If you missed Rift Rivals, SHAME ON YOU! But we understand…so make sure you check out the LvL^ Podcast (on iTunes, Google Play, and OvertimeNetwork.com) for the full recap of the NA vs. EU Rift Rivals match up. Spoiler alert! NA laid the smack down on the EU! In the group stage alone, NA went a combined 12-6 against their EU counterparts. Included in that beat down was the rising of Phoenix 1! They are alive again! The addition of Mike “MikeYeung” Yeung in the jungle has been the booster shot P1 needed to awaken from their slumber. P1 went 4-2 at Rift Rivals, falling just short of the NA champs, TSM. EU’s bad showing has left many EU fans in disgust. Unicorns of Love finished with the best EU record, which was a tie with the worst NA team at Rift Rivals, Cloud 9, at 3-3. UoL then took a swift beat down from TSM in the best-of-5 series, losing to the champs of NA, 0-3. But Week 6 of the LCS is here! How bad did EU fall in the Top 10 you say? Have no fear! The wait is over! Here are you OTN LCS Top 10 Power Rankings going into Week 6!
10. G2 Esports – EU LCS
Oh, G2. You didn’t even have to take a vacation to really blow it at an international tournament. G2’s 1-5 performance at Rift Rivals has a lot of people asking what’s wrong with the EU champs. Top Lane Daehan “Expect” Kim and Jungler Kang Yun “Trick” Kim have not been true to their form from the Spring Split. Keep an eye on the defending EU Champs. The start of the downfall may be coming.
9. Phoenix 1 – NA LCS
When the Summer Split started, P1 had big expectations. They fell short to start the Summer Split with bad performances, but made up for it at Rift Rivals when the rejuvenating force of Mike “MikeYeung” Yeung came into full effect! The MikeYeung Factor will change this team into a force in the NA LCS. Watch out C9, TSM, CLG, and IMT! ALL ABOARD THE P1 HYPE TRAIN!
8. Misfits – EU LCS
Misfits enjoyed a nice week off as they were not a part of Rift Rivals. Misfits has struggled a bit the past weeks in the EU LCS. Tristan “PowerOfEvil” Schrage has better managed his early and mid game play, allowing him to become more of a force for his team. Will the improved play of PowerOfEvil be enough to turn around a struggling Misfits team.
7. H2K – EU LCS
H2K caught up on their sleep this past week as they sat out of the Rift Rivals event. One can argue H2K would have performed a lot better than most of the EU teams did at Rift Rivals, but we will never know. H2K has shown that they can adapt quickly to new metas…something that, according to Rift Rivals, isn’t easy for an EU team to do.
6. Fnatic – EU LCS
Oh Fnatic, Fnatic, Fnatic. If I may just make one suggestion? Get off social media. The amount of smack talking from Rasmus “Caps” Winther after losing to Cloud 9 only made every FNC loss that much more enjoyable. With the meta switching towards a focus on the mid lane, calling out one of the best mid laners in the world, who just got done bodying you, is not the smartest idea. Because not only did that same mid laner body you in the rematch; his Danish counterpart decided to join in on the bodying.
5. Unicorns Of Love – EU LCS
So you see…we have UoL here, aka the best EU team in Rift Rivals. They went 2-0 vs Cloud 9 and 1-1 vs TSM. So you would think when they faced TSM in the Best of 5 Finals, they would stand a chance. Well they didn’t. TSM came out and swept those magical ponies and showed them that Unicorns are in fact…mythical creatures that can not survive outside of one’s imagination.
4. Cloud 9 – NA LCS
Not to make excuses for C9’s Rift Rivals performance, but according to TSM’s Bjergsen, most of C9’s team was sick for Rift Rivals. That being said, C9 still went 2-0 vs Fnatic and finished with a 3-3 record. C9 is still in a good position in the NA LCS. The biggest issue for C9 is in the top lane. The swapping of Ray and Impact is not working as well as they thought. The need for a stable top laner is becoming a critical issue for C9. Early game issues looked to have improved atRift Rivals, but that may be because Fnatic’s early game happened to be worse than C9’s.
3. Immortals – NA LCS
IMT took the week off and hit the sunny beaches of the Cali coast this past week as the team with the second best record in NA LCS did not qualify for Rift Rivals. IMT has been on a hot streak as of late. That is until TSM came in with a fire house and put them out, wet n’ wild style. Look for IMT to bounce back in Week 6. They can’t afford to slip n’ slide now.
2. Counter Logic Gaming – NA LCS
The best team in NA (according to their 8-2 record) decided they were too good for Rift Rivals and took up Hearthstone for a week. We can confirm they beat the innkeeper! How do we know this? Because CLG wouldn’t want to watch their arch rivals TSM win the NA vs EU Rift Rivals crown. So what else would they do?
1. Team SoloMid – NA LCS
The NA champions are now the champs of Rift Rivals!!! Well, for the NA vs EU Region matchup. The EU was heavily favored in Rift Rivals and TSM isn’t known to have a stellar international record, but TSM went a combined 8-1 against every EU team at the event. If that is not a statement that TSM is here and they will eat your heart, I don’t know what is!
Agree with Phiask0? Think your rankings are better? LET US KNOW! Comment below or on twitter at @OTNeSports!
Jon “Phiask0” Byrum is the host of OTN’s gaming and esports podcast, “The LvL^ Podcast.” You can find the LvL^ Podcast on iTunes, Google Play, and on OvertimeNetwork.com
