Currently, the two biggest tournaments in the League of Legends scene, LPL and LCK, are on a break for the Lunar New Year 2022. Meanwhile, the LCK Lock In tournament has concluded with Team Liquid as the champions. As a result, Western media immediately released the power rankings of teams after the recent competitions, including in the four Major leagues: LCK, LPL, LEC, and LCS.
At the top of the rankings, we see the name EDward Gaming – the reigning LPL Summer 2021 and Worlds 2021 champions. Entering the new season, EDG is one of the few teams without any changes in their official roster. However, due to personal reasons, EDG’s top laner Flandre has been temporarily unable to compete. Despite this, as of now, EDG maintains an unbeaten streak in the LPL Spring 2022 with four consecutive wins.
At the bottom of the rankings, we can see Bilibili Gaming, Weibo Gaming, and Rogue making significant progress. In fact, these three teams are ranked above DWG KIA – the runners-up of Worlds 2021. The current position of the reigning LCK 2021 champion has sparked controversy as they are only ranked 9th in the top 10, lower than emerging names above them. Notably, despite making many roster changes during the offseason of 2021, DK still shows a formidable strength. They nearly ended Faker and his teammates’ winning streak if Canyon had not engaged recklessly in the situation under the turret protecting T1’s base.
One factor that makes this ranking controversial is the position of Faker and his teammates. It can be said that T1 is experiencing a dream start to the season with six consecutive wins. Among T1’s defeated opponents are prominent names such as Nongshim RedForce and DWG KIA. After the Lunar New Year 2022, they will have the opportunity to face another direct competitor for the championship, Gen.G. Both are tough opponents, even compared to the League of Legends scene in general, yet T1 is ranked 3rd in the above standings, behind EDG and LNG Esports.
This is something that has caused considerable dissatisfaction among the League of Legends community. In terms of strength, one could say that T1 lost to EDG – the reigning Worlds 2021 champions. However, if Faker and his teammates are ranked lower than LNG, it is truly unreasonable. Currently, LNG has only five consecutive wins (one win less than T1). Among LNG’s opponents, most are ranked in the lower half of the LPL Spring 2022 standings, and only FunPlus Phoenix has the highest rank among them (ranked 8th). Meanwhile, T1 has had to face the runners-up of Worlds 2021 – DK and the team that finished 3rd in the LCK Summer 2021 – two opponents that are certainly much stronger than Ultra Prime, Rare Atom, or Team WE.
Many League of Legends fans have expressed their frustration with this ranking as LPL representatives are rated too highly. Meanwhile, LCK has also contributed a representative in the Worlds 2021 finals, not to mention that WBG and BLG have yet to show an impressive performance after the early stage of the 2022 season.
But anyway, all rankings are merely for reference. In their sixth match, LNG will face BLG, and EDG is also preparing for real challenges ahead, with names like WBG or FPX… As for Faker and his teammates, they will also face Gen.G in the first week of competition after the Lunar New Year break. This match, along with the T1 – DK match, is expected to be extremely challenging for Faker and his young teammates in their journey toward the championship and to maintain their unbeaten streak.