Worlds has finally boiled down to its final 16 teams, and the main event is about to get underway. With groups all sorted, theScore esports has observed and analyzed the remaining teams and determined a power ranking that places them based on their likelihood of winning the entire competition.

Who stands on top this year? Can anyone dethrone the Korean teams? Read on.

16. GIGABYTE Marines (GPL)

At recent international events, there’s always at least one team from an emerging region that manages to win the hearts of the crowd, even if they don’t manage to win the tournament. Last year it was Albus NoX Luna, but the Gigabyte Marines are definitely the crowd favorite of 2017 after their surprise wins against TSM and G2 at MSI. Though they’re unlikely to get out of groups, considering they’re up against Longzhu Gaming and Immortals, we could see them getting at least one epic win on the strength of their jungler Đỗ “Levi” Duy Khánh. It truly depends on the crazy strategies available to them on this current Worlds patch, and whether they can catch teams, and spectators, by surprise.

15. Fenerbahçe 1907 (TCL)

Fenerbahçe 1907 is Turkey's first and only seed at Worlds this year, and they earned that right to represent the TCL through the stellar mid lane play of Kim "Frozen" Tae-il . Despite their decent run in the play-in stages, the reality is that this team is not actually operating at full strength due to an emergency jungler substitution, as Kang "Move" Min-su was unable to secure a visa to China. This severely reduces their chances at surviving the group stage, and harms their very mid-centric style of play. The Turkish players have had to step up to compensate for this loss, but have had their moments of inconsistency when doing so. We expect this to continue and for them to be unable to make a splash in the remaining parts of the tournament as a result.

14. Fnatic (EU LCS)

Fnatic is a bit of an anomaly coming into the group stages of the tournament. Their inconsistency was on full display in the Worlds Play-In stage and during the EU LCS season, where the latter saw their first place in the regular season coupled with a miserable playoff defeat. The fact is that Fnatic are grossly inconsistent because their competition has had varying degrees of preparation for Fnatic’s one-dimensional style. Strategic diversity and greater need for Fnatic’s carries to step up and enable other lanes will be pivotal to any sort of resurgence of form from the side of Fnatic. However, those possibilities are unlikely. Mads "Broxah" Brock-Pedersen has shown to be a limited player in a changing meta that forces a more supportive nature, while the bottom lane has had a huge downturn in laning performance, highlighted by Young Generation’s 2v2 domination in the play-in group stages.

13. ahq e-Sports Club (LMS)

ahq is one of the weaker teams in the group stage. Their style of play is fairly rudimentary and they are comfortable with the meta, but they have far too many weak points to be considered genuine contenders. Their top lane is solid, and jungler can be considered serviceable, but the mid lane platoon of Wong "Chawy" Xing-Lei and Liu "Westdoor" Shu-Wei will not inspire confidence in any way. If ahq want to succeed, they will have to get Chen "Ziv" Yi to exploit the top lane deficiencies within his group. Beyond that, it’s hard to advocate for situations where they will make an impact on the tournament.

12. Misfits (EU LCS)

While Misfits did better than anyone would have expected in the summer playoffs—beating Fnatic 3-1 in the semifinals after sweeping Unicorns of Love in the quarters—the fact remains that they were beaten handily by G2 Esports in the finals, a team that has as many question marks as Misfits’ group mates Flash Wolves and Team SoloMid. As such, Misfits would be miscast as a Cinderella story.

There are a lot of parallels between the run of Misfits this year and Splyce last year. An EU LCS organization in its rookie year joining veterans in representing Europe on the world stage, put into a group with low expectations for themselves. Like Splyce, they also have some redeeming factors. Their preparation and setplays to get early game advantages are solid enough to give them room to work with heading into the later stages of the game. Whether they can capitalize on that in lieu of better competition will be the biggest hurdle for the young European team.

11. Cloud 9 (NA LCS)

If there's any team that has altered their identity substantially in the past month, it's Cloud9. Originally a team that created constant parties in the mid lane to get Nicolaj "Jensen" Jensen ahead, Cloud9 has actually started to utilize the rest of their team in similarly successful ways. Both Juan "Contractz" Garcia and Jung "Impact" Eon-yeong have seen a resurgence in form through frontline play, though the former often has positioning issues as he attempts flanks. Zachary "Sneaky" Scuderi has also been a new outlet for carry success in the team, as he has come into his own on picks such as Xayah after the Jhin meta receded.

