LCS is right around the corner! This means our Preseason Power Rankings are back with a vengeance. Preseason rankings are always interesting. Roster moves and meta changes add unexpected variables into how we rank teams. Just because a team has amazing individual players doesn’t always mean they will do well (Looking at you Season 6 Spring Split TSM). Some teams took that next step towards becoming a contender while other teams left us scratching our heads and thinking, “what happened?!” With no more delays, here is our Season 7 Spring Split Preseason Power Rankings!
- Origen – EU
I’ll keep this short and sweet: Relegations. Challenger Series. FeelsBadMan.
- Echo Fox – NA
Echo Fox made some interesting moves in the offseason. With the addition of 2014 World Champion Jang “Looper” Hyeong-seok and two North Americans in Matthew “Akaadian” Higginbotham and Austin “Gate” Yu, Echo Fox looks to rebound from a lackluster year in 2016. Communication issues will be another factor going against FOX.
- Team EnVyUs – NA
The number one issue that plagued EnVyUs last year was communication. These issues won’t go away this year either as they fill vacant roles with Nam “LirA” Tae-yoo and Apollo “Apollo” Price. Talk about a downgrade. Advice: Watch EnVyUs’ Overwatch team and just skip their League games.
- ROCCAT – EU
Unlike the computer peripherals ROCCAT makes, their EU LCS team is anything but reliable. With Petter “Hjärnan” Freyschuss, Nubar “Maxlore” Sarafian and Felix “Betsy” Edling coming into the roster, ROCCAT repeats their history of having rosters that are “bang or bust.”
- Vitality – EU
Visa-Gate maybe back and better than ever! If Lee “GBM” Chang-seok and Ha “Hachani” Seung-chan can’t get their visas in time, this team is destined for the bottom half of the EU LCS.
- FlyQuest – NA
So now we get to Cloud9 Challenger…I mean FlyQuest. With a core of original Cloud9 players Hai “Hai” Du Lam, Daerek “LemonNation” Hart, and An “BalIs” Le, FlyQuest can’t be overlooked. But these players are not the real question. Johnny “Altec” Ru and Galen “Moon” Holgate will be the two players that will either make or break this team. Pro Tip: If Hai tells you to do something…DO IT!
- Giants Gaming – EU
I don’t even know where to start with Giants. I feel like I have them way too high. But in the offseason, Giants rebuilt their roster around Na “Night” Gun-woo and Morgan “Hustlin” Granberg and brought in Jonas “Memento” Elmarghichi and Olof “Flaxxish” Medin, and the unproven Martin “HeaQ” Kordmaa. This team is very “Bang or Bust.”
- Misfits – EU
Big changes for Misfits came in the offseason. Tristan “PowerOfEvil” Schrage and Lee “KaKAO” Byung-kwon have replaced Marcin “Selfie” Wolski and Kim “Wisdom” Tae-Wan. Will Misfits be able be bring their play style to the EU LCS from the Challenger scene? Ask the EU teams…they won’t underestimate Misfits.
- Team Liquid – NA
Team Liquid did not have a good offseason. The additions of Austin “Link” Shin and Greyson “Goldenglue” Gilmer feel more like a step back rather than forward. TL is looking more and more like a middle of the pack NA team.
- Unicorns of Love – EU
UoL had a setback with Kim “Veritas” Kyoung-min’s departure. Samuel “Samux” Fernández will struggle to have anything close to the same results at AD Carry. However, UoL did upgrade their jungler with Andrei “Xerxe” Dragomir. Much is till left unknown of the IEM San Jose winners. Time will tell us just how majestic these Unicorns can be.
- Phoenix1 – NA
THE ALMIGHTY PHOENIX1 IS BACK! What was already an emerging roster with Rami “Inori” Charagh and Derek “zig” Shao gets a heavy upgrade with the offseason additions of Adrian “Adrian” Ma, Yoo “Ryu” Sang-ook and Noh “Arrow” Dong-hyeon. This team is my dark horse for the NA LCS. They surprised many people last year, but this year, they could easily compete for a top three finish in the NA!
