With the summer split regular season having reached its midpoint, the Road to Worlds series returns to analyze the teams that will be attending the 2015 World Championships in Europe. This article analyzes EU and NA LCS based on the summer split’s first half standings.

Progression

EU LCS (Summer 2015 Week 5)

NA LCS (Summer 2015 Week 5)

TW/HK/MO LMS

OGN LCK

China LPL

International Wildcards

EU LCS Power Rankings (Summer 2015 Week 5)

At the conclusion of the first half of the split, EU LCS has established a clear hierarchy. Following their strong performance at MSI, FNC has established itself as the best team in the region. H2k’s loss to SK drops them to third behind OG. The rest of the teams are middling, with only GIA at 0.500. Roster changes have appeared to revitalize ROCCAT, which has leaped ahead in the standings. CW is headed for auto-relegation in light of organizational discontent among the team.

Fnatic (10-0) Origen (8-2) H2k-Gaming (7-3) Giants Gaming (5-5) Team ROCCAT (4-6) Unicorns of Love (4-6) Elements (4-6) SK Gaming (3-7) Gambit Gaming (3-7) Copenhagen Wolves (2-8)

Based on these rankings, the three WC spots from EU look to be occupied as follows:

Seed 1 (Summer Playoffs Champion): With world-class talent in all positions and an undefeated record, Fnatic is the undisputed favorite to acquire a 5th LCS championship and be seeded at Worlds.

Seed 2 (Next team with most points): This spot should go to the second-place team in the playoffs. As OG does not have any points from the spring split, this spot should be contested by UoL and H2k. UoL has the harder path, as they are projected to be defeated by Fnatic in the semifinals based on current seeding.

Seed 3 (Regional Qualifier Champion): As Korea attests, the gauntlet can be highly unpredictable, favoring teams that get hot at the right time. It is likely that H2k/UoL and OG will qualify, but the last two spots will come down to summer playoff performance.

NA LCS Power Rankings (Summer 2015 Week 5)

The standings in NA are not nearly as clear-cut as in EU. Following a disastrous performance at MSI, TSM look to be back on track. This split, DIG and GRV have taken a leap forward, while CLG’s strong performance in the first half looks to be tarnished in the second half of the season. After going 0-9 in the first half of the split, TDK has finally acquired its full roster and may be able to avoid auto-relegation. Cloud9 will likely escape relegation, but it appears as if they will miss the playoffs for the first time ever.

Team Solomid (8-2) Gravity (7-3) Team Dignitas (7-3) Team Liquid (6-4) Counter Logic Gaming (7-3) Team Impulse (5-5) Cloud9 (3-7) Team Dragon Knights (1-9) Team 8 (3-7) Enemy (3-7)

Based on these rankings, the three WC spots from NA look to be occupied as follows:

Seed 1 (Summer Playoffs Champion): TSM remains the favorite to repeat as champions, having accrued a solid record and having diversified their play. TSM has only ever lost in the playoffs to C9, but the latter has fallen out of form this split.

Seed 2 (Next team with most points): With C9 likely to miss playoffs and TSM likely to auto-qualify, TL (3rd place in Spring 2015 playoffs) is poised to take this spot if they can finish in the top 4 again.

Seed 3 (Regional Qualifier Champion): Again, the gauntlet will be highly unpredictable. C9 should have enough points from spring playoffs to be seeded into the tournament, but their current form is likely not enough to get to the WC. TIP, DIG, GRV, and CLG are fighting for 3 spots, and a top 4 finish in summer playoffs should be enough to qualify for the gauntlet.