LEC Spring 2020 Pre-Season Tier List

League of Legends European Championship

Spring 2020 Pre-Season Tier List

Some people find the exercise of doing power rankings before a season starts a bit cliché but as a handicapper I've found it to be one of the best things you can do to prepare yourself for an upcoming season. As we gear up for the 2020 competitive League of Legends season it's crucial to have perspective on the competing teams. By putting the work in now we can find a lot of value on teams that are inaccurately priced by the books. Over the years I've had much more success at the beginning of the season before the lines can adjust to sample size.

On this list I attempt to organize the teams in the North American LCS by relative strength. This is done using a tier grading system rather than individual ranks which I'll also provide for more granularity. Before the season it's less about exact finishes than it is comparing the teams to each other to potentially find value.

Tier Definitions:

F Tier - I'm not sure I'll give any of these out but it's mostly reserved for uniquely bad situations like an expansion team or team from a smaller, weaker region at a large tournament.

D Tier - Non-playoff teams that have next to no shot without a miracle developing to have a chance at playoffs. Not all regions will have these. Often rebuilding teams, teams with large rosters and constant swaps of subpar players, or generally weak teams.

C Tier - Non-playoff teams that need a lot of things to go well to have a shot at competing domestically. Often these teams are competing but lack the players and skill to really compete with the stronger teams. Sometimes will beat middle of the table teams but will also drop some games to worse teams.

B Tier - Teams that might make the playoffs or might just miss. Most of the "middle of the table" teams fall into this category. Often they either do one thing well but have weaknesses or they're a pretty solid team that just doesn't have the skill and ability to be much better than they are.

A Tier - Likely playoff teams that could contend for a title if a few things go their way. Usually solid teams with a single weakness or high upside teams with a few question marks.

S Tier - World Championship caliber teams and/or teams that are substantially ahead of their region. S+ rating indicates teams that I feel have a strong chance at winning the World Championship.

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D Tier:

10) SK Gaming

Projected Starters: Sacre, Trick, Jenax, Crownshot, Limit

Substitutes: none listed

Coaches: Unlimited (head coach), Kanani (assistant coach)

Odds to win Spring Split: +5200

SK Gaming bring back Crownshot, Sacre, Jenax, and head coach Unlimited and added Trick and Limit to replace Selfmade and Dreams. While they did finish with a 4-3 record with Jenax in the lineup over Pirean for the last seven games of the Summer Split, one can't help but feel that SK Gaming lost their most promising player in Selfmade only to replace him with journeyman jungler Trick. Jenax and Crownshot provide some level of upside with each showing well at times during last season but the rest of this lineup is unexciting. The primary complaint I have with this team is that they didn't retain their strongest player and didn't really do anything to bolster their future potential with prospects either. SK Gaming will be competitive with the other bottom half teams but will most likely end up with the worst record in the LEC this split and with very limited upside I think the best possible finish they could have is 7th or 8th, just outside of the playoffs.

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C Tier:

9) Team Vitality

Projected Starters: Cabochard, Skeanz, Milica, Comp, Jactroll

Substitutes: Mowgli (jungle), Boris (support/ADC, formerly Krepo)

Coaches: Duke (head coach), Mephisto (assistant coach)

Odds to win Spring Split: +2100

Our next team up is another that lost their best player to free agency with Jiizuke heading across the pond to North America's Evil Geniuses. Vitality did retain star top laner Cabochard who remains one of the stronger players at his position in the league but they also kept the player that I'd consider their biggest liability in Jactroll. The new additions are head coach Duke from Splyce, Skeanz from Vitality's European Masters affiliate Vitality.Bee, Milica from European Masters powerhouse squad Vodafone Giants, and Comp from another European Masters powerhouse in LDLC. The new players provide a lot of questions but a lot of potential given their dominant performances in the developmental leagues while the veterans are very much known quantities here. I appreciate having two veteran presences to guide the new players but it's just baffling to me that Vitality would bring back Jactroll. Cabochard is one of the best players in Europe so that makes sense to bring back your clear cut weakest player is suspect.

