We are one-third of the way through the spring split of the North American League Championship series, and Cloud9 sits perfect on top of the standings. FlyQuest bounced back from its only loss of the split, Team SoloMid won two close series again, and Team Dignitas’s losing streak continued. An updated version of GAMURS’s NA LCS power rankings is here, and there is one big mover.
The points for these power rankings will be calculated based on the rankings submitted by any of the GAMURS staff members. These staff members were asked to rank the 10 teams in order from best to worst as the teams currently stand. Of course, No. 1 is the best and No. 10 is the worst. These rankings are not predictions for the end of the split. Points will be awarded to mirror a team’s ranking; for example, the first place team will receive 10 points, while the 10th place team will receive one point.
After every week of action, we will be releasing another power rankings article where the teams will either move up or down based on how they perform in their matches, so don’t forget to check back here each week for the latest power rankings.
Without further ado, here are the Feb. 9 power rankings for the 2017 NA LCS spring split, starting from No. 10.
NA LCS Power Rankings – Feb. 9 (Spring Split 2017)
10. Team EnVyUs (12 total points): No change
- Top – Shin “Seraph” Woo-yeong
- Jungle – Nam “LirA” Tae-yoo
- Mid – Noh “Ninja” Geon-woo
- ADC – Apollo “Apollo” Price
- Support – Nickolas “Hakuho” Surgent
- Coach – Dylan Falco
Results: 2-0 Team Liquid, 0-2 Cloud9
Despite the team’s sweeping victory over Team Liquid, Team EnVyUs still sits in last place in our rankings. The win was not all that convincing, despite the praise from casters and analysts. It was a decent win over a Team Liquid that looked really, really bad at the time. That’s it. EnVyUs was then brought back to Earth and destroyed by the league-leading Cloud9.
This week, EnVyUs takes on Team SoloMid and Team Dignitas. Realistically, TSM should easily sweep EnVyUs and Dignitas should walk away with a series win. It’s worth noting Dignitas’s drop in performance since the first week of play, however, as the team is on a serious downward trend. EnVyUs may be able to build off of the win over Liquid and take another win against an ailing Dignitas.
9. Immortals (23 total points): -1
- Top – Lee “Flame” Ho-jong
- Jungle – Joshua “Dardoch” Hartnett
- Mid – Eugene “Pobelter” Park
- ADC – Cody “Cody Sun” Sun
- Support – Kim “Olleh” Joo-sung
- Coaches – Robert Yip and David “Hermes” Tu
Results: 0-2 Phoenix1, 0-2 FlyQuest
Two series, two sweeps. It’s hard to fault Immortals here, since both Pheonix1 and FlyQuest are clearly two of the better teams in the NA LCS right now, but this team is in a pitiful state. Every game seems to be Dardoch, some Flame, and the occasional sprinkle of skill from another member. It just isn’t enough, and the team is on a path that leads straight to the relegation tournament.
This week, Immortals may seek redemption against Dignitas and Liquid. Both opponents have failed to meet expectations, just like Immortals, and this could be the springboard that Immortals needs to get going. Dardoch will have something to prove against his old team and best buddy in Samson “Lourlo” Jackson when Immortals fights Liquid. With the way these three teams are currently playing, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Immortals go 2-0 this week, or 0-2, or 1-1. It’s completely up in the air.
8. Team Dignitas (28 total points): -3
- Top – Kim “Ssumday” Chan-ho
- Jungle – Lee “Chaser” Sang-hyun
- Mid – Jang “Keane” Lae-young
- ADC – Benjamin “LOD” deMunck
- Support – Alex “Xpecial” Chu
- Coach – Kim Jeong-soo and Park Jae-seo
Results: 0-2 FlyQuest, 0-2 Counter Logic Gaming
Still floundering after a strong week one, Dignitas looks like a fish out of water. While FlyQuest and CLG are undoubtedly two of the better teams in the NA LCS as of late, this was a sad week from Dignitas. After the fantastic week one, Dignitas has only played like a bad team, seemingly getting worse in every series.
