Hey everyone, it’s Toxin! I didn’t have a ton of time to do rankings this week due to various IRL issues (mainly I’ve been sick and afk from Discord for most of the week), so I'm sorry for the lack of quality. Hopefully things are better next week. Let me know what you guys think about this format by either DMing me or sending a message in general chat / trash talk to Toxin#6950. Thanks!
Piltover Division:
TD Syndicate stay winning with a 2-0 victory over SG Neutron I think the bot lane in particular is starting to impress me, which has this team as the clear favorites to win the league from the Piltover Division at this time.
There’s two reasons why CB Syndicate is randomly jumping up so high in the rankings. The first reason is that they were able to beat Tenebrous Esports Aeon last week, which deserves praise. The second, and more important reason, is that DT has signed on to start coaching this team. If he’s actively involved with this roster, I can see this team improving enough to justify the number two spot at this time.
TE Aeon lost another nail biter series last week, this time to a team I had ranked much lower. This just goes to show you how close things are in Piltover. I don’t think they are in danger of missing the playoffs just yet, but they do need to start turning things around in short fashion.
To be honest with you, I don’t really know how strong this team is. They beat SG Tau, sure, but that was without their starting roster. They lost to CB Syndicate, sure, but that was also a noticeably weaker roster than the current form (that now has DT leading them). And their other win was versus the last place ATS Renegades. I think this week against TD Syndicate should be a good test for them to figure out if they should be higher or lower in the rankings.
Now that the full starting roster is set in stone, it’s good to see that SG Tao is back on track for a playoff appearance. These games were not close whatsoever, and I think moving up two spots in my rankings is just the start of this team’s climb to the top.
I think that the fact that this team is kicking their best performing player so far in this split is kind of indicative as to why they are this low in the standings. Some things must be going seriously wrong in the team environment to bring them to this point. That being said, they did bring in the best ADC in IBS, Sociopath Saul, to be their starting ADC. As long as he doesn’t get burned out from playing on two teams at once, this should hopefully help this team turn their season around. Although in my opinion, I don’t think gameplay wise this change is going to change much; it needs to be an environment change for this team to lock playoffs.
From seeing Tectonic Esports’ result, it seems as though this team can be very hot and cold. Either they pop off and look like a top team, or they get absolutely run over as was the case last week. Going off that trajectory, I’m assuming they will pop off against ATS this week, but they need to break this trend moving forward to earn a playoff spot.
Another week, another unfortunate loss for ATS Renegades. They are starting to separate themselves from the rest of the pack, and not in a good way. I wonder if they were in Zaun if they would be able to take down the bottom two teams over there, or if they would be even higher.
Match to watch: CB Syndicate vs SG Tau
I think that SG Tau is a bit underrated on my current tier list as a result of their loss two weeks ago. If their starting roster plays in this match, I would consider them the favorites to win this matchup. On the other hand, I also shot CB Syndicate up to number two in the rankings despite having multiple three game series. A dominant win would cement them as the number 2 team.
Zaun Division:
SNC Sunset Ravens now find themselves as the number 1 team in Zaun, as well as being the only team that is still undefeated in series record in this division. I think that their strength of schedule has also been the easiest, as they already got their wins over Mystic Cats and AH Danger Buddies out of the way. I can see them dropping in the rankings if they rest on their laurels, but for now they are at the top.
Okay so as long as there’s no drama directly affecting the CB Org at the same time as a match, the CB Clowns should be good to go as the top dog in Zaun. EH Kaizen is no joke of a team, and this team made light work of them last week. I fully expect this team to be the team to beat by the end of the regular season.
Event Horizon Kaizen lost their first series of the split to the CB Clowns last week, which is why they ended up falling two spots. That being said, this team is still a strong team, and they should be able to lock up a playoff spot as long as they can rebound next week against TD Dusk.
I swear I’m not doing this on purpose, but yet again it’s Opposite Day where Revolutions Per Minute win their match but go down in the rankings. I do feel bad for Rev, as they essentially had a bye week last week due to Mystic Cats giving up a forfeit win. But this coming week should be a good test to prove that this team is a top team in the division.
TD Dusk were able to take down the “Clown Killers”, aka Glacial Omen, last week, which I think is starting to put this team into the playoff contention. Their wins looked strong with Pandorum popping off in each of them. What I’m curious to see is whether or not King Vivi will continue to start in the top lane for them, or if Clukurduk will step back in now that he is free to play again.
I think a good reason why Glacial Omen lost last week is due to the fact that their All-Star ADC, Cola123, had to fill in mid lane for game one. I would have loved to see an actual game 3 where both teams were at full power, but unfortunately we weren’t able to see it. Next week should be a good chance for Glacial to rebound.
AH Danger Bunnies, despite still being winless, find themselves moving up in the power rankings this week. Even though this team is very clearly on the outside looking in when it comes to the playoffs, they still show up to every game, which is why they earned this spot.
The Mystica Cats unfortunately had to forfeit last week’s series against Revolutions Per Minute due to computer issues. As a result I have them dropping a spot to the bottom. Technically, they now have less points than the Danger Bunnies. Hopefully their computers are good to go for this week!
Match to Watch: Revolutions Per Minute vs SNC Sunset Ravens
I think this is actually a very important match for the rest of the season. I think that while SNC Sunset Ravens are undefeated, they have also played the bottom two teams; their only sizable win came against TD Dusk. This would be a good time to remind the rest of Zaun that they are the top dogs in the standings for a reason. As for Rev, they haven’t played in a week and are still reeling off of their week 2 loss to EHK. I think this is the best time for them to get a win, prove they are a contending team, and jumpstart their second half of the season.
Overall Top 10
Last week seemed to have essentially pressed the undo button, as most of the teams that I dropped out of the Top 10 are now back in to replace the teams I had recently added. I think TD Syndicate and CB Clowns are the top teams in each bracket, with SNC thrown in that tier due to their record. I think the teams in the range of 4-8 are all extremely close, and you could prolly toss them in a blender depending on preference. I think TD Dusk and Revolutions Per Minute still have a bit to prove. Glacial Omen is my honorable mention at number 11.
Dropped out: Glacial Omen, Subatomic Gaming Neutron, Tectonic Esports
MVP Team of the Week:
Okay I had no time again to do actual math to figure out the team of the week, so I’m just going to highlight three players in each role that are statistically the best in their roles right now that have played at least two series.
Top
Jungle
Mid
ADC
Support