Vitality have a shot to over perform expectations if Cabochard continues to play at an elite level and the three new players can realize some of their potential while quickly adapting to the professional stage. Duke has proven to be a good coach often making more of his rosters than I ever expect of them so this team has that going for them as well. I'm expecting this team to have some growing pains but Vitality could eventually be a playoff contender.

8) MAD Lions

Projected Starters: Orome, Shadow, Humanoid, Carzzy, Kaiser

Substitutes: none listed

Coaches: Mac (head coach), Peter Dun (coach), Kaas (coach)

Odds to win Spring Split: +1800

MAD Lions take over Splyce's spot in the LEC and retain their experienced and successful coaching staff to guide sophomore Humanoid, fresh off of an outstanding debut season, and four challenger scene standouts in Orome, Shadow, Carzzy, and Kaiser. I absolutely love this team conceptually, but much like similar teams that are going with a "go young" approach to roster construction, I question how successful they'll be in their first split. MAD Lions are a team, along with my next listed, that will almost certainly outperform this ranking by season's end but until they show me have too many question marks to justify a higher ranking. MAD Lions will be good for sure but will they be great? I think, with time, they will be but not at first.

7) Misfits

Projected Starters: DanDan, Razork, Ronaldo, Bvoy, Denyk

Substitutes: Febiven (mid)

Coaches: Jandro (head coach), Robert Yip (performance coach), Amazing (strategic coach), Valkrin (assistant coach)

Odds to win Spring Split: +3500

Misfits are taking a much more all-in rebuild approach by going with younger, higher potential players in lieu of established veterans. Ronaldo looked like a budding star playing on Fnatic Rising in the EU Masters circuit. Bvoy has traveled from Korea, to Young Miracles in the LDL, to JDG in the LPL, into a short stint with Furious in the LLA, and now Europe, where he aims to finally have a consistent starting job on a good team. DanDan performed well in the 10 games that we saw him play for Misfits in the Summer Split but misfits were mostly unimpressive in that span. Razork and Denyk join from EU Masters powerhouse team Vodafone Giants where they were both outstanding.

Misfits have a boatload of potential but I question whether or not the new players can adapt to the rigors of professional play quickly. Call me old fashioned but it's rare to see brand new rosters, most of which have very limited professional level experience, succeed right away. Misfits are a team that should grow over the course of this year and will likely be competitive by the end of the Spring Split or by Summer but until then I have them just missing the playoffs.

 6) Excel

Projected Starters: Expect, Caedrel, Mickey, Patrik, Tore (formerly Norskeren)

Substitutes: Send0o (top), Taxer (jungle), Special (mid), KaSing (support), Boaster (mid)

Coaches: YoungBuck (head coach), Mapache (assistant coach)

Odds to win Spring Split: +4500

Excel very much remind me of Vici from the LPL; a team that I was initially excited about and still think are quite good but might not quite measure up to the upper level of competition in the LEC. Expects has proven to be serviceable at this point in his career, Caedrel should be another year experienced and improved, and Patrik/Tore (formerly Norskeren) should prove to be one of the better bottom lanes in the league. Excel's biggest question is in the mid lane. Firstly, we don't know who the starter is going to be. Special had a combined 3 and 7 record over the course of spring and summer but Excel was also a struggling team so we don't want to hold that against him. Mickey has been all over the place in his career, from the next super prospect in Korea many years ago to the inconsistent and wild journeyman we've seen in recent years. I think both mid laners possess quite a bit of talent but ultimately provide a rather large question mark for Excel as a whole.

I have Excel at #6 to represent that this team SHOULD outperform the rest of the table and make the playoffs but I'm not entirely confident that will happen.