10. Flash Wolves (LMS)

While Taiwan’s Flash Wolves are perennial competitors in international League events, the team are coming off a relatively shaky split. They did come in first in the summer season, beating AHQ 3-0 in the Summer Final, they simply did not look as dominant as they did in previous years. With Hung "Karsa" Hau-Hsuan and Huang "Maple" Yi-Tang in particular under-performing, this is just not the same team that rivaled SKT in the past. If those two are able to come back into form, they may be a stronger team than most suspect.

9. Immortals (NA LCS)

Despite a loss in the NA LCS finals, the strength of Immortals will still be on full display at Worlds. Their inaugural appearance will likely yield great results as they have a playstyle that can catch teams by surprise. Explosive early games will be the key to Immortals’ victories and the control of Jake "Xmithie" Puchero alongside strong solo laners in Lee "Flame" Ho-jong and Eugene "Pobelter" Park will help with that game plan. Accommodating the inexperience of Cody "Cody Sun" Sun and Kim "Olleh" Joo-sung on an international stage will be the true test of Immortals’ strength as a team, as well as situations where Immortals are on the back foot rather than generating the aggression themselves.

8. Team WE (LPL)

The third seed from the LPL, Team WE came into Worlds after being a part of various 3-2 series in playoffs and regional qualifiers. More than anything, that is a demonstration of their closeness to other Chinese teams in strength. The team drafts well and is fairly innovative in its strategy and picks compared to their peers.

If Team WE are to make a deep run in the tournament, they'd be doing so through two points by which they can channel their success. First, they must rely on Xiang "Condi" Ren-Jie to create enough jungle pressure with his jungle routes and picks to allow their lanes to survive the early game comfortably. Secondly, Jin "Mystic" Seong-jun must be given the resources and space to farm and become a teamfighting monster, as he has been known and applauded for. Team WE is probably the team in the play-in and group stage with the most outsized influence and pressure put on their AD Carry, which can be a blessing and a curse as Mystic draws all the pressure that he can.

7. G2 Esports (EU LCS)

While the Kings of Europe kept their throne in the summer finals with a sweep over the upstart Misfits, it bears mentioning that they were nearly knocked out in the quarterfinals by Splyce of all teams. Combine that with a very shaky performance at Rift Rivals where they had the worst record in the NA-EU group, and suddenly it looks like the emperor is wearing no clothes. However, G2’s resurgence came at a crucial time, as they found their footing in semifinal and final matches and got back to what they were painstakingly efficient at when dominant: finding mid game openings and bleeding out teams through clever fights and picks. It also helps that their laning (read: the lane kingdom of Luka "PerkZ" Perković) came back into form as well, though early game deficiencies were still on display, even against Misfits who found gold in every game of the finals.

6. Team SoloMid (NA LCS)

While NA’s most successful dynasty has historically underperformed at Worlds, failing to get out of groups since 2014, at least they don’t share a group with other outright contenders this time around. As a matter of fact, they might be in the easiest group they’ve ever seen at the event, facing off against the European underrabbits Misfits and Taiwan’s Flash Wolves, who are looking far weaker than they did in previous years. But Team WE resembles a potential stumbling block if they sort out their early game.

Team SoloMid has been propelled most recently by the duo of Søren "Bjergsen" Bjerg and Yiliang “Doublelift” Peng, and carry performances by them will be critical to any sort of success for TSM. Coupled with this is the emergence of Vincent “Biofrost” Wang, whose penchant for engage champions since the start of his career lines up incredibly well with the current meta. As exemplified in the NA LCS Finals, Biofrost has the same sense to find good engages that other world class supports are known for (see Lee "Wolf" Jae-wan’s Zyra at MSI, Cho "Mata" Se-hyeong’s Alistar vs. TSM at 2016 Worlds). TSM has also thrived in this meta, which expressly allows Kevin “Hauntzer” Yarnell and Dennis "Svenskeren" Johnsen to perform frontline duties while giving mid and bot lane the breathing room to outscale their opponents.

5. EDward Gaming (LPL)

The most winning team in Chinese history, EDward Gaming managed to pick up another win in the 2017 summer split, but appears weaker than their domestic rivals in RNG. Stars aligned for their championship win, with Uzi playing uncharacteristically poorly at the same time Hu “iBoy” Xian-Zhao had one of his best series to date. If they are able to duplicate this performance at Worlds they will be a force to be reckoned with, but we are hesitant to predict that they will.

