League of Legends Global Power Rankings: Tigers on top

ByTYLER ERZBERGER AND JAMES CHEN
January 26, 2016, 7:42 PM

— -- The second week of the League spring has ended, and the premier five regions (Korea/LCK, China/LPL, North America/NA LCS, Europe/EU LCS and Taiwan/LMS) are in full swing. Immortals continued their rampage in North America; surprises have abounded in the European standings; Qiau Gu and Royal Never Give Up are 16-1 (8-0 overall) in their first two weeks of play in China. SK Telecom T1, the reigning world champions, aren't in first place after losing 2-0 to the Jin Air Green Wing last week. And in Taiwan, AHQ are proving why they're the pillar of their region.

1. ROX Tigers

Record: 3-0 | League: LCK

The runners-up at last year's League of Legends World Finals, the ROX Tigers have entered 2016 aiming to win it all. The addition of former NaJin jungler Peanut has turned the once midgame-focused Tigers into a free-flowing, early-game, proactive squad.

2. SK Telecom T1

Record: 2-1 | League: LCK

Although the reigning kings of League won't be going undefeated this split, given their loss to the Jin Air Green Wings, it would be foolish to believe they won't be in the mix for the Korean finals by spring's end. Winning the title, however, might come down to how Duke, their new top-laner, adjusts to the team.

3. KT Rolster

Record: 2-1 | League: LCK

In a meta where many thought games would be faster, KT Rolster have adapted to a new style that is more about methodically grinding through objectives than going for explosive team fights. Can the slow-paced, calculated way of play lead KT Rolster to their second Korean championship?

4. Qiao Gu Reapers

Record: 4-0 | League: LPL

Undefeated so far this season, the second-place finishers in China last split are the best squad currently in China. This is all without one of the region's best known players of all time, AD carry Uzi, who is sitting on the bench behind Peco.

5. Royal Never Give Up

Record: 4-0 | League: LPL

The rebuilt Royal have been stellar thus far, with former Samsung White duo Looper and Mata leading the charge. With a record of 8-1 across maps in the first two weeks of the season, the two-time silver finishers at Worlds might be dreaming of gold before too long.

6. AHQ

Record: 3-0 | League: LMS

It turns out that having Westdoor play all the blue-side games and Chawy all the red-side ones means nobody in Taipei can even touch AHQ. Mountain's still got some odd jungle pathing, but his Graves is looking good, and everybody's too scared of his midlaners to focus on the jungle.

7. Immortals

Record: 4-0 | League: NA LCS

The only undefeated team left in either LCS region, Immortals have established themselves as the front-runners in North America. Korean imports jungler Reignover and top-laner Huni extended their regular-season win streak to a staggering 24 games with the past three splits.

8. H2k

Record: 3-1 | League: EU LCS

If it weren't for that midlane mess versus Fnatic, H2k would be clear leaders in Europe. Other than that, Forg1ven looks to have found a team that lives up to his boasts.

9. Jin Air Green Wings

Record: 3-1 | League: LCK

The Jin Air Green Wings have been one of the biggest surprises of the 2016 campaign through the first two weeks, and they are the first team to topple the world champions SKT T1 in the LCK. Winged, their new starting jungler, has already positioned himself as one of the fastest rising stars in the region.

10. Vitality

Record: 3-1 | League: EU LCS

Vitality has a weird problem in which their first game of the week makes them look half-asleep: no ganks, barely any kills, no offensive pressure. Then they wake up for game two, and it's a whole different -- and better -- team.

11. Samsung Galaxy

Record: 3-1 | League: LCK

After a win in the Summoner's Cup in 2014, the 2015 season was a nightmare for a rebuilding franchise that lost all its star players to China. It appears Samsung are seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, though, as they currently sit at 3-1 and have lost only to World Champions SKT T1.

12. EDward Gaming

Record: 1-1 | League: LPL

The 2015 Mid-Season Invitational champions, EDG have been a mixed bag to start the season, with an overall map scoreline of two wins and three losses (1-1 overall). What we do know is jungler ClearLove is the one who pilots the ship for star-studded EDG, who returned to action after missing the first match of the season and led his squad to its first match win of the year.

13. G2 Esports

Record: 3-1 | League: EU LCS

Trick probably shouldn't have tried Udyr jungle against H2K. His coordination with teammates Perkz and Kikis on other junglers had previously been excellent, so why ruin what isn't broken? Trick2G memes aren't worth the loss.

14. NRG Esports

Record: 3-1 | League: NA LCS

The Immortals made NRG look pretty bad, but they were probably the only team in the NA LCS positioned to have a chance against top-laner Impact and midlaner GBM in the first place. That dashing bowtie was undefeated until the fateful match against a fellow LCS rookie team, and NRG will continue to impress in the weeks to come.