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B Tier:

5) Rogue

Projected Starters: Finn, Inspired, Larssen, HansSama, Vander

Substitutes: none listed

Coaches: fredy122 (head coach), Blumigan (assistant and performance coach), Blueknight (analyst)

Odds to win Spring Split: +2150

Rogue are yet another European team with a unique blend of quality veterans and young players with a lot of potential. HansSama has a good case for being the best marksman in Europe, Finn, Inspired, and Larssen showed promising starts in their rookie splits, and while I have questions about Vander not reuniting with his former bottom lane partner Forg1ven, he's been a solid player for the vast majority of his long career. Coach Fredy122 also brings a ton of experience as a former player and now long-standing coach in the LEC.

While I like Rogue's upside, without some absolutely incredible performances by multiple players I don't see this team as a championship contender. They are, however, quite a bit better than the rest of Europe which is why I have them alone in the B tier. Rogue are almost definitely a playoff team it's just a matter of how much better they could possibly be.

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A Tier:

4) Origen

Projected Starters: Alphari, Xerxe, Nukeduck, Upset, Destiny

Substitutes: Hiiva (support)

Coaches: Guilhoto (head coach), Arailla (analyst), Kayys (anaylst)

Odds to win Spring Split: +1250

Origen retained both veteran solo laners in Alphari and Nukeduck but have chosen to move in a different direction at the other positions. Xerxe replaces Kold in the jungler, a move that I'd consider a slight upgrade given that I think Kold is just a tad overrated by most (still good),  Upset will replace Patrik in an exchange of two young talents that could both benefit from a change of scenery, and perhaps the most interesting of all, Destiny, from Oceanic Worlds representative MAMMOTH will replace veteran Mithy who moved on to a coaching position with Fnatic.

To me, Origen kept the good parts of their lineup and strictly upgraded at the others. Mithy is considered by many to be one of the best European supports of all time but he did not perform well last year. Kold, as I mentioned, is a good jungler but tends to be a bit overrated because of a few highlight reel performances that stick out to most people who seem to forget the lowlights. Destiny is a big question mark. Can an OPL player hang in Europe? I tend to think if you're at this level it's worth a shot to find out. MAMMOTH vastly exceeded most people's expectations at Worlds this year primarily on the back of good shot calling and coaching. I'm open to the idea that a smaller region player can succeed in a major region league.

Origen were the consistent, steady, fundamentally sound team with a limited ceiling last season. I think they'll again be a consistent, steady, and fundamentally sound team but this time I think they have a much higher ceiling. This team has a balanced blend of veterans and young talent and should be challenging for the #2 spot along with my next two teams.

3) FC Schalke 04

Projected Starters: Odoamne, Gilius, Abbedagge, Forg1ven, Dreams

Substitutes: none listed

Coaches: Dylan Falco (head coach)

Odds to win Spring Split: +2700

Full disclosure: I want this team to be great.

Konstantinos "Forg1ven" Tzortziou is one of my favorite players and personalities in the history of professional League of Legends. After serving his mandatory military service at a very inopportune time in his career he's finally back in action. For those that weren't around for his original reign of terror, the best way to describe Forg1ven as a player is that he plays the marksmen role as a pure lane bully which is very much the opposite of how most players tend to play it. He wants to utterly smash his lane. This style has more or less gone the way of the dodo with a few notable exceptions like Uzi. It's simply not equitable for most people and teams to play this aggressively but when you're as good at it as Forg1ven is the "rules" tend to bend a little.

Schalke isn't entirely about Forg1ven but he's a huge part of the equation because teams that he's succeeded on in the past tend to have to play in a unique way. Dreams doesn't exactly seem like the kind of support I'd envision Forg1ven wanting but the team certainly knows more than I do about what they want. Odoamne has been a solid as a rock veteran his entire career, Abbedagge was an absolute stud as a rookie last season, and Gilius, while inconsistent, is exactly the kind of aggressive jungler I'd want for a lane dominant team like this one. I see Schalke as a full on priority team. They're going to dominate lanes and let Gilius attack the enemy jungler. Schalke are goign to play full court press League of Legends in much the same way SK Gaming did in 2015. It sounds simple but requires dominant lane players and Schalke have assembled that.

