The LPL is back this week after the break as we talk about our power rankings going into Week 4 of the Spring Split
The LPL is kicking off on Thursday after their break for the Chinese New Year. Players take this time to decompress and get ready for the big stretch upcoming from Week 4 and onwards. This break also gives teams the opportunity to correct some mistakes or integrate some strategies as well. Now that we are approaching the start of Week 4, here are our power rankings going into this week.
Power Rankings
As Week 4 is a shorter week for the LPL than usual, not a lot of change is expected after this week. However, the past two weeks have certainly affirmed what many thought would be the top of the LPL to be this time around. EDG still remains the strongest team in the LPL by far but there are some other teams that are improving and look threatening. Thus, here is our rankings going into this week of the LPL Spring Split.
The list remains the same for a good chunk of the rankings. As shown above, the major changes are actually around the top of the league where teams are starting to solidify their positions. There are still a lot of games to be played, but now we are starting to get an idea of this split going forward. Let’s briefly talk about the teams and their split thus far.
1. EDward Gaming
As said earlier, EDG is by far the best team in the LPL right now. Not that they had to play many strong teams yet, but they are coasting through their opponents at the moment. Even without Flandre in Week 2, they did not skip a beat. They did not play in Week 3, and they have an easy series for Week 4. The way it’s going right now, anyone would find it hard-pressed to root against EDG to win the split.
2. LNG Esports
While EDG is cruising through the competition, LNG is also doing its fair share of proving they are a very good team. The only caveat to this team’s split thus far is that they have not had their signature series win yet. Their most impressive wins have been against FPX and RA, while they are very good teams, they aren’t at the top of the totem pole.
It will be very interesting to see this team when they start facing the likes of EDG, RNG, etc. Thus far, their top side is playing well but their bot side looks a bit weak with LvMao. Against the top teams, they will need to get that in order soon. The series against BLG this week should give us a good indicator of where LNG actually stands.
3. Royal Never Give Up
RNG’s Week 3 was a success as they won a close series against BLG. Week 2 and 3 proved that RNG is still a very strong team. However, what plagues them is inconsistency. Granted that Xiaohu swapped back to mid and Bin coming in will take time to adjust, but they look out of it in games at times. Regardless, there are a lot of positives for RNG going forward as they come together as a team.
4. Weibo Gaming
Speaking of teams improving and playing better, WBG has to be one of the more exciting teams to watch as they improve as a team. TheShy’s acquisition was a bit of a strange development as they did have Bin. However, this split thus far has proved that WBG made the right call to bring in TheShy. He has changed things for them as a team.
While TheShy has improved individually from his past years, he is also drawing a lot of attention from the opponent junglers while the rest of WBG can flourish and play well. Angel and Huanfeng are huge benefactors thus far. The only question mark with WBG is whether we see SwordArt play soon. ON has done a good job thus far and WBG looks like a contender for the LPL. They are undoubtedly one of the best to watch going forward.
5. Bilibili Gaming
Considering how BLG is playing thus far, they look pretty good. It seems like they have a good enough understanding of how they want to play the game for now given who they are putting out for the games. Granted Uzi is not playing just yet, but Doggo is showing signs of greatness we have seen from him in his time with BYG and PSG as a replacement.
With how Doggo is playing, BLG is in a good groove, and it is unlikely that Uzi does play. So far, the chemistry experiment is working, but it will be put to the test when Uzi plays. Undoubtedly, the style of play will be altered as well at that point. Things are going well for BLG and they play a top contender in LNG this week.
6. Victory Five
V5 is starting to be a cohesive team themselves. Despite losing to WBG in Week 3, there were still some positives to take away from their games. Rookie is playing really well, and it turns out that wherever Karsa goes, the team finds some form of success. The perceived weakest link in Rich is also playing better than expected.
All in all, the team is doing well but there is still more to be desired from this team. They play OMG this week, which will be a challenge considering how OMG is playing. With room for improvement, V5 is definitely one of those teams that will be around the top 6 of the league.
7. Oh My God
While OMG started off in the best way possible, their week 3 was a bit of a head-scratcher. They beat TES quite convincingly but lost to LGD. That is probably the best way to explain the LPL. They look really well-coordinated and solid as a team for the most part. However, there are some problems with this team.
Able and Cold can be very inconsistent and while their highs are excellent, their lows pretty much lose OMG games or even a series (LGD loss). Creme as well is struggling a bit, particularly in the laning phases. He does have teamfighting prowess to band-aid the situation, but he needs to lane better.
