LCS Week 8 Power Rankings: Cloud9 close in on an almost perfect split

Cloud9 have dominated the entire split — and this didn't change when they faced Counter Logic Gaming and 100 Thieves. However, the team underperformed compared to previous weeks.

While their first place in our rankings is unquestionable, it remains to be seen whether they will be able to keep dominating other teams and claim the Spring Split title.

Apart from Week 2, Evil Geniuses haven't ended a week without at least one victory — which has kept them in the running. With only0 mixed results, they were unable to join the leading pack — but five consecutive victories has now changed that.

Facing Counter Logic Gaming and Dignitas this week, the Geniuses pocketed two one-sided victories — proving once again that they now have everything it takes to join and perhaps dominate the leading pack.

This display of form means they jump up in our power rankings.

During Week 7, Team SoloMid did what everyone thought impossible: beat Cloud9. They also defeated FlyQuest — proving their superiority over the team that challenged for first place during the entire split.

However, they remain fairly inconsistent, as proven by their matches this week. While facing Golden Guardians appeared to be a mere formality, they couldn't prevent Immortals from taking the victory — even though they fought well.

There's no doubt that Team SoloMid belong among the LCS' top teams, but Evil Geniuses outclassed them this week — hence their small drop in our rankings.

After a disastrous Week 7, FlyQuest returned stronger this week — only to achieve mixed results.

While their victory over Immortals came as a result of a completely one-sided game, their match against 100 Thieves was heavily contested. FlyQuest struggled a lot againt the Thieves and their inability to secure most of the objectives eventually lead to defeat.

Just like Team SoloMid, FlyQuest were one the only teams capable of challenging Cloud9 this split — except they never managed to actually beat them. This, added to the fact that TSM beat them last week, explains why they drop to fourth.

While they were beaten by Cloud9 this week, 100 Thieves offered real resistance to the leaders. They also defeated FlyQuest after a really tight game. This proves that they might just have what it takes to belong to group of top LCS teams.

However, it seems unfair to rank them higher because they haven't yet demonstrated their ability to consistently win over the top teams.

Since the beginning of the split, Immortals have proved to be the kind of team that can either achieve the best or the worst — something they did once again this week.

Admittedly, they were dominated by FlyQuest, but they somehow pulled off a victory against Team SoloMid.

Although their current record should guarantee them a spot in the playoffs, Immortals aren't safe at all. We do think they still belong to the chasing pack, but one mistake could easily cost them their spot both in the LCS playoffs and our rankings.

Team Liquid have encountered so many issues this season that it's still hard to recognize the four-time champions. Broxah's visa issues and Doublelift getting benched only seem to be the tip of the iceberg when explaining the apparent lack of cohesion within the team.

After Week 6, we really thought they had found the proper balance, but the disaster of Week 7 only proved us wrong — and their mixed results this week just add to the pile.

Although they won comfortably over Golden Guardians, they were dealt a heavy loss against Immortals. It's still possible for them to secure playoffs, but they will need to play perfectly.

In their current state, Team Liquid just can't be considered one of the top LCS teams — hence their current placement in our rankings.

Facing Team SoloMid and Team Liquid, Golden Guardians ended Week 8 with two more losses. Let's face it — it's not really a surprise.

However, they defeated Dignitas in Week 7 and certainly proved that they were, at least, ahead of the bottom teams.

From the leading pack to the bottom of the pile, Dignitas have been woeful over the past few weeks. Although they had an incredible start to the split, four losses in a row after Week 6 and 7 had a terrible effect both on their record and their performances.

This week, they managed to pull off a win. However, a victory over Counter Logic Gaming is now just a formality for most LCS teams, while losing to Evil Geniuses was absolutely telling.

Just like Team Liquid, Dignitas could potentially grab a spot in the playoffs, but they probably need a miracle. While they have the same record as Golden Guardians, they were defeated by them in Week 7 — hence their ninth place here.

Once again, Counter Logic Gaming lost both of their matches this week — something that we now expect.

Let's face it, CLG have probably played the worst split in their long history. Dominated in most of their matches, CLG only managed to snatch some victories here and there. With the departure of Crown, they found in Pobelter a replacement who was sadly not enough to compensate for their terrible start.

It all leads them to an absolutely disastrous record, with missing out on the playoffs confirmed a long time ago. At this point, their placement at the bottom of our rankings isn't in question anymore.