There's a chance this backfires. There are some fiery personalities on this team and if things have a rocky start or if some of these veterans just can't keep up anymore things could go south very quickly for Schalke but I think it's way more likely to end up the opposite. Schalke SHOULD be an excellent team and their ceiling is arguably as high as Fnatic and maybe even G2 if they can reach it.

2) Fnatic

Projected Starters: Bwipo, Selfmade, Nemesis, Rekkles, Hylissang

Substitutes: none listed

Coaches: Mithy (head coach), Aagie (assistant coach), Veigar v2 (strategic coach)

Odds to win Spring Split: +500

After a miraculous week two run in the group stage, Fnatic managed to crack the top eight at the World Championship in 2019 only to be decisively defeated 3-1 by the eventual champions FunPlus Phoenix. Personally, I think Fnatic underperformed expectations at the tournament, but they still managed to make a quarterfinals appearance. This is mostly the same roster but there have been a few departures. Star jungler Mads "Broxah" Brock-Pedersen, who had an excellent year, is off to North America to join Team Liquid (eventually...). Former head coach Joey "YoungBuck" Stettenpool as well as head analyst Alejandro "Mapache" Martinez joined Excel eSports. Assistant coach Louis-Victor "Mephisto" Legendre also left for Team Vitality. Former professional player Alfonso "Mithy" Rodríguez will step in as the new head coach.

Fnatic's success last season was a full organization effort. A huge part of what made them great was their coaching staff which I consider one of the best in the business in any region. With the main figures of that staff departing as well as Broxah, who was very much the glue that tied it all together on the rift, I wouldn't rule out a slow start as they figure out their new identity as a team. A new jungler with big shoes to fill and a head coach in his debut at the position could prove challenging at first however, at the end of the day, Fnatic are still filled to the brim with talent and because of that it's hard to rank them anywhere outside of the top three even if we assume they'll have a rocky start.

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S+ Tier:

1) G2 eSports

Projected Starters: Wunder, Jankos, Perkz, Caps, Mikyx

Substitutes: P1noy (adc)

Coaches: GrabbZ (head coach), Duffman (head analyst), AngelArcher (analyst)

Odds to win Spring Split: -190

G2 return the same roster that took the globe by storm last year and I see absolutely no reason why they wouldn't. This team has a unique character and style, and to disrupt that chemistry would be criminal. The fact that they were embarrassed in a finals match where they were favored should add fuel to the motivational fire for this squad to make them even hungrier to prove that the West can win a World Championship again. They're versatile, ambitious, and supremely confident. Individually they are some of the best players at their positions in the world. A true five threat team is rare but they're one of them. They can do it all and likely will invent a number of new things along the way just like they did last year. Often imitated but never duplicated, G2 are one of the best teams I've ever seen and I've been following this game for a decade. I don't expect that to change this year barring some sort of catastrophe.

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Final Tier List:

D: 10) SK Gaming

C: 9) Team Vitality, 8) MAD Lions, 7) Misfits, 6) Excel

B: 5) Rogue

A: 4) Origen, 3) Schalke 04, 2) Fnatic

S+: 1) G2 eSports

To me, Europe is nearly divided in half on this list. I think there are five teams that are a cut above the bottom five but I also think the bottom five are all going to be battling for that last playoff spot. I have SK rated the worst but it's mostly because I don't see a high a ceiling as some of the other bottom half teams. SK could very well compete for that last playoff spot as well. It's going to be interesting to see so many new, young players develop over the course of this year. Europe has historically been an extremely gifted region from a talent perspective and very often new players can jump right into the spotlight. If that ends up being the case in some of these younger teams outperform these rankings then Europe is going to be ridiculously competitive.