When the new format for North America’s premier League of Legends circuit - the League of Legends Championship Series - was announced, fans around the world rejoiced. LCS fans have much to look forward to, but which teams look favored to take the crown here?  

Superstar rosters versus unproven rookies, unproven rosters versus superstar rookies. The LCS format changed a ton this off-season, and team lineups have followed suit. Without further ado, here are our power rankings for the LCS 2020.  

# 10. Golden Guardians 
After a standout year for the organization, [Golden Guardians](https://stacked.gg/lol/team/gg/stats) are looking much worse for wear this season. Offloading the entirety of their starting 2020 roster, the fact that GG were able to retain veteran coach Nicholas “Inero” Smith was a blessing.   
One veteran signing is Trevor “Stixxay'' Hayes, CLG’s franchise player for five years who has been on the decline (despite some flashes of brilliance) since a standout debut and MSI 2016. Also signed to GGS is one of LLA’s most promising talents in support Leandro “Newbie” Marcos, who should assist Stixxay in this otherwise uninspiring roster.  

# 9. Immortals 
After the organisation took both 2016 LCS splits by storm, and even made a splash on the Worlds stage in 2017, [Immortals](https://stacked.gg/lol/team/imt/stats) have failed to reach those high watermarks again.  

Promising rookies make up the majority of this roster, but it’s the veterans from Origen’s ill-fated LEC attempts that could make all the difference here. Andrei “Xerxe” Dragomir was once considered best in his role in Europe, and the slumping jungler has a chance to return to form alongside Mitchell “Destiny” Shaw, the LEC’s first OCE import.  

This time, however, the former OG players aren’t surrounded by superstar talent – will they step up to the challenge?  

# 8. Dignitas
Literally the last team to announce their roster this off-season, [Dignitas](https://stacked.gg/lol/team/dig/stats) apparently had a lot going on behind the scenes leading into 2021. Unfortunately, the long-awaited roster reveal was rather forgetful, though the team managed to maintain a solid - if inconsistent - core for their younger players to grow around.  

This team at least has a lot of playmaking potential, packed with aggressive players unwilling to shy away from a fight - for better or worse.  

# 7. FlyQuest
Another rebuilding roster, [FLY](https://stacked.gg/lol/team/fly/stats) had the best year in the organization’s history before their fan-favourite squad blew up completely. Look for former Cloud9 franchise toplaner Eric “Licorice” Ritchie to lead the charge in tandem with the LLA’s most promising talent: world-class jungler Brandon Joel “Josedeodo” Villegas. Botlaner Johnson “Johnsun” Nguyen also established himself as a top tier threat throughout 2020.  

Unfortunately, that’s where the known quantities end, as the former Cloud9 Academy Jungle/Support duo in Diamond and Palafox are yet to be tested in the LCS.  

This roster could just as easily finish 8th or 4th, though placing your trust in FlyQuest management could prove a safe bet now that we see the roster that they have assembled. The reason why they’re so low is because they have taken such a tremendous risk with the full rebuild here; the other teams made safer, less exciting changes - but will they prove less rewarding?  

<div style="width: 100%; display: flex; flex-direction: column; align-items: center;">
<img src='https://stacked-assets.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/posts/post_13_2.jpeg' alt='Scouting' style="width: 100%; max-width: 90%;" />
<h2>FlyQuest - Riot Games
</h2>
</div>
# 6. Counter Logic Gaming
[CLG](https://stacked.gg/lol/team/clg/stats) are at 6th here because they have a fine roster, that’s it. No risky rookie talent, but no real risks at all. Most of these veterans haven’t looked their prime in years, and while they could prove the world wrong, expectations for the CLG organisation are at an all-time… middle.  

This isn’t a roster favored to win the LCS, but it isn’t a roster that will come last, either. The lack of rookies is disheartening, indicating a lack of future investment, [but the group of proven veterans could mesh together and make a surprise run](https://stacked.gg/article/lcs-2021-dark-horse-clg).

