapted surprisingly well to Patch 6.15 given that the quality of their laners individually isn't high. Avoidless demonstrated surprising resourcefulness, and he may be overlooked this tournament among the major jungler names. road's ability to place smart wards and facilitate Teleport opportunities features strongly into IM's ability to win games, despite their difficulty finding the right move in mid game. In the early game, I May focus on getting mid and top ahead. Athena's specialty is clearing mid, and road will roam to the mid lane to get him ahead. In the top lane, Avoidless and AmazingJ form the main carry duo of the team, though AmazingJ can occasionally position too far forward in lane, necessitating Avoidless' assistance.

As a team, I May have said their goal is to escape the Group Stage. Depending on draw, this is definitely a possibility, but they will struggle. Luckily, their work ethic and focus has been something that has allowed them to improve quickly in a short time and shouldn't be underestimated internationally.

14. ahq e-Sports Club

Ziv will see this Worlds as a boon given his ability to abuse top lane matchups. Very few teams will focus top, and this an area where he has self-sufficient power. Mountain, given his meandering regular season, may have overperformed in playoffs or the gauntlet. He still had some wasteful decision making. In general, it's hard to underestimate ahq entirely because of the team's level of experience and how they rely on Westdoor. This meta is perhaps one of the first Worlds appearances where Westdoor's champion pool doesn't feel completely suited. Even so, Twisted Fate may make a sleeper appearance.

Since ahq's surge did come after the bootcamp, the biggest question is whether their improvements are sustainable or they qualified after a slow season as a product of J Team's collapse and a lack of other competition. A close series against Flash Wolves could have been a fluke or a stronger statement.

15. INTZ e-Sports

The third time was, in fact, the charm for Brazil's INTZ e-Sports, who had developed quite the reputation for losing at international wildcard events where they were favored to take it all and move on to the larger, major region tournament. Now INTZ are at Worlds, facing a tougher assembly of teams than their Brazilian brethren paiN Gaming did last year.

INTZ did not perform well at this year's International Wildcard Qualifier, beating out Dark Passage in a sloppy best-of-five series that did little to assuage INTZ fans. It’s not impossible for them to exit groups, but certainly improbable, especially if they play at the level of their recent IWCQ final.

16. Albus NoX Luna

The stronger of the two IWCQ Finals series was won by CIS’ champions Albus NoX Luna, who beat out favorites Lyon Gaming 3-2. Previously known as Hard Random, the team includes top laner Smurf and mid laner Kira, who have been trying to put the CIS region on the map since their time with Hard Random last year. Kira, in particular, made a splash for his flashy 1v1 outplays during the first-ever International Wildcard Invitational in 2015.

They’re joined by jungler PVPStejos, AD carry aMiracle, and support Likkrit. Likkrit dictates the pace of Albus NoX Luna’s games from the bot lane, sometimes hard-carrying his team with stronger crowd control picks like Bard or his off-meta Brand.

CIS has grown rapidly as a region this past year with the new LoL Continental League succeeding the SLTV StarSeries, offering a fully offline tournament. Albus NoX Luna’s presence at the 2016 World Championship stands as proof of this growth. However, Albus NoX Luna have many weaknesses and a near-impossible group.

Individual votes