15. Unicorns of Love

Record: 3-1 | League: EU LCS

On one hand, Steelback got his revenge on former team Fnatic by showing up rival AD carry Rekkles. On the other hand, they were reliant on Diamondprox's early game, and he just got bushwhacked by European visa authorities. Replacing him in the coming weeks will be difficult, to say the least.

16. Taipei Assassins

Record: 2-0-1 | League: LMS

REFRA1N has finally solved a yearlong dilemma for TPA: How do they compete without Winds jungling? Turns out the former Flash Wolves player has leveled up since he was replaced by Karsa, and he has provided that strategic mainspring they were missing for all of 2015.

17. Longzhu Gaming

Record: 1-2 | League: LCK

The best team money can buy? The year 2016 was supposed to be the year of Longzhu, as the former Incredible Miracle organization rebranded to match its Chinese sponsor and used an influx of money to buy the best players. So far, the results have been mixed, as it'll take weeks -- or even months -- for the so-called super team to learn how to play with one another.

18. Fnatic

Record: 2-2 | League: EU LCS

It was probably too much to expect Fnatic to repeat their Summer 2015 performance after losing Huni and Reignover. Top-laner Gamsu, in particular, is finding it hard to lane against his European counterparts. Huni, it seems, didn't leave his "summon Jungler" button behind when he left for North America.

19. Counter Logic Gaming

Record: 2-2 | League: NA LCS

When Darshan and Huhi go off, things look great for last summer's big winners. The problem is getting them into position to go off.

20. Team WE

Record: 2-1 | League: LPL

WE had a disastrous 2015, as they nearly fell out of the premier Chinese league and into the secondary league. This campaign has brought new hope to China's former kings, who have gone 2-1 in their first three matches.

21. Machi

Record: 1-0-2 | League: LMS

The double-D bot lane of Dreamer and Dee has been turning heads for two weeks. Don't mind their score line; they've been the only team to give AHQ a real challenge so far, and midlaner Apex looks like a legitimate threat.

22. Elements

Record: 3-1 | League: EU LCS

Cries of STEEEEVE notwithstanding, Elements is doing a lot better than expected of a team that was nearly sold off in the preseason. Still, their wins were largely against the bottom of the European barrel, which raises doubts about the longevity of their current success.

23. Team SoloMid

Record: 2-2 | League: NA LCS

It's hard to understand how TSM keeps winning from behind, and their fans are probably hoping they knock it off with the CLG cosplay, even if it's appropriate for Doublelift, and just win a game outright for once. Still, the results matter, and TSM is getting those points.

24. Hong Kong Esports

Record: 2-0-1 | League: LMS

Given that Hong Kong Esports' two wins thus far have been against Midnight Sun and COUGAR, the lowest-tier teams in the LMS, pinning down their relative strengths is difficult. Their loss to AHQ helps clarify nothing, as everybody else has gotten stomped too. To their favor, however, senior players DinTer and Olleh are looking even better than they did the past summer.

25. Cloud9

Record: 2-2 | League: NA LCS

C9 fans are basically flipping a coin from game to game. Heads: Hai's on support, and you cheer yourself hoarse as C9 outmaneuvers seemingly everybody they run across. Tails: Cry into your drink.

26. CJ Entus

Record: 1-2 | League: LCK

The first two months of the season for CJ Entus are simply a countdown clock until they can start their prized prospect BDD in the middle lane. The 16-year-old prodigy will make his debut for the rebuilding CJ Entus when he turns 17 in a couple weeks.

27. Dignitas

Record: 2-2 | League: NA LCS

Dignitas has gone from getting Baron-baited to using Baron baits, which is already a step up. Top-laner Billyboss is having a very rough transition from Challenger to the LCS spotlight, and teams have caught on to that.

28. Vici Gaming

Record: 1-2 | League: LPL

A team seen as a possible contender for the Chinese title with the addition of World Champion Easyhoon, Vici have been underwhelming out of the gate. Although his former teammate Mata has fit perfectly with Royal, Dandy is still trying to get back into the form that made him one of the greatest junglers in the history of League.

29. Origen

Record: 1-3 | League: EU LCS

Given that they've only replaced xPeke for PowerofEvil between the Worlds semifinals and now, it's shocking to see Origen doing so badly. The team expected to dominate the early spring split is now scrambling to catch up.

30. Flash Wolves

Record: 1-0-2 | League: LMS

The good news is top-laner Rins is definitely more mechanically gifted than Steak. The bad news is gank setups between him and Karsa look terrible, and Maple is having an off-period.

31. Invictus Gaming

Record: 1-1 | League: LPL

iG, a team that made the World Championships in 2015, is going to need to find its bearings if it wants to make it back in 2016. Although they still have all-star Rookie in the midlane, they lost his Korean teammate KaKAO to free agency in the offseason. Kid, the former AD carry of the team, is now trying to fill the gap left in the lineup by transitioning to jungle.

32. Snake Esports

Record: 2-1 | League: LPL

Snake was one of the best debuting teams in 2015, as it stunned the LPL by being one of the best teams throughout its first campaign in the premier league. The team's biggest offseason acquisition was TANK, an exciting, midlane prospect who played on NaJin last year.

