After five weeks of intense back-and-forth action on Summoner's Rift, the 2016 LCS Spring Split has reached its midseason point -- with surprising twists in Europe, and the usual suspects dealing with the emergence of a powerhouse in North America.

The action also allowed observers to sample regional differences, best depicted by the regional leaders. We take a look at what makes the top three teams tick, and how their methods differ on a per-rank basis.

At the Helm: G2 Esports (8W-2L, EU) and Immortals (10W-0L, NA)

Perhaps the most striking difference between the two leagues is how contested the race is at the top: G2 Esports holds the No. 1 spot precariously as three other teams are within two games, whereas Immortals have established itself as the untouchable squad across the Atlantic.

The teams' systems are also different; when Immortals rely on Reignover's ganks to create a snowball situation and allow Adrian to establish vision, G2's triumphs hinged on Kikis' front-lining ability and on impeccable teamfight execution.

G2 (left) and Immortals (Right) Stats KDA KP% CSPM Top 4.1 / 4.2 62.5% / 58.5% 6.5 / 7.6 Jungle 6.0 / 13.2 75% / 69.6% 4.5 / 4.1 Mid 5.0 / 7.4 68.8% / 64.9% 8.9 / 8.5 AD Carry 4.6 / 11.5 63.9% / 67.3% 8.2 / 8.9 Support 6.6 / 13.2 68.8% / 69.6% 1.3 / .5

With some of the team's shot-calling burden on his shoulders, Mateusz "Kikis" Szkudlarek has so far excelled on bruisers and tanks in the front line, without the heavy resource requirements other top laners place on their squadmates in Europe. Despite requiring only 19.4 percent of G2's income (eighth in Europe) and receiving little jungle help, he ranks third in two metrics: damage per minute at 393, and KDA ratio at 4.1.

This comes in complete opposition to Heo "Huni" Seung-hoon's position as one of the primary damage dealers (25.4 percent of Immortals' damage at 567 DPM) and one of the primary benefactors of his jungler's help and can thus build large gold leads at the 10-minute mark (+296 on average).

If Kikis is the bulwark that separates his damage-dealing teammates from danger, Kim "Trick" Gang-yun and Glenn "Hybrid" Doornenbal are the tempo setters, as they are in charge of installing vision (a combined 2.16 wards per minute and 0.68 cleared, with minor number differences between the two) and are involved in teamfight decision-making.

On Immortals' case, while Reignover is the primary shot-caller and the enabler of the squad's winning conditions through ganks (with a 90 percent involvement in favorable first blood scenarios), Adrian "Adrian" Ma is the vision game orchestrator (with his 1.21 wards per minute compared to Reignover's 0.81). More often than not, the Huni commands attention from opponents (leading him to hold a relatively paltry 4.2 KDA ratio), allowing for a higher level of freedom for Jason "WildTurtle" Tran (11.5 KDA ratio), Eugene "Pobelter" Park (321.8 gold earned per minute from farming and kills, highest in North America) and others to express themselves on the Rift.

Huni is the cardinal point for Immortals' perfect record. The same can be said about early Rookie of the Split candidate Luka "PerkZ" Perkovic, whose damage contribution (35 percent of his squad's damage) is as monstrous as the skill exhibited to reach such heights, often performing seemingly impossible feats. With Emperor at his side and Kikis' imposing presence at the front, opponents not named Fnatic and H2k-Gaming may have a hard time. Speaking of the latter...

Of Trust and Solo Queue: H2k-Gaming (8-2) and Team SoloMid (7-3)

Team SoloMid in the NA LCS. Riot Games

The story of the race for first is unclear in Europe as H2k-Gaming and G2 Esports are neck-and-neck in their results and placement, but the same cannot be said about a Team SoloMid that is three games behind Immortals. One team is already converting its promising offseason moves into results, whereas the other is still seeking an identity and has recently parted ways with its head coach, KC "Woodbuck" Woods.

On one hand, H2k-Gaming's changes allowed it to perform minute adjustments to its approach. When Raymond "KaSing" Tsang used to bear the burden of warding the map in 2015, the responsibilities have shifted to the vision-adept duet of old ROCCAT, Oskar "VandeR" Bogdan (1.23 wpm, second overall among players with more than five starts) and Marcin "Jankos" Jankowski (1.01 wpm, second among starting junglers).

H2k (left) and TSM (Right) Stats KDA KP% CSPM Top 5.0 / 4.0 73.9% / 61.3% 7.3 / 7.2 Jungle 4.5 / 3.2 73.9% / 61.3% 3.9 / 3.7 Mid 4.4 (S), 6.4 (R) / 6.3 68.9%(S), 72.7% (R) / 68.6% 9.0 (S), 8.2 (R) / 9.1 AD Carry 7.7 / 3.8 63.4% / 68.6% 9.0 / 8.9 Support 6.3 / 3.4 75.4% / 70.1% 1.0 / 1.2 >>(S) = SELFIE, (R) = Ryu

The team has alternated shot-callers, and its play has changed as mid laners settled into their roles. Stats cover the differences between the proactive (and primary shot-caller) Yoo "Ryu" Sang-wook started and the relatively silent yet teamfight savvy Marcin "SELFIE" Wolski cleaner than words would; Ryu's victories were more decisive (29mn 34s on average) than SELFIE's (38mn 26s) as he participated in H2k's early game forays (50 percent involvement in first blood situations), but SELFIE dealt more damage in teamfights (30.7 percent of his squad's damage, to Ryu's 24.7).