If there was a week for Dignitas to turn it around, it would be this one. Fellow bottom-dwellers Immortals and EnVyUs stand as Dignitas’s opponents this week, and another 0-2 performance would spell absolute disaster for the team. These three teams may very well be the worst three teams in the league right now, so Dignitas needs to pull one win out at the very least.
7. Team Liquid (31 points total): +2
- Top – Samson “Lourlo” Jackson
- Jungle – Kim “Reignover” Yeu-jin
- Mid – Greyson “Goldenglue” Gilmer
- ADC – Chae “Piglet” Gwang-jin
- Support – Matthew “Matt” Elento
- Coach – David Lim
Results: 0-2 Team EnVyUs, 2-1 Echo Fox
Despite the 0-2 loss to EnVyUs, Liquid’s performance in the 2-1 victory over Echo Fox was good enough to garner support and move up in the rankings. The loss to EnVyUs was bad, don’t get us wrong, really bad, but it seemed as if we saw a new Liquid play against Echo Fox. It wasn’t clean by any means or all that impressive, but the team looked significantly better. They’ll need to keep it up and keep winning before we jump too far.
Liquid is set to take on the best and the worst this week, facing off against Cloud9 and Immortals. Cloud9 should thrash the Liquid squad, but there’s no need to get sad about that. The important series will be against Immortals. If Liquid can continue improving and sweep Immortals (or win at the very least), things will be looking up for the squad after its weak start.
6. Echo Fox (47 total points): No change
- Top – Jang “Looper” Hyeong-seok
- Jungle – Matthew “Akaadian” Higginbotham
- Mid – Henrik “Froggen” Hansen
- ADC – Yuri “KEITH” Jew
- Support – Austin “Gate” Yu
- Coach – Simon “heavenTime” Jeon
Results: 1-2 Team Liquid, 0-2 Cloud9
If you tempered your expectations like we did after Echo Fox’s strong week two, congratulations, we were all right. There was a noticeable decrease in the level of play between weeks two and three from Echo Fox, and that was shown most prominently in the series against Team Liquid. Mistakes were made, players were cocky, and it just looked mediocre all around. Losing to Cloud9 was expected, of course, and it was not very close. Akaadian and crew seemed to disappear from the rift.
Redemption is the theme of the week, but Echo Fox may have a hard time getting back on track against TSM and CLG. TSM, while only winning 2-1 in every series victory, is back to its winning ways and owning the competition. CLG is coming back up, and this is likely Echo Fox’s best shot at a victory, but don’t expect it to happen. CLG seems to be waking up, and this team is capable of sweeping Echo Fox aside without a problem.
5. Counter Logic Gaming (48 total points): +2
- Top – Darshan “Darshan” Upadhyaya
- Jungle – Jake “Xmithie” Puchero
- Mid – Choi “Huhi” Jae-hyun
- ADC – Trevor “Stixxay” Hayes
- Support – Zaqueri “Aphromoo” Black
- Coach – Tony “Zikzlol” Gray
Results: 1-2 Team SoloMid, 2-0 Team Dignitas
CLG had a pretty decent week, though it was nothing to write home about. CLG had a close loss to one of the best teams in the league, followed by a thrashing of an underperforming team. We need to see some wins against better teams before CLG moves up too high.
This week gives the team that opportunity, as CLG takes on Echo Fox and Phoenix1. Both opponents are near the middle of the table or higher, and two victories will solidify CLG as at least an A-tier team in the league.