33. Team Impulse

Record: 2-2 | League: NA LCS

The first week of the NA LCS season couldn't have gone any worse for Team Impulse, as they lost in 18 minutes to Immortals and set a new record for the fastest loss in LCS history. Things came together in the second week, in which they went 2-0 in surprising fashion to push them into a better spot.

34. Masters 3

Record: 1-2 | League: LPL

The spring season will be a work-in-progress for M3, who reconstructed their roster following a disappointing 2015 campaign. At 1-2 in their first two matches (with a win over Snake), things could be looking up for the boys in purple and gold.

35. e-mFire

Record: 1-2 | League: LCK

The former NaJin, the makeshift e-mFire squad shocked the LCK by picking up their first win of the season over SBENU Sonicboom. How far can this team filled with rookies and former substitutes go by the time spring closes?

36. XGamers

Record: 2-1-0 | League: LMS

They didn't look all that impressive during the qualifiers or against Midnight Sun, but a fine 2-0 set against a Worlds quarterfinalist means it's time to take these kids seriously. Their growth has been rapid.

37. ROCCAT

Record: 1-3 | League: EU LCS

It's telling that the only game ROCCAT has managed to decisively secure, so far, was one of those "Vitality's still asleep" matches. Rookie AD carry Safir at least has the whole "being new to the LCS" thing as his excuse, while Airwaks and Fredy are seriously underperforming.

38. Team Liquid

Record: 1-3 | League: NA LCS

Could Liquid finally be getting back on track? On the ropes against Echo Fox, last season's regular champions were able to pull themselves out of a late-game deficit and take their first win of the season. Newcomers jungler Dardoch and support Matt continue to impress.

39. OMG

Record: 2-2 | League: LPL

Things aren't so bad, right? OMG came into 2016 with lowered expectations after an offseason that saw them lose crucial members who built OMG into a perennial contender. Although not setting the world on fire by any means, they were able to 0-2 Invictus Gaming their last time out on the Rift.

40. SBENU Sonicboom

Record: 0-3 | League: LCK

Things are not going well for SBENU, a team that was pegged to have vastly improved over the offseason. Don't tell that to their AD carry Nuclear, though, as he's been one of the breakout stars of the Korean league in the first two weeks, even with his team's struggles.

41. Splyce

Record: 1-3 | League: EU LCS

It's been a rough start to the spring split for Splyce, with all their losses so far against the 3-1 teams currently tied for first place. How that fares for them in the long term is anybody's guess, though a clear win against ROCCAT is promising.

42. Afreeca Freecs

Record: 0-3 | League: LCK

Although winless in their first two weeks of play, there are some good signs for the struggling Freecs. They've stayed competitive in almost all their matches, and as long as they have Mickey, their star midlaner, they'll always have a chance to steal a game against any team in the league.

43. Energy Pacemaker.All

Record: 1-3 | League: LPL

EPA are one of the two debuting teams from the secondary Chinese league this year, and they are surely showing the growing pains of a team attempting to make a difficult transition to the major leagues.

44. Midnight Sun

Record: 0-1-2 | League: LMS

Oh, for crying out loud. The most promising rookie team the past season is a massive disappointment after controversial decisions by their previous roster forced a massive reorganization. There's nothing to see here.

45. LGD Gaming

Record: 0-3 | League: LPL

I don't know how we even got here. Only a few short months ago, LGD were odds-on favorites to win the Summoner's Cup. Now, they've lost all three of their matches, are last in the league and are playing like a team that hasn't ever practiced together. The rise and then fall of LGD Gaming might go down as one of the strangest narratives in League's history.

46. Echo Fox

Record: 1-3 | League: NA LCS

Echo Fox is all visa problems, all the time. We technically haven't actually gotten a chance to see them play. This is where a joke about Froggen DDOSing the visa process would go.

47. Renegades

Record: 1-3 | League: NA LCS

Freeze's visa problems aren't the only reason the Renegades are getting outgunned. Getting Baron-baited by Dignitas, of all teams, must come as a huge blow to the ego of former Dignitas jungler Crumbz.

48. Hyper Youth Gaming

Record: 0-3 | League: LPL

It's going to be a long season for the rookies from HYG. They started the season with three straight match losses, and the schedule isn't going to get any easier in the upcoming weeks.

49. Giants Gaming

Record: 0-4 | League: EU LCS

K0u ... isn't the only problem with the Giants. But he's a big part of why their team chemistry is decidedly nonexistent. He keeps trying to play AD carry junglers like Graves and Kindred, and he keeps dying and losing his team map control.

50. COUGAR E-Sport

Record: 0-0-3 | League: LMS

They lost one of the most hyped rookies on the island to Hong Kong Esports' growing appetite for midlaners. This is an obvious relegations candidate -- and the 50th out of 50 teams on our Global Power Ranking.