The real positives for OMG are Aki and shanji. Shanji as a rookie has been sensational with his engages and playmaking. He alongside Aki has a solid understanding of coordinating in a fight to make things happen in their favor. With all that said, OMG is a very capable team and in our opinion, they are the team that separates the elite teams from the very good teams. OMG surely has been a very exciting team to watch in the past few months.
8. Rare Atom
RA started off the split pretty well despite having a tough schedule early on. There are some solid signs of this team being a pretty good team this split. The fact that they fought against V5 and LNG well and beat TES, proves that this is a very capable squad. For the next two weeks, this team is starting a pretty easy stretch as they face teams around the bottom of the league. Expect them to have a very good two-week stretch.
9. FunPlus Phoenix
Like RA, FPX started the split off well and then kind of fell back to the norm. FPX is a very reliable team with well-known quantities on the team. They are aggressive, and they play well as a team. However, they don’t quite match up against the top teams well even though they beat RNG very early on. FPX in the coming weeks will need to show whether they belong in the middle of the pack or do they belong higher in the standings.
10. Top Esports
TES is in a slump at the moment and there is no question about it. In many people’s eyes, TES was an improved roster this year. However, they look like they are in shambles. At times, it feels like the team has no idea what to do and not entirely coordinating well with each other. Karsa seems to have been the glue for this team but this team looks very different and worse.
Individually, this is a stacked roster but as a whole, they look worse than many of the other teams around their position. This week isn’t going to be any easier as they play RNG. Dark days are upon TES if they do not turn around the ship very soon.
11. Ultra Prime
UP did not start off the split well but to be fair to them, it was a relatively tough schedule. Now as they are on an easier stretch, they are winning some games. This is a talented roster that is on the outskirts of making the playoffs. Question is, whether they can keep winning and challenge for one of those spots down the stretch.
12. JD Gaming
Despite JDG’s horrendous week 1, they had a strong week 2 and are showing signs of life. Hope coming in has brought hope to the team (no pun intended). It is a talented roster with 369, Kanavi, and Yagao in the roster, so it is a matter of time for them to start clicking a bit. They might not be the JDG of old, but they could still make a run for a playoff spot at the later stages of the split.
13. Team WE
Team WE have had one of the toughest starting schedules in this split of the LPL. While they were playing the top teams of the LPL, they have made many changes to the roster, and they expectedly struggled. Some people will question the fact that WE is higher on the list than they should be but their schedule was so difficult that they cannot be at the bottom. Their schedule doesn’t get any weaker in Week 4 so WE fans will have to hold strong and hope the team starts winning soon.
14. Invictus Gaming
IG is going through the motions as they come to grips with losing TheShy and Rookie to WBG and V5 respectively. Thus, IG can be bundled with the likes of AL, LGD, TT, and WE for now, but they look the best in that bundle. IG is not going to make the playoffs but at least they will be developing these players for the future in the hope to go back to the position that they once were in.
15. ThunderTalk Gaming
Similar to IG, TT is also going through their rebuilding since last year. They are trying to compete in the league but they just are not good enough at the moment. The one thing that is surprising about TT is the fact that they haven’t been playing Ucal, who is likely an upgrade compared to Captain individually. Regardless, they are not a very good team this split and will hover around the position they are in right now.
16. LGD Gaming
LGD is yet another team at the bottom of the league. Other than their surprise win against OMG where OMG was clearly not their best, this team looks very weak in comparison. Even compared to the teams around their spot, they look weaker than them at times. Thus, it would not surprise us if they do end up bottom of the league after the split is over.
17. Anyone’s Legends
AL is playing with a rotating roster which is not working at the moment. They look kind of lost as a team thus they are at the bottom of this list. There is not much to say other than hoping that they do get better with time.
Schedule of Week 4
Week 4 starts from Thursday as we have a shorter week like Week 3 after the Chinese New Year and Lunar Year break. There are some good matches to watch this week for the LPL and here are our must-watch picks.
- OMG vs V5: Two teams that look really strong and are improving with time.
- RNG vs TES: RNG trying to keep their momentum while TES looking to bounce back.
- BLG vs LNG: Two top teams of the LPL facing each other.
Thus, the LPL resumes from the 10th as the teams come back from the break to try to be the best version of themselves going forward.
