With the 2015 World Championship less than a week away, theScore eSports experts put their heads together to come up with our definitive Power Ranking for the event.

No matter how strong a team is heading into the tournament, anything can yet happen. When it's all said and done, only one team will walk away the victors - here are the team rankings as they stand right now.

How the results are calculated: our League of Legends staff and contributors submit their own rankings, and every first-place vote is worth 16 points, each second-place vote is worth 15, and so on.

1. SK Telecom T1

The perfect blend of World Championship experience, mechanical skill, and genius. SK Telecom T1 enter Worlds as the undisputed best team in South Korea, winning the spring and summer splits of Champions. SKT return with three key components from their 2013 World Championship team: Kkoma, the brains behind the operation as head coach; Bengi, the eyes and ears of the team as the selfless right-hand man; and Faker, the greatest player in the game's history, coming into a patch that will allow him to unleash his arsenal of champions on the world.

T1 are a team with few weaknesses that can destroy you in the early-game with their technical prowess or come from behind in the latter stages of the game to defeat you in a surgical-like dissection macro game. The elite team fighting squads of the competition can beat SKT T1 if they're able to meet the former world champions head-on, but that's much easier said than done.

2. LGD Gaming

In 2014, NaJin White Shield found themselves at the World Championship in part for their ability to control side lanes. Add stars to the lineup, and you have LGD Gaming. Almost every player on LGD ranks within the Top 5 of his position, and they know a thing or two about minion control. In shoving out the side waves, LGD can minimize damage done by midgame team fight misplays and stand a strong chance of winning it all.

This is the first time at the World Championship for Chinese players TBQ, GODV, and Pyl, who are looking to make a statement on the world stage and secure a spot on the pages of LoL's historical elite. imp and Acorn both return, and imp has a chance to become the first two-time World Champion. Perhaps the biggest question surrounds the team's coach, FireFox, who stepped in only toward the end of the season to take the reigns. LGD have a lot of horsepower—now it's all about direction

3. Edward Gaming

Edward Gaming's jungle control comes up as their greatest strength. Even in games they lose, they often garner a gold lead at 20 minutes. Yet they have the longest average game time in the LPL. Something goes wrong between lane ganks and game end, and often it stems from translating drafting into shotcalling. EDG might pick themselves into a corner and execute their composition incorrectly in the late game. If they rely on ways to get ahead early and drafting team fighting compositions, they should be unstoppable.

Jungler Clearlove has always wanted to win a World Championship, and this year marks his strongest chance so far. EDG hit a wall in the playoffs, but a chance to fix mistakes may have been the greatest gift the team could receive. Their Group Stage will already test them as they have to contend with a rematch against SK Telecom T1. How EDG fairs against SKT could set a tone for the tournament or give EDG still more opportunities to spot mistakes and challenge them to win it all.

4. KT Rolster

In a region that is known for concrete defense, KT Rolster play differently than most teams from the South Korea. The team's core is made up of three players: the knights, Score and Piccaboo, who travel across Summoner's Rift to ward the map, output pressure, and speed up the tempo of the lane phase, and then Ssumday, KT's king and ace. Ssumday is a player that, when aided with enough vision and support from his loyal teammates Score and Piccaboo, can take over games on champions like Riven, Ryze, and Yasuo with his unrelenting split pushing. When KT can pick up First Blood in a game, they know how to turn that early bloodshed into a snowball that devours the entire map. To beat KT Rolster, you can't let them dictate the game and let them get ahead early. Although they're prone to mid-game dysfunction at times, no squad at Worlds can afford letting Score and Piccaboo find success in the first few minutes. It's a domino effect — Score and Piccaboo have a good start, and that routinely means that Ssumday is going to start outpacing his opponents. After Ssumday gets rolling, Arrow and Nagne can also feel more comfortable and play better as well.

