T1 Sits Atop While Damwon Begins to Drop in LCK Summer 2022 Power Rankings

1. T1

T1 has been by far the best team in the LCK for this year failing to lose a single series in 2022 and breaking every team record set in the past. While they did have a somewhat lackluster weak one they came out in week two with complete control dominating both Sandbox and Damwon in 2-0 fashion and winning their 24th consecutive series breaking the record held by 2015 SKT. While Gen.G has looked good until T1 loses I can’t in good conscious put them anywhere below first.

2. Gen.G

If it was not for the domination that has been T1 in the LCK this year Gen.G would be the clea favorite. They have in my opinion the best midlaner in the world in Chovy who hard carries games like no other. This is in combination with a top-five bot lane with Lehends and Ruler. Gen.G also had a strong week finishing undefeated but did lose a game to Damwon, unlike T1. This combined with weaker players in three out of five positions Gen.G is not quite at T1’s level yet but can absolutely achieve that and win the split.

3. DRX

The last undefeated team in the LCK is DRX who have looked very strong in the majority of their games. The biggest issue is their strength of schedule which has pitted them against three teams that are in the bottom half of the standings with NongShim being the only somewhat strong team they have faced. Deft started out slow but showed up big in the second series this week vs KDF. DRX does not have the pure star power in its entire roster that the other top-tier lineups have but if they can enable Deft and Zeka they have the potential to upset the top two and make a run at worlds.

4. Damwon Kia

Damwon lost both its series this week putting them at 2-2 but were given the heavy task of battling the two best teams in the LCK in T1 and Gen.G. The biggest issue is that even with an improved top lane in Nuguri they were outclassed by both T1 and Gen.G. Damwon has the big-name stars but so far have yet to really show off their incredible individual talent. I do believe this team can be better than DRX but until DRX begin to lose they will remain ahead of Damwon.

5.NongShim REDFORCE

NS had a lot of hype around them going into the spring split with players like Canna and BDD they were seen as a dark horse contender in the LCK. They were disappointed massively not even making the playoffs. This split a lot of that potential is still there and they have started to show off more of their talent and team play. While this week they had strong showings against weaker teams the potential is still there and if this team can put it together I can see them taking series from the top-tier teams.

6. Kwangdong Freecs

KDF has gotten off to a very slow start this split losing three of the first four games including matches to teams that are below them in these rankings. Their talent is just too high Kiin, Fate, and especially Teddy are all incredible players that can hard carry games for their team. Teddy showed off this week even in a loss to NS he did his best to bring the games as close as possible. The biggest issue is the sloppy teamwork and underperforming of the role players on this team. Kiin is off to a slow start but Eliim and Moham also need to step it up for this team to reach its potential and not make this team look like old JAG and the Teddy 1v9 show.

7.Liiv SANDBOX

Sandbox is an interesting team they were awful last split showing very little talent and cohesion throughout the split. This split so far they are playing a lot better. Prince has been a huge upgrade in the botlane and has helped lead them to half as many series wins as the last split. The potential for this team I still feel is a lot lower than the teams above them and they are gonna have to prove themselves more before I can see them in a playoff spot.

8.kt Rolster

After narrowly missing the playoffs last year KT has continued to struggle this split starting 1-3. They still have some talented players but sloppy play and poor decision-making have halted them from really contending in most of the series so far. Their victory over HLE showed this off as they narrowly won against one of the worst teams in the LCK even if the series finished 2-0. Aria has shown better form this split and if they can let him and Rascal control the game KT could compete.

9. Hanwha Life Esports

HLE has made almost every series they’ve been in close and is in actuality performing better than expected. The issue is the expectations were already super low for this squad and they continue to be unable to win a series so far after coming in last place the previous split. They have at least looked good in some games which are more than I can say for the last-place team.

10. Fredit Brion

After a miracle run into playoffs last split Fredit has reverted to its worst state. The team looks lost in most games. While this week they had an exciting series with KT they still remain winless and have put up very little fight in their other series so far this year. Their players so far have looked weaker than every other team and they really need someone to step up if they want to have any success this year