<div style="width: 100%; display: flex; flex-direction: column; align-items: center;">
<img src='https://stacked-assets.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/posts/post_13_1.jpeg' alt='Scouting' style="width: 100%; max-width: 90%;" />
<h2>CLG - Riot Games
</h2>
</div>

# 5. 100Thieves
After seeing how good GG’s 2020 was, [100T](https://stacked.gg/lol/team/100/stats) decided to steal away 80% of that promising roster. Naturally, the only position unchanged in the 100T camp is toplane, thanks to stalwart veteran Kim “Ssumday” Chan-ho spearheading this organisation’s efforts yet again, proving to be a true toplane carry.

Taking a look at GG duo Huhi and FBI’s performance from last Summer, it’s easy to see why this core was one of the hottest commodities this off-season. With the other LCS botlanes either staying the same or making strict “sidegrades” at best, the two should continue to roll over the competition.

# 4. Evil Geniuses
[EG](https://stacked.gg/lol/team/eg/stats) are hard to gauge, because any upgrade they made in top with the addition of championship-caliber Jeong “Impact” Eon-young was nullified by the rest of the changes here. Unable to get a deal done for Lawrence “Lost” Sze Yuy Hui, EG settled for notoriously safe but underwhelming Matthew “Deftly” Chen. The rest of this roster has a lot of volatility and playmaking potential, so EG fans are in for a show, if nothing else. 

# 3. Team SoloMid
[As touched on in our article about the man himself](https://stacked.gg/article/the-swordart-effect), Hu “SwordArt” Shuo-Chieh is the real deal. The veteran support brings playmaking and shotcalling to the table, something a notoriously inactive 2020 [TSM](https://stacked.gg/lol/team/tsm/stats) struggled with at times. This team as a whole is electric, with high highs and low lows across every position. 

You have to imagine that this will be Heo “Huni” Seung-hoon’s last chance to prove himself. After an incredibly disappointing Spring and a fairly underwhelming Summer, Huni wants to return to his 2019 - or, preferably, 2015 - form as soon as possible.  

Midlaner Tristan “PowerofEvil” Schrage is consistent to a fault, and marksman Lost is in the same boat. Both have excellent laning phases and teamfighting, but it’s the early skirmishes and willingness to commit to them that this team needs to work on. Hopefully SwordArt’s guiding voice can pay dividends here, otherwise we may just see another repeat of TSM in years past.  

This is the most exciting team to watch, alongside FLY, due to the amount of volatility in play.  

# 2. Team Liquid
The additions of Barney “Alphari” Morris and Lucas “Santorin” Tao Kilmer Larsen to the roster now give [TL](https://stacked.gg/lol/team/tl/stats) an unprecedented level of flexibility when it comes to their game plans. Now able to have carry threats in every lane that also double as reliable utility players, the squad can adapt their strategy whenever necessary.

The players retained from TL’s mediocre 2020 (surprise Worlds ruin excluded) are no slouches either, all easily top 3 if not the best in their individual positions. Unfortunately, there is one team that seems to have gotten the better of them here...

# 1. Cloud9
The trade that rocked the off-season. Luka “Perkz” Perković’s unexpected departure from G2 Esports raised a few questions as to where he would end up. [C9](https://stacked.gg/lol/team/c9/stats) had just come off of an incredibly rough season, having stomped Spring and then somehow lost out on Worlds qualification through sheer inconsistency.  

Fortunately for them, Perkz is here to make sure that this organization never misses out on Worlds again.  

The rest of C9’s roster are all mechanical prodigies with aggressive hotstreaks, but it’s Perkz that makes this team truly a cut above the rest. If the midlaner can get back to any semblance of the form he showed at Worlds 2018 - practically 1v9ing his organisation through the tournament favorites and into semi-finals - then perhaps C9 can win LCS and make a run at Worlds.  

<div style="width: 100%; display: flex; flex-direction: column; align-items: center;">
<img src='https://stacked-assets.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/posts/post_13_3.jpeg' alt='Scouting' style="width: 100%; max-width: 90%;" />
<h2>C9 - Riot Games
</h2>
</div>


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LCS Power Rankings: Rebuild Years and Loyal Fan Tears

ibrizlol

@ibrizlol

7:52PM on Jan 15, 2021

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