4. Phoenix1 (67 total points): -1
- Top – Derek “zig” Shao
- Jungle – Rami “Inori” Charagh
- Mid – Yoo “Ryu” Sang-ook
- ADC – Noh “Arrow” Dong-hyeon
- Support – Adrian “Adrian” Ma
- Coach – Kim “Fly” Sang-chul
Results: 2-0 Immortals, 1-2 Team SoloMid
Phoenix1 faced a major test in TSM, and failed to hit the mark. It was a valiant effort, as was the 2-0 sweep of Immortals, but it was not good enough. For Phoenix1 to be considered a top tier team in the league, they need to start winning against the best.
FlyQuest and CLG, two pretty impressive teams as of late, stand in Phoenix1’s path this week. This is the week that Phoenix1 needs. The team is synergizing well, and it’s time for the players to prove their worth. If Phoenix1 can walk out of this week unscathed, they will be considered a top tier team in the NA LCS.
3. FlyQuest (70 total points): +1
- Top – An “BalIs” Van Le
- Jungle – Galen “Moon” Holgate
- Mid – Hai “Hai” Du Lam
- ADC – Johnny “Altec” Ru
- Support – Daerek “LemonNation” Hart
- Coach – Thomas “Thinkcard” Slotkin
Results: 2-0 Team Dignitas, 2-0 Immortals
Bouncing back after the team’s first loss, FlyQuest dominated in week two. Dignitas and Immortals looked like Challenger Series squads against Hai and company.
This is a tough week for FlyQuest, as they take on Phoenix1 and Cloud9. Phoenix1 is a team that looks pretty impressive so far, but has yet to really beat a top tier team. They will be hungry, and they will throw everything they have at FlyQuest. Cloud9 is the team to beat right now, sitting on top of the standings with a perfect record.
2. Team SoloMid (79 total points): No change
- Top – Kevin “Hauntzer” Yarnell
- Jungle – Dennis “Svenskeren” Johnsen
- Mid – Søren “Bjergsen” Bjerg
- ADC – Jason “WildTurtle” Tran
- Support – Vincent “Biofrost” Wang
- Coach – Parth “Parth” Naidu
Results: 2-1 Counter Logic Gaming, 2-1 Phoenix1
Continuing their trend of winning in three games, TSM took down CLG and Phoenix1 last week. The loss to CLG in game one can be attributed to the draft, while the win in game two was a thrashing and game three was tight. In game one against Phoenix1, Inori took over with Kha’Zix and destroyed TSM. In games two and three, however, TSM answered back and took strong wins.
This week is a relatively easy week for TSM, as they take on EnVyUs and Echo Fox. EnVyUs should be easy pickings, though Echo Fox may cause some trouble. That series may go to three games, but TSM should still walk away comfortably.
1. Cloud9 (90 total points – Nine first place votes): No change
- Top – Jung “Impact” Eon-yeong
- Jungle – Juan “Contractz” Arturo Garcia
- Mid – Nicolaj “Jensen” Jensen
- ADC – Zachary “Sneaky” Scuderi
- Support – Andy “Smoothie” Ta
- Coach – Bok “Reapered” Han-gyu
Results: 2-0 Team EnVyUs, 2-0 Echo Fox
A perfect week, and Cloud9 keeps its perfect record. Right now, it doesn’t seem like anyone in the league can touch this roster. While Contractz was initially seen as a possible liability, he has actually made the team around him better in the current meta. Cloud9 is a tier above the rest.
This week could be Cloud9’s toughest test yet, as the team takes on Liquid and FlyQuest. Liquid shouldn’t be a problem, but the FlyQuest series is where it gets interesting. Most of FlyQuest is comprised of ex-Cloud9 veterans, led by the infamous Hai and LemonNation shotcalling duo. With Moon surprising everyone with his jungle prowess, FlyQuest is a real threat in the league. Cloud9 will need to be ready.
What do you think about our power rankings for this week? Are there any teams that you would rank higher or lower? Let us know by tweeting us @GAMURScom.
Spencer Hester is an editor for GAMURS and can be contacted by email at Spencer.H@GAMURS.com or on Twitter – @SpenceGAMURS.
