8. XDG So to start it off we have the last place in our Power Rankings. XDG has been playing the weakest in all of the teams in regards to Shock & Awe, Team Fighting Potential, and Lane Rotations. They picked up a new Support Bloodwater and he definitely gave their Bot lane a boost from last season. He hasn't quite made the impact needed to really carry the team to higher success yet but hopefully they will get their cohesion soon to do so. Zuna has switched over from the ADC role to the jungle and it has proved some mixed results. He has been pretty on point in some games but overall has been failing to really capitalize well on rotations and counter-ganks. Next issue with this team has been Mancloud their mid-laner. Maybe it's from the change of jungler's so that they haven't gotten their synergy down just yet but he has been pretty subpar this season. From sporting some of the highest KDA and kills last season to a very poor performance this year thus far, he has alot to prove for himself and his team. I expect him to improve his numbers as the season goes along but these issues are definitely the core parts for why this team has been playing poorly this Split.
7. CLG
The team known for their "potential" has yet to quite find it yet. Maybe when Dexter gets back and they go to their main roster that will change but I don't quite see it yet. I see the same general gameplay that they have kept from last season. I do think that Aphromoo is a nice pick up for their team, having the ADC mindset and really just knowing what an ADC needs/wants from their support will definitely help speed up the Bot lane synergies more quickly. Individually this team has some great and stellar players, but when it's all put together for team play, they just don't quite have it yet. Another sign of this team that I've been seeing is their lack of control of the game when things go unfavorably for them. If you happened to see the TSM vs CLG match up this past week, one thing I've definitely noticed was their inability to crawl back anything from playing behind and how Hotshot really played poorly once he fell behind i.e: blowing both summoners AND ultimate when he was definitely dead for sure. Hopefully this team can reach their "potential" and put their pieces together but as long as they can't fully capitalize on mistakes and timing, they won't improve their rankings for a bit.
6. EG The CLG.eu team that is now playing in the states. With the loss of Froggen and Wickd I feel this team kind of downgraded a bit. But teams aren't all about having the Michael Jordan's and Lebron James in the team, so maybe they're onto something that we don't quite see yet. As of yet, it hasn't quite showed and so far this season they haven't pulled out the big W's just yet, especially considering one of them was from the lackluster XDG. Their new Midlaner Pobelter is known to be very inconsistent and can make some great plays here and there, but he's yet to prove that he can go toe to toe to the likes of the other top Midlaners like Bjergson and Shiphtur. Innox also has alot to prove with his LCS season, currently ranking in the lower end of the LCS KDA, he needs to improve those numbers and increase his contribution to the team. If not he can be looking to be cut out from this team later on. This team's bot lane has been in my opinion the consistent ones so far and even pulling out a wild card Soraka + Urgot combo bot AND getting the win that game with that! As long as Pobelter can continue to play well you can expect this team to improve their rankings throughout the season.
5. CoastAfter dominating the Challenger scene they have yet to find that dominance in the LCS starting off with a 2-4 record. I wouldn't be too scared about rooting for this team because they definitely have the pieces to be a top 4 team. I think their Midlaner Shiphtur is top notch and is capable of carrying this team on their shoulders. Their top laner Zionspartan has also been playing pretty notably as well with some impressive Nasus play. This team's weakness easily comes from their botlane. WizFujiiN in my very honest opinion, has been performing like crap. He is sporting I think the lowest KDA of the League and has been really just weight for the rest of their members to pick up. I've seen in multiple games where they lack in Bot lane and it just puts even heavier pressure onto the Middle/Top laners to put the Bot lane on their backs and pull through. Once this team can improve their bot game they will see improvements against the higher caliber teams, but until then, they will be plagued to pick up more wins.
4. Curse Who's this team now? So over the break Curse has gone through some major roster changes. From last season you only see Voyboy and Cop still with this team, which are definitely great pieces to keep. Their newer additions I think are actually an overall upgrade from last season. The only thing so far is getting their team work down so that their team fights will improve. Voyboy is still needing to improve his mid champion pool experience but he is definitely capable of doing so. You can always count on Cop to just not feed and always contribute. He is sporting the highest KDA right now with Meteos and you just know that he will perform well. He isn't exactly the flashiest player but he always seems to pull his weight. I can see this team maybe improving to the third spot but I don't quite see them pulling out the #1 #2 rankings until they can prove to take out the other top contenders on these Power Rankings.
3. Cloud 9I will call this out here just because I think the #2 team will surprise many others just like me. It was a close call but I'm going with my gut here. This team does very well on rotations and focusing high on objectives. One thing that I can't seem to break though is that they win from gold advantages and just beating up on teams once they have a solid advantage. I know this is pretty much HOW you win but I just don't really see them as a super flashy team that individually destroy every other matchup. Objectively they are a super strong team and know how to win/close out games, but to spice things up I'm going to rank them as #3. One thing about this team is that they are very consistent and it's very possible that they will pull out a #1 spot this season as long as people can't stop their objective control that propels them a huge advantage over others. I wouldn't be surprised if this team won this Spring Split.
2. Dignitas Talk about the Dark Horse. This team is that to me. They have been on a huge spree lately and I feel that they isn't just a short term spurt of energy. This team has the keys to success with Scarra playing in a season where Assassin's aren't as favored and going more to the caster/mages that he plays so well. This team's bot lane has been pretty phenominal as well. Imaqtpie has been pretty stellar and quite literally has been doing some heavy carrying. His calculations on his potential and decision making has been so spot on and when anyone plays with that kind of confidence and accuracy, expect them to power through these matchups. The rest of the team is very versatile and I see this team being able to pull wins against the #3 and even the #1 of this round of Power Rankings.
To wrap up these power rankings we have the #1 team of this list. Last season they played well but I feel they were stunted by Reginald. Nothing wrong with that, its just so hard to manage and promote your company/business AND still play at the very top level of competition. The addition of Bjergson to the team is probably the best decision that they could've made for this team and have Regi focus full time on coaching and managing. It doesn't hurt that Bjergson is also a stellar player as well. They say that you're only as strong as your weakest link and since that link has been repaired you will see this team skyrocket in power. This team has been just on point with their rotations and play making ability that I don't see any other spot for this team just yet. The only other team that I'm worried for is their ability to close games out against Cloud 9 especially since their only loss so far is from them. With some adjustments I can confidently say that the next time they play it will be much closer, but I expect a win from TSM. This team has everything it needs now to be the best team in North America and I expect that from this roster. Dyrus is always consistent, Wildturtle is just the best ADC in NA, Xspecial can carry, Bjergson annihilates, and the General is always their for his comrades. So it is pretty easy to say for me that TSM rounds out as the #1 in this update of the Power Rankings of the 2014 NA LCS Spring Split!
Let me know what you guys of the rankings and who you all believe will take the top spots.