5. Fnatic

At every international event, history has necessitated that a "great western hope" must exist. This year, it's Fnatic. After dragging SKT to five games at the Mid-Season Invitational, hopes are high for YellOwStaR and his crew. Fnatic may stand a better chance of making a statement than any western team has since Moscow 5. A nearly undefeated season in Europe, however, leaves question marks. Fnatic have their weaknesses to exploit, and with almost no one touching them so far, it's hard to say how they'll react.

Fnatic's smart coordination in the mid game gets them Barons. They constantly push out the bottom side lane to snag a distraction, and their team fighting has dominated Europe. Fnatic have struggled more in standard lanes when the bullying comes in quickly and painfully. Fnatic's comeback potential and options for control are huge, but they have to make it through those first ten minutes to truly ruffle expectations.

6. Invictus Gaming

Invictus Gaming could be one of the greatest teams at this tournament and one of the worst. This season has seen a lot of teetering from the squad, but they still managed to pull out third in the regular season and playoffs. As Zzitai has ramped up as a top laner, KaKAO has found two lanes to pressure and started drifting toward more team-oriented builds with Sightstone and away from power farming. Even so, there will be games where iG seem to give up within the first five minutes and let themselves lose.

Nearly unmatched in 1-4 split-pushing, iG's solo laners control the pace of the game while bottom lane holds on. Engage-oriented AD Carries like Ashe and Kalista suit Kid, who has regained some of his form after his short break to regain confidence. Kitties is a hole in the roster to exploit, but he's nothing compared to iG's own focus. It may come out that Invictus are their own worst enemies. If they can keep it together, they might even be able to upset the biggest teams showing up at Worlds. iG's, KaKAO's, and Rookie's ups and downs are all well chronicled. Hardly anyone will flinch if they fall out in the quarterfinals.

7. KOO Tigers

The Tigers are the new kids on the block when you compare their short year-long history to the decade of eSports experience the other two Korean teams, SKT and KT, have under their belt. KOO come into this tournament as one of the only teams to qualify for Worlds where their last match ended in defeat — they lost to KT Rolster in the semifinals of the Champions summer split. While the Telecommunication teams and the Chinese trio are getting all the attention, the Tigers are sliding into this tournament under the radar. They are seen as a likely Top 8 squad but not one that will contend for the Summoner's Cup. The Tigers' greatest weapon is their preparation and innovation. They were the team that brought the famed "Juggermaw" composition to the global scene and they're also not afraid to pick wacky, seemingly out of flavor picks to create new compositions that can catch opposing teams off guard. With NoFe at the helm as head coach and the tournament format allowing for three weeks of prep time before the group games begin, don't sleep on the creative brains of KOO. Although their overall skill isn't comparable to the top teams at their tournament, they still have players like Gorilla and Smeb that are considered elite players in their positions and a head coach that can match up with the smartest in the game.

8. Origen

It's unfortunate that the team the panel has pegged as eighth best in attendance sits in Pool 3. Origen's group would intimidate anyone, but their chances of escape are far from impossible. Origen's strengths are in splitting farm to three carry threats and orchestrating dives around their jungle and support duo. This top lane meta could well favor sOAZ for his adaptability and familiarity with the carry role. Niels is comfortable on most AD Carry threats. xPeke has had some of his brightest moments on the world stage. They suffer somewhat early and have shown indecision when it comes to objective control mid game, but when Origen get standard lanes and place their wards, they're tough to take down. xPeke decided to forge a new team away from the Fnatic brand. Both Origen and Fnatic head to the World Championship after a long summer split, but at the end, the new team almost brought down the old. If Origen have used their time wisely during their Korean bootcamp, it won't be too surprising to see them take a spot in quarterfinals. The odds are against them, but even going home with what they've learned in scrims could make them that much stronger this time next year.

