This second article of the Road to Worlds series heads to Asia to analyze current standings in the Taiwanese and Korean leagues.

Progression

EU LCS (Summer 2015 Week 5)

NA LCS (Summer 2015 Week 5)

TW/HK/MO LMS (Summer 2015 Playoffs)

OGN LCK (Summer 2015 Week 8)

China LPL

International Wildcards

LMS Power Rankings (Summer 2015 Playoffs)

The Summer 2015 regular season has concluded in LMS, with the following four teams qualifying for the playoffs:

ahq (25-3) Flash Wolves (21-7) Hong Kong eSports (18-10) Midnight Sun eSports (13-15)

As the standings suggest, ahq, who have achieved a C9-level record over the region and a notable 4-0 sweep over 2nd-place FW, are the favorites to win the finals. Assuming ahq automatically qualify for the WC, the regional qualifier in August will feature the following four teams:

Flash Wolves Hong Kong eSports Midnight Sun eSports Taipei Assassins

While HKES contended with FW towards the end of the season, the impending loss of their AD carry does not bode well for the playoffs. Barring a miraculous playoff run from their opponents, FW should easily qualify over the 3 other (flawed) teams in the bracket.

LCK Power Rankings (Summer 2015 Week 8)

With SKT dominant at the top and KOO on a solid 9-set winning streak in second, the middle of the table is more difficult to decipher. The table is ordered following the results of the last two weeks: KT pulled out a crucial 2-1 win over CJ in Week 8, CJ went 2-0 over Jin Air in Week 7, and Jin Air beat NaJin 2-1 in Week 8. With four more weeks of play to go however, the standings may shift substantially.

SK Telecom T1 (24-2) KOO Tigers (20-8) KT Rolster (15-11) CJ Entus (16-13) Jin Air Green Wings (15-12) NaJin e-mFire (16-13) Samsung Galaxy (11-17) Rebels Anarchy (11-20) Incredible Miracle (7-20) SBENU Sonicboom (3-22)

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

Seed 1 (Summer Playoffs Champion): SKT are the clear favorites to repeat.

Seed 2 (Next team with most points): KOO, runner-up in the spring split, have exited their slump and are undefeated since Week 3. If they finish second again, they will autoqualify.

Seed 3 (Regional Qualifier Champion): The gauntlet should feature the next four teams in LCK, i.e. CJ, KT, Jin Air, and NaJin, in some order. History suggests that NaJin could turn it on in the qualifier, but absent knowledge of performances in the playoffs, it is impossible to predict who will emerge victorious.