- Immortals – NA
Eugene “Pobelter” Park is the only returning member of an Immortals that took the NA LCS by storm just one year ago. How the mighty have fallen! IMT was very active in the offseason adding South Korean players Lee “Flame” Ho-jong and Kim “Olleh” Joo-sung and North Americans Joshua “Dardoch” Hartnett and Cody Sun. The core of IMT is still very strong, but a bad showing at IEM Gyeonggi leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
- CLG – NA
CLG is the only NALCS team to keep its starting lineup from the last season. CLG’s biggest strength going into the Spring Split is their superior skill to work as a team and find new ways to beat you. Zaqueri “Aphromoo” Black is the leader of this team. Other NA teams can’t overlook him as he has constantly has been one of the best supports in NA.
- TSM – NA
Jason “WildTurtle” Tran returns to TSM as the new ADC one season after TSM kicked him off the team in favor of archrival Yiliang “Doublelift” Peng who was with CLG at the time. It took TSM until Summer Split to figure out who they were as a team. The emergence of Vincent “Biofrost” Wang really helped to provide the spark TSM needed. Although WildTurlte is a seasoned LCS pro, he’s no DoubleLift. I expect TSM to have a rocky Spring Split again, having to heavily rely on Søren “Bjergsen” Bjerg to carry this team. I’ve probably ranked them lower than I should have, but the loss of DoubleLift isn’t something that should be overlooked.
- FNATIC – EU
In Season 5, FNATIC rebuild around Bora “YellOwStaR” Kim and they went 18-0 in the Summer Split. In Season 7, FNATIC has rebuilt around Martin “Rekkles” Larsson. They bring in veterans Paul “sOAZ” Boyer and Maurice “Amazing” Stückenschneider from that horrific Origen team of Season 6, and add Jesse “Jesiz” Le. Rekkles’ new partner in the Bottom Lane is Rasmus “Caps” Winther, a “reformed” player with all the talent in the world. This team may take some time to get the chemistry there.
- H2K – EU
H2K resigns Marcin “Jankos” Jankowski and Andrie “Odoamne” Pascu and adds Choi “Chei” Sun-ho and Shin “Nuclear” Jung-hyun to the lineup. The big question for H2K is this: Can newcomer Fabian “Febiven” Diepstraten return to his play style of 2015 when FNATIC went on that magical 18-0 Summer Split? Or will we see the Febiven of 2016 where he blames his teammates for his drop off?
- Team Dignitas – NA
If you think the Assassin Rework was an overhaul, Team Dignitas was not only purchased by the ownership group that owns the Philadelphia 76ers, but they added some players that can shake up the status quo in the NALCS. They added South Korean stars Kim “Ssumday” Chan-ho and Lee “Chaser” Sang-hyun and North American AD carry Benjamin “LOD” DeMunck. I may be ranking them higher than I should be in the preseason, but on paper, this team can challenge the top tier teams in the NA.
- Splyce – EU
Splyce is coming off a good performance in 2016 Worlds, beating Royal Never Give Up despite never having played on a stage with so much to lose. No roster changes. Everyone is back on the starting five and coaching staff. Splyce can give G2 a good run for the top spot in the EULCS.
- G2 Esports – EU
Coming off a disappointing Worlds performance, G2 decided the roster wasn’t the problem. But the addition of Weldon Green (former TSM Assistant Coach / Psychologist) may prove to be the boost they need to rebound from that sad showing at Worlds, just ask TSM. Pending some catastrophic event, G2 are easily the favorites in the EULCS
- Cloud 9 – NA
With only Zachary “Sneaky” Scuderi as the only remaining original member from that amazing 2013 team (still starting), Cloud 9 is now aiming for stability down the road. With Will “Meteos” Hartman taking a back seat in the jungle, we will see the rise of Juan “Contractz” Garcia, a 17-year-old protégé who’s rise into the LCS has been highly anticipated. Will Contractz success from the NACS carry over into the LCS? Will he be able to fulfill his destiny? Or will he fall to the Dark Side? (They do have cookies!)
Agree with Phiask0? Think your rankings are better? LET US KNOW! Comment below or on twitter at @OTN_eSports