9. ahq eSports

Without a doubt the strongest team to come out of the LMS region, ahq eSports Club are a squad with a history of success both domestic and international. Key to the rise of ahq in the past year has been a move away from their 2014 Worlds style which places mid laner Westdoor as the focus. Although ahq still favors a 4-1 split pushing style with Westdoor as the solo player, the other players have come into their own as legitimate threats in their own right. Basically, ahq are no longer the Westdoor show, but a much more balanced team in terms of threats from all position. ahq thrives when they can catch opponents off guard, swarming into fights from all angles to confuse and overwhelm the opposition. The pairing of Mountain and Albis gives ahq excellent map pressure, and Ziv is a genius when it comes to Teleport flank. However, ahq is weaker in a straight-up head to head, where the battle lines are set up cleanly, preventing Westdoor and Ziv from seeding chaos in the back line. As such, warding is absolutely critical for ahq to succeed. Westdoor is one of the few players who still almost exclusively picks assassins such as Diana, and when both he and Ziv run Teleport proper vision for flanks is crucial. If ahq is denied their wards and cannot slip around the enemy, it will be much more difficult for them to find success.

10. Counter Logic Gaming

The faith was rewarded for Counter Logic Gaming and their fans, jungle starter Xmithie announced on Thursday that his visa has been approved and he will play at Worlds. Atop of that, CLG were gifted one of the best groups they could have hoped for, and with Xmithie back in the lineup there will be no excuses if they can't make it into the top eight. Xmithie was inconsistent throughout the regular season, but he stepped it up in the playoffs, fulfilling the utility/tank role that is needed alongside the variety of playmakers and carries on the team. And while Huhi most likely won't see action at Worlds, CLG do now have another card up their sleeve if they struggle in the opening week.

CLG need to execute like they did in the summer split: calculated and orderly. They're a team that can pile up the kills and set up Doublelift for multi-man kills, but they do it in a fashion where they know their win conditions. Unlike other teams that are incredible in the early-game and don't know what to do when they get a lead, CLG know how to play in the opening minutes and turn those advantages into quick victories.

11. H2K

Despite securing second seed for Europe, H2K haven't taken much time to develop their strategy this year. It's all about lane swaps, and their approach to lane swapping has remained the same. Where H2K excel are in re-engaging with teleport and using top and support to create early dives. Unfortunately, this fairly predictable playstyle doesn't completely compensate for holes in mid game shotcalling or a jungler who tends to find himself caught out.

H2K have massive juggernauts in their group in terms of Edward Gaming and SK Telecom T1. Just taking a game from one of these teams could make them into a headline. H2K may have what it takes to play spoiler and decide seeds one and two, but they'll need to maximize the efficiency of their bootcamp to have a shot.

12. Team SoloMid

When Team SoloMid can get to the 40 minute mark with Bjergsen in a good place and not at a sizeable disadvantage, they're a team that can hang with teams above them in skill class. Thing is, as we saw at the Mid-Season Invitational, teams know how TSM play, who their main carry is, and how to break them down before they can begin to think about the late-game. TSM have the experience, coordination, and late-game prowess of a squad that could possibly make a run to the quarterfinals like last year, but with the patch changes and teams they'll have to fact at Worlds, there is little to no chance a team like KT Rolster will let TSM drift around the map safely for 20 minutes and amass resources for the later parts of the game.

For TSM to do well at this tournament — or even win a single game — someone other than Bjergsen is going to need to step up and be at least a solid secondary carry. Be that Dyrus in the top lane in a split push meta that brings his beloved Darius back or .the most likely candidate, WildTurtle, who has done well at Worlds before and needs to wake up from a season-long slump that got him benched at one point during the season.

T-13. Cloud9

Cloud9 enter Worlds as miracle makers. They were on the brink of elimination only a few short weeks ago and headed towards a date in the promotional tournament with Challenger teams from North America. In one of the biggest turnarounds in League of Legends' history, they went on a win streak to clinch their spot in the Regional Finals, and then did the unthinkable by winning the last spot to Worlds with three straight best-of-five victories (two of those being reverse sweeps). C9 are a team that are currently playing by the seat of their pants and enjoying every second of their miraculous run to the World Championships.

