League of Legends: LEC Week 6 Power Rankings

Week 6 on the horizon, playoff places to be won, G2 Esports still dominating. It’s all still to play for in the LEC as we head towards the final stretch of games. Who looks strongest going into LEC Week 6?

If the theme of Week 4 was upsets, then Week 5’s theme would have to be roster changes. An entirely new line-up for Misfits Gaming, as well as a change in mid and bot for Fnatic, meant a tonne of new faces for European League of Legends fans to become accustomed to.

More from League of Legends

• Bee’koz Vel’koz Skin: Splash Art, Price, Release, How to Get
• King Beegar Skin: Splash Art, Price, Release, How to Get
• EMENES retires following leave from Cloud9, cites military service
• EMENES Donezo Manifesto: Former Cloud9 Midlaner airs out grievances
• Team Heretics Perkz: European legend reportedly playing for TH

As for results, there were a few surprises. Origen fell to Team Vitality to continue their “will they, won’t they?” season. Rogue punished Fnatic’s questionable substitution. And the Misfits Premier squad shocked everyone by taking down Rogue in only their second game on the LEC stage. So, where does that leave the standings? And which teams look strongest heading into the final four weeks of the regular season?

10 Misfits Gaming (3-7)

Partly in protest of their management’s decision to forfeit the 2019 season in order to build for 2020, Misfits have been placed 10th on this power ranking. The biggest issue with the new, franchised LEC is that Misfits are allowed to field five rookies without the threat of relegation looming over their head, damaging the competitive integrity of the league.

Realistically speaking, Misfits Gaming should be a free win for every LEC team due to their inexperience on the LEC stage and the relative skill gap when compared to other European teams. That being said, with the number of upsets in the Summer Split so far – including Misfits’ Week 5 victory over Rogue – who knows how many wins this revamped roster can pick up before the season closes.

9 Excel Esports (1-9)

Excel are still on the search for their second victory of the Summer Split after ten games. Although their impressive early game performances over the last few weeks had fans and analysts excited about their chances, the odds of reaching playoffs at this stage are extremely slim.

Eight games left, three against Fnatic, G2, and Splyce, leaves only five more potential wins for the UK organisation’s second spell in the top European division. Ending the Summer Split with a 6-12 record would not only be insignificant when it comes to playoff qualification hopes, but it would also represent a poor debut season for Excel who will already be looking towards a rebuild for 2020.

8 Team Vitality (4-6)

Honestly ranking the 5th-8th teams is impossible because they’re all as bad as each other and have proven over the last few weeks that Europe aren’t quite the powerhouse of incredible rosters that we had come to believe following back-to-back MSI and Rift Rivals triumphs. In fact, Vitality only sit 8th in this power ranking because I believe they’re liable to start inting on occasion, that’s all.

To be fair to Team Vitality, their 0-4 start to the Summer Split means they hold a 4-2 record in their last six and are somehow still contenders for playoff qualification. Jiizuke’s return to form (albeit an overrated one) is one positive that VIT can hold on to for their final eight games of the season, particularly after his Player of the Game performance in their win against Spring runners-up Origen.

7 SK Gaming (3-7)

Freefall. Collapse. Nose dive. These are all perfect words to describe SK Gaming’s form after Week 3. Five losses in a row, no promising signs, and the least likely team to clinch playoffs from the middle five. It’s hard to tell whether SK are in a simply in a rough patch or have been completely figured out by their LEC opponents in the last few weeks. Selfmade is nowhere near as effective as he was in the Spring Split, and without Selfmade, SK Gaming will undoubtedly struggle to reach the mid game without falling behind.

So, what’s the solution? Changes need to be made if SK want any chance of playoff success, never mind Worlds qualification, but at present it’s just a lack of early game presence that’s become the inexperienced roster’s downfall. Perhaps it is time to add a new voice in the place of Dreams and look to play a slower early game, using their excellent teamfighting to find victories through strong carries, Pirean and Crownshot.

6 Rogue (4-6)

Somehow, someway, in a division filled with disappointing teams and lacklustre performances from ‘top’ European sides, Rogue of all teams have pleasantly surprised the LEC audience all through the Summer Split so far. Obviously the only way was up following their dire display in the first half of the season, but to go from contenders for the worst EU team of all time, to a steady and exciting playoff hopeful is quite the turnaround.

It almost seemed like destiny when they took down Fnatic in one of the most complete performances of the season through an inspired carry from none other than Inspired on Olaf, earning him Player of the Game and certainly solidifying his chances of winning the coveted “Rookie of the Split” award. Back-to-back, well-crafted victories against Origen and Fnatic has put Rogue in an excellent position to secure a spot in playoffs, but they MUST start beating the teams around and below them if they’re to nail down the 5th or 6th spot before the end of the season.