The regular season for the popular eSport, League of Legends, has reached its halfway point for most leagues involved. The LMS and the LPL have yet to reach the halfway mark in their season. On the other hand, the NA LCS, the EU LCS, and the LCK have reached the point where the past is the same distance as the future. Just because the season is reaching its end doesn’t make a Dragon or Baron steal any less important from the beginning of the season. These teams wouldn’t be where they are without those plays, after all.
Let’s take a look at the NA LCS standings first.
| 1. TSM | 8W-2L |
| 1. Cloud9 | 8W-2L |
| 3. FlyQuest | 6W-4L |
| 3. Phoenix1 | 6W-4L |
| 5. Counter Logic Gaming | 5W-5L |
| 5. Immortals | 5W-5L |
| 7. Echo Fox | 4W-6L |
| 7. Team Dignitas | 4W-6L |
| 9. Team Envy | 2W-8L |
| 9. Team Liquid | 2W-8L |
The NA LCS standings show what any League of Legends fan would expect: TSM and Cloud9 in the running for first place. There was no tie just before this past weekend, as Cloud9 held a two-win lead over TSM. That changed this past weekend when TSM met Cloud9 for the second time of the season and defeated them in three games. Just in the first game, Bjergson claimed a quadra kill to pretty much seal the series for TSM. Sure, Cloud9 took the next game, but TSM had all the momentum.
It’s also interesting to see that FlyQuest remains a dominant force in the league. Being a new team to enter the NA LCS, it’s quite impressive to see them holding their ground against vetted teams such as Immortals and Counter Logic Gaming. In week 4, we saw FlyQuest take on Cloud9. They not only beat them in a game, but they also made the series quite competitive. They did the same in week 5 against TSM. I can already see an entourage of fans surrounding FlyQuest as they grow into a better, more cohesive team. This is their first year in the NA LCS, and they’ve proved themselves worthy of the Rift.
The next set of standings we’ll take a look at are those of the EU LCS.
Group A:
| 1. G2 ESports | 7W-0L |
| 2. Misfits | 5W-1L |
| 3. Fnatic | 4W-3L |
| 4. Giants | 1W-5L |
| 5. ROCCAT | 0W-6L |
Group B:
| 1. Unicorns of Love | 5W-1L |
| 2. H2K | 5W-2L |
| 3. Splyce | 4W-3L |
| 4. TeamVitality | 1W-5L |
| 5. Origen | 0W-6L |
The EU LCS ranks their teams a little differently than the NA LCS. They place their teams in two groups, but that doesn’t mean a team from Group A can’t play a team from Group B. For example, the Unicorns of Love play Fnatic in week 7. I mention this game because of the long-standing rivalry between the two teams dating back to the 2015 Spring Playoffs finals, where Fnatic beat Unicorns of Love in five long games. Fnatic, being the OG of League of Legends, have kept themselves above 500 for this half of the season. But teams like G2 Esports, Unicorns of Love, Misfits, and H2K remain at the top of the standings at this point. If Fnatic wants to regain the crown of the EU LCS (and the world), then they are going to have to do so by overtaking G2 Esports. They are the squad to beat right now in the EU LCS–and the team that finally emerges victorious over them will gain some serious momentum. But which team will be the one to crack that elusive goose egg? Only the second half of the Spring Split will give us the answer.
The last set of standings we’ll go over will be those of the LCK.
| 1. kt Rolster | 7W-1L |
| 1. SK telecom T1 | 7W-1L |
| 3. Longzhu Gaming | 5W-3L |
| 3. Samsung Galaxy | 5W-3L |
| 3. MVP | 5W-3L |
| 6. bbq OLIVERS | 4W-4L |
| 7. Afreeca Freecs | 3W-5L |
| 8. ROX Tigers | 2W-6L |
| 9. Kongdoo Monster | 1W-7L |
| 9. Jin Air GreenWings | 1W-7L |
As the first half of the season went on, I was shocked to see ROX Tigers struggling so much to hold on to a top spot in the LCK. Maybe it was the departure of all their 5 starters from last year (Smeb, KurO, PraY, Peanut, and GorillA) that has caused this disruption of power. And maybe the new players that have come in to fill the void aren’t performing as expected. If the latter is the case, then, well, it’s expected. Sometimes it takes time for a completely new team to establish rapport at a professional level, especially when you’re playing teams like SK telecom T1 (who obtained Peanut). It isn’t surprising that kt Rolster (who obtained SmeB) is at the top of the standings with SK telecom T1. Both teams have a composition that the ROX Tigers are missing right now. Let’s see if ROX Tigers can make a comeback in the second half of the season and start a run towards the World Championship.
What is most interesting is the three-way tie for second place. All three teams have what it takes to compete with the likes of kt Rolster and SK telecom T1. But this is especially true for MVP, who won their series against kt Rolster in week 5. Make sure you watch SK telecom T1 vs. kt Rolster on Thursday, March 2 at 3:00 AM, as this will decide the top spot in the LCK!