If EDward Gaming want to have a deep run and a potential championship, they must do a few things. Firstly, Ming “Clearlove7” Kai needs to step up on the international stage. His previous world performance was abysmal, and most recently he had a shaky playoffs where his Jarvan IV in particular was underwhelming. Secondly, Tian “Meiko” Ye needs to stay consistent against the best bottom lanes in order to prop up his rookie AD Carry and allow him the same performances that he had at his best in the LPL. Speaking of, iBoy needs to be able to thrive on the world stage on picks outside of Tristana.

4. Royal Never Give Up (LPL)

Royal Never Give Up has attended Worlds three out of the past four years, even making it to the Grand Final two years in a row in 2013 and 2014. While the team was unable to secure either domestic championship in 2017, losing five-game series to Team WE in the Spring Final and then to EDG in the summer, the team’s AD carry Jian "Uzi" Zi-Hao had his best split in a while, with a 9.7 KDA in the regular season, despite an injury plaguing him during 2017. They also have the LPL MVP in Li "Xiaohu" Yuan-Hao, and a strong carry duo overall. RNG look to be the most composed and consistent team coming out of China, and their carries will be good enough lane matchups against the large Korean threats to be considered the best non-Korean team attending Worlds.

3. Samsung Galaxy (LCK)

For the second year in a row, Samsung Galaxy has made it through to Worlds by the skin of their teeth, and have been put into what many consider the group of death of the tournament. If the parallels continue, the veteran organization could also find themselves in finals with the right form. Samsung’s win condition has been through a dominating top side, as Lee "CuVee" Seong-jin has stood out as the top of the tops with impressive statistics, a champion ocean and the most solo kills of top laners in the LCK. It’s up to a potentially resurgent Lee "Crown" Min-ho and bot lane of Park "Ruler" Jae-hyuk and Jo "CoreJJ" Yong-in to balance the lane pressure they can bring and allow Kang "Ambition" Chan-yong to marshall them into good late game teamfighting. This will ensure that Samsung can become contenders and cruise through to the enlightenment that the Summoner’s Cup brings.

2. SK Telecom T1 (LCK)

They may not be ranked at the top of our list, but it would be foolish to underrate the most dominant team in League history. Though SKT had an uncharacteristically poor summer following an MSI victory, they found their footing as playoffs rolled around, giving them enough points to secure a spot at Worlds before ultimately being stopped by a dominating Longzhu. They will need a similar reversal at Worlds, but it's entirely possible we will see one.



That said, we now know that the team will be starting Heo "Huni" Seung-hoon and Han “Peanut” Wang-ho, with Kang "Blank" Sun-gu coming as a sub, something which does leave us with some questions.

In the summer split, the Huni and Peanut lineup has earned SKT a less than 50 percent win rate across the regular season. Their struggles have been fully documented, as it is meta associated with over aggression that teams can capitalize on. With a lack of massive change in the meta for Worlds compared to the past two years, it’s up to those players to actually make a difference on their own and adapt to this Worlds patch. Though this lineup had some troubles in the summer split if they are able to fire on all cylinders there’s no question SKT are a contender.

1. Longzhu Gaming (LCK)

The ROX Tigers were seen as favorites last year, and they fell short, but there are two key differences between that team and Longzhu. Firstly, ROX last year avoided SKT in the domestic playoffs, as KT Rolster defeated them in the semifinals. There was no head-to-head preview of their bout at Worlds, so assumptions had to be made regarding their strength. Second, ROX’s biggest weak point was at SKT’s point of greatest strength: the mid lane.

These things are not true of Longzhu, who have couched Gwak "BDD" Bo-seong on safer picks that allow him to lane well against Faker and influence side lanes, while the rest of the team uses Moon "Cuzz" Woo-chan to keep lanes pushed and the pressure on. They’ve also shown this to great effect in their finals appearance, where Khan was enabled through constant early roaming. Kim "PraY" Jong-in and Kang "GorillA" Beom-hyeon are also the best bottom lane at this tournament, ever consistent and stable.

We have clear evidence that Longzhu’s gameplan works against the pack, and specifically the defending champions. That recent matchup and success in combination with their strength in the toughest domestic region in League of Legends gives us enough reason to slot them above SK Telecom T1.

With files from Sasha Erfanian.

Gabriel Zoltan-Johan is a news editor at theScore esports and the head analyst for the University of Toronto League of Legends team. His (public) musings can be found on his Twitter.