It isn't going to get any easier when they land in Paris. In fact, the skill level has raised tremendously and they're in a group with three teams — Fnatic, Invictus Gaming, ahq eSports — who will all be conisdered favorites over North America's Cinderella team. C9 might be outmatched in skill, but they still have Hai as their primary shot caller and leader, and he'll be in his element playing mind games with teams that are stronger than his. Look out for a lot of trickery, aggressive objective shot calling, and split pushing across the map to combat teams that will be able to beat them if all things were equal. The odds aren't in C9's favor in Group B, but they haven't been in their favor for a long time and they're still alive in the race for the Summoner's Cup while seven of their NA peers will be sitting at home watching them.

T-13. Flash Wolves

The second seeded LMS team, the Flash Wolves, are a squad with a lot of potential to surprise. Not in their individual play or mechanical talent, but in how well they work together as a unit — they rely heavily upon their superior map sense and team play, taking down teams which are more skilled through deep vision and smart rotations. Based purely on the fact that the Flash Wolves aren’t a team full of “A-List” talents, they tend to be underestimated. They put on a strong showing at their last international appearance, IEM Katowice, but it will be difficult for them to repeat the feat. Since their laning phase is weak as a result of their lower than average skill at the major positions, the Flash Wolves will find it difficult to execute their standard game plan at Worlds with the same level of success they have had in the second half of 2015, and as such are ranked alongside the North American squads in overall power level. That being said, if there’s a single player on the Flash Wolves who can be the hero for his team, it would be Karsa. Not only is he one of the most talented junglers in the LMS region, he can compete for the title of best jungler in Group A. Karsa’s play could make or break the Flash Wolves’ chances to make it to the bracket stage.

15. paiN Gaming

paiN mostly get by on the individual skills of their players, and are recognized among the best at their respective positions in their region. In the past, paiN have won games they otherwise should have lost thanks to the talent of their core carries.

However, paiN’s main issues are the same as those which so often plague lower tiered teams: awkward decision making around objectives and difficulty closing out games. While their strong laning often gets them ahead, their team rotations or map movements puts their leads at unnecessary risk.

On paper paiN are the best wildcard team to ever make it to Worlds. If there ever was a situation for a wildcard team to make a significant impact at Worlds, this is it.

That being said, the wildcard teams have a terrible track record at the World Championship, with a combined record of 2-26, making the task of even winning one game a daunting one - there’s a reason they’re ranked near the bottom of the list after all.

16. Bangkok Titans

The Bangkok Titans play one style and one style only: fight, fight, and then fight some more.

Their victories are more often than not complete bloodbaths, with fights breaking out all across the map without heed for strategy or logic. Against the weaker teams of the GPL and International Wildcard circuit that worked for the Bangkok Titans, but at Worlds? Not so much.

Their main carry, mid laner G4, is a very mechanically skilled player whose fondness for assassins and split-pushing champions gives the Bangkok Titans an explosive factor that is difficult to account for. However, they are by far the weakest team strategically at the entire event, and will be completely overwhelmed when faced with the crisp lane-swaps and rotations of fellow Group C members SK Telecom T1, EDward Gaming and H2k-Gaming.

If there’s one thing that the Bangkok Titans can do to possibly give their opponents a challenge is to sow chaos at every occasion. Since the Bangkok Titans are woefully far behind their competition in a strategic sense, the next best course of action is to throw themselves at their enemies, force fights, take skirmishes and hope to snowball out of control.

Rank Team Points 1 SK Telecom 93 2 LGD 92 3 Edward Gaming 84 4 KT Rolster 78 5 Fnatic 69 6 Invictus Gaming 65 7 KOO Tigers 60 8 Origen 53 9 ahq 48 10 Counter Logic Gaming 42 11 H2K 34 12 Team SoloMid 29 T-13 Cloud9 25 T-13 Flash Wolves 25 15 paiN Gaming 10 16 Bangkok Titans 9

theScore eSports' power rankings were voted on by Kelsey Moser, Lisa Doan, Tyler "Fionn" Erzberger, Sean Wetselaar, Nic Doucet and Michael "Veteran" Archer.