With or without Ryu (and they'll be with Ryu this week), H2k-Gaming relied on its building block: Andrei "Odoamne" Pascu. As one of the best users of the Teleport spell in Europe and one of the more team-focused players in the top lane, Odoamne trades lane dominance for map and teamfight presence as he sets up squad mates of Konstantinos "FORG1VENGRE" Tzortziou's caliber for 73.9 percent of the squad's kills.

His sacrifice in the top lane also opens room for H2k-Gaming to execute lane swaps, allow VandeR to wander around the map and set up picks when possible, and allow FORG1VENGRE to play as aggressively as he needs to with the knowledge that he would provide backup. H2k's trust within one another may be what carries it to the top.

Can the same be said about the five talented individuals that form Team SoloMid's current squad? Not quite, as Yiliang "Doublelift" Peng has recently claimed on TheScore: "Right now, we're still playing like solo queue," also claiming that communication was chaotic in their Week 5 showing against the low-ranking Renegades. However, it isn't all gloom and doom.

Some things never change: Doublelift still commands as much farm (302.5 gold per minute from farming minions and player kills) and deals most of the team's damage (31.7 percent); Bjergsen still plays cleanly, dying the least amount of times among starting mid laners (15 deaths, 6.3 KDA ratio) and dominating in lane (216 gold over his opponents at the 10-minute mark on average); and Bora "YellOwStaR" Kim is still as efficient as last year (70.4 percent kill participation currently, to 73.8 percent during Fnatic's height in the 2015 summer split).

A few things have changed, however. Some for the best, others -- we'll let you decide: Dennis "Svenskeren" Johnsen benefits from an expanded jungle role within Team SoloMid, a privilege Lucas "Santorin" Tao-Kilmer didn't have last year; but the team only counts a single member with a kill participation above 70 percent compared to three in the 2015 summer split, a sign that Team SoloMid has yet to gel as a unit.

If Cloud9 has a say, they might end up upstaging TSM in the second-place race. So would the Unicorns of Love in Europe, against H2k and G2.

From the Outside Looking in: Unicorns of Love (7W-3L) and Cloud9 (6W-4L)

The Unicorns of Love in the EU LCS. Riot Games

These two teams may be under direct threat of losing their spot to squads they are tied with on a record standpoint (Team Vitality and Counter Logic Gaming, respectively), but they hold a tiebreaker advantage in the shape of a victory against their counterparts. Cloud9's current status and record may not be a surprise, but the Unicorns of Love are taking on another wild ride this split, akin to its 2015 spring split run.

UoL's status as a third-place squad is even more surprising considering the revolving door circus surrounding its jungle position. The only common factor among junglers were their propensity for less carry-oriented picks, Rudy "Rudy" Beltran's Week 4 performance on Kindred notwithstanding (5-0-2 KDA). The savvier Danil "Diamondprox" Reshetnikov played a larger role in the squad and outperformed his positional matchups, tallying a staggering 502 gold lead at the 10-minute mark, whereas the less experienced Rudy has sometimes been on the back-foot (415 in deficit on average) -- a clear demonstration lying in H2k-Gaming's performance against UoL on Week 5.

UOL (left) and C9 (Right) Stats KDA KP% CSPM Top 2.7 / 2.5 66.9% / 48.7% 6.9 / 7.1 Jungle 3.5 (D), 4.3 (R) / 3.9 56% (D), 72.9% (R) / 74.8% 4.3 (D), 3.5 (R) / 4.1 Mid 4.8 / 4.1 66.9% / 71.3% 7.9 / 9.0 AD Carry 7.0 / 4.2 64.9% / 69.6% 8.8 / 7.9 Support 4.5 / 5.3 (H), 1.2 (B) 70.9% / 76.7% (H), 58.3 (B) 1.4 / .8 (H), .9 (B) >>(D) = Diamondprox, (R) = Rudy, (H) = Hai, (B) = Bunny

Have the differences weakened UoL? Not quite, considering its history adapting to personnel changes in the position since the the 2015 summer split. The third-place occupant in North America is not foreign to such happenings, but Lee "Rush" Yoon-jae has so far proven reliable this split (74.8 percent kill involvement and 0.74 wards placed per minute, compared to Diamondprox's 56 percent/0.85 mark and Rudy's 72.9/0.86).

UoL's prosperity lies in the hands of the core shot-calling duo, versatile top laner Kiss "Vizicsacsi" Tamas and support Zdravets "Hylissang" Iliev Galabov, with Hylissang's picks (front liners Alistar and Braum and the multi-faceted Thresh participate in 70.9 percent of the squad's kills) and vision contributions (1.12 wards per minute). Unsurprisingly, Cloud9's fate lies in Hai's hands (76.9 percent kill participation as the primary shot-caller).

The two supports can count on their AD carries and mid laners to contribute during teamfights (for a combined 58.5 percent of the team's damage on Cloud9's side, to UoL's 59.1), but Cloud9 privileges Nicolaj "Jensen" Jensen's prosperity over its bottom lane's (24.8 percent of the squad's gold to Sneaky's 23.3) -- a matter that is flip-flopped on UoL's case (24.2 percent for Steeelback to Fox's 23.1).