League of Legends: LEC Week 9 power rankings

The final week of the LEC Summer Split regular season and so much still to be decided! Find out who will secure their places amongst the top six European League of Legends teams this weekend!

European League of Legends has never been this competitive and has never been this optimistic heading into an international tournament. The current Mid-Season Invitational champions, along with two blockbuster teams in Fnatic and Splyce, have a huge chance to compete in the knockout stages of the 2019 World Championship.

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Week 9 is usually about tiebreakers and crazy, nonsense picks in unimportant games. But, with the 2nd, 5th and 6th places still to be locked in, it’s all still to play for in the final ten games of the split! Fnatic vs. Splyce, Rogue vs. Origen will both have a huge impact on the final standings and could decide playoffs seeding. So, who looks strongest heading into Week 9 and who is most likely to miss out on the Summer Split playoffs?

10. Misfits Gaming (4 – 12)

Misfits’ mid-split resurgence was short-lived, and the former Misfits Premier roster are now accustomed to life in the LEC, falling to the best teams Europe has to offer week on week. Week 8 was no different.

It was a baptism of fire for rookie support Doss and his returning AD Carry Hans Sama in a last ditch attempt from the Misfits backroom staff to spark some life into their 10th place team. Schalke 04 and G2 Esports both convincingly dispatched Misfits Gaming, ensuring they didn’t rise from the foot of the table and confirming their absence from the Summer Split playoffs.

Unfortunately Misfits fans will now have to wait until 2020 for any potential success, probably including a fresh new line-up considering the recent roster turmoil the organisation has suffered from.

9. SK Gaming (5 – 11)

8. Excel Esports (4 – 12)

But SK can still qualify for playoffs, how are they below Excel? Well, if you compare the two sides’ performances over the last four weeks, the current standings are somewhat of a surprise. SK have been drab, uninspiring, and undeserving of a spot in playoffs, while Excel were mounting a miraculous comeback and going toe-to-toe with some of the best teams in the league.

Ultimately, both of these teams are out of playoffs contention (although it’s mathematically still possible for SK). But, after Excel’s first half performance and SK’s second half, neither team really deserves to finish in the top six in the Summer Split. Once again its another wait until 2020 for both to rebuild around the young, talented members of their rosters and make the push to playoffs next year.

7. Rogue (6 – 10)

6. Team Vitality (7 – 9)

5. Origen (7 – 9)

It’s almost a shame that two of these three teams will participate in the LEC Summer Split playoffs as none have shown consistency throughout the Summer Split or will instil any confidence in European fans if they were to make it to Worlds.

Rogue have improved from spring, there’s no doubt about that, but that’s about all you can say about this middle of the pack team that still haven’t figured out how to build and snowball an early game lead. Vitality, on the other hand, know how to create leads early on,  but have no idea how to avoid throwing the game in the later stages, as proven by their loss to SK Gaming in Week 8 in which they capitulated in the final moments with poor decision making.

And finally Origen, a roster completely detached from their impressive start to life in the LEC in the Spring Split. Some how the LEC runners-up have become push-overs over the mid-season break and have taken it all the way to the last week of the season to confirm their place in the summer playoffs.

It would be a shock if Origen and Team Vitality aren’t the two to progress to the LEC playoffs this weekend but judging by the current form of all three teams, anything can happen.