LCS power rankings: 2022 Spring Split week 7

The LCS is entering the final weekend of the 2022 Spring Split. By Sunday, March 27, the top six teams qualifying for the playoff bracket will be decided. If the final push for the playoffs—and by proxy, the Mid-Season Invitational—wasn’t already in full swing, it certainly is now. 

Heading into the final weekend of the Spring Split, no NA League of Legends team has been eliminated from the playoff race. Each team still has three games left on the table to prove their case for making it into the playoff bracket. But the dominoes could start to fall as early as the first game of the 15-game weekend when the three teams at the top—who have all secured playoff berths but haven’t locked in their exact seeding yet—all face off against teams fighting for their playoff lives on the first day of the superweek. 

Since the final standings of the Spring Split will speak for themselves, here are our final LCS power rankings of the 2022 Spring Split. 

Too little, too late: TSM, CLG, Immortals

The Spring Split seems all but over for these three teams. Any superweek efforts made by them would need to be nothing short of miraculous—if not extremely different from the pace they’ve been playing at—if the playoffs are still a legitimate goal. Granted, none of these three teams have been eliminated from the race just yet, largely because there’s a deadlocked tie between three sub-.500 teams in the middle of the standings. 

Immortals have lost seven games in a row and haven’t won a game since the last superweek back on Feb. 26. TSM, despite a 2-0 weekend last weekend, are still much closer to being eliminated than they are to reaching the playoffs. It would take a borderline miracle for them to reach the top six with a 4-11 record and just three games left on the table. 

If anything, CLG, who sit just two games behind the three teams tied for fifth, have the best chance at contending for a sneaky playoff berth. They play both TSM and Immortals this weekend—the two teams directly below them in the standings—before capping off the split with a game against Evil Geniuses, the team directly above them in the standings. 

Fight to the finish: Dignitas, Golden Guardians

The road to the 2022 Mid-Season Showdown for Dignitas and Golden Guardians is rapidly narrowing. With just three matches left, it’s looking like only one of these teams will be able to successfully advance out of the regular season, leaving the other one to watch from afar and await the start of the Summer Split.

For weeks, both Dignitas and Golden Guardians have met in the leaderboards at fifth and sixth place, separating the top teams from those that have remained inconsistent. These two teams have taken each week as a learning experience, growing from their mistakes and capitalizing on what they’ve done right—to a point. These ups and downs have placed the teams far behind the top, who may become challenging opponents to overcome should either team advance through the playoffs.

Unless Golden Guardians can keep up the momentum from breaking their six-loss streak, they may allow Dignitas to step cleanly into the playoffs as possibly the final qualifying team. But if these teams share similar records after this weekend, Golden Guardians have a trick up their sleeves: a hold over the head-to-head against Dignitas.

With both FlyQuest and Evil Geniuses expected to enter the Mid-Season Showdown, it may come down to Dignitas and Golden Guardians fighting for that last spot and an entrance into what will be a difficult journey through the lower bracket. 

Win and you’re in: FlyQuest, Evil Geniuses

FlyQuest and EG stand on the precipice of qualification for the Mid-Season Showdown, with their postseason hopes entirely within their control. They’re favored to make the final cutoff, but neither team is guaranteed a spot in the top six. With potential contenders only a step below them, week eight will undoubtedly be the most important week for FlyQuest and EG.

FlyQuest appear the most likely to take a playoff spot since they still have a spot in the top four alongside Cloud9, Team Liquid, and 100 Thieves right now. A full win ahead of the next three teams below them, FlyQuest have minuscule room for error. While the team has shown a clear ability to compete with fellow top four teams, snapping their three-loss streak against Liquid, FlyQuest are among the squads most prone to upset losses. Taking on two teams marginally below them in the standings who have felled FlyQuest before, EG and CLG, playoff qualification will not be easy for the team.

EG are steeped in the middle tier of LCS teams, tied with both Golden Guardians and Dignitas for fifth place while the lower three teams are still technically within striking distance. EG will ultimately need more than one decisive win to cement themselves in the postseason and escape the mire they have found themselves in for most of the season. Though they’ve struggled to find a proactive playstyle for a majority of the regular season, one final stretch will extend this squad’s hopes of making a worthwhile playoff run.

The second game of week eight will feature our two postseason favorites squaring off against each other. For both teams, this game will likely set the tone for the remainder of the superweek and bring one squad much closer to the playoffs. With the coveted fourth-place spot still up for grabs, FlyQuest and EG are not only fighting for survival but a potential saving grace from the lower bracket.

Byes on the line: Cloud9, Team Liquid, 100 Thieves

The three teams in this tier of the LCS are the only ones who have clinched playoff spots so far. At this point, playing for a bye is important, but especially with C9 and Liquid having set themselves a cut above the rest throughout the course of the split (and the existence of Bwipo), don’t be surprised if Zac, Amumu, Skarner, or other off-meta picks show their faces. They’ve earned the luxury to experiment, and with new patches coming thick and fast, plus a slight cushion in the standings, expect them to take advantage of it.

100 Thieves did well to beat up on the teams below them in the standings to string together this five-game win streak they’re on. At times, that could be a backhanded compliment, but the defending champions have been frustratingly inconsistent this year, especially for a roster that made no changes to its starting five. It means a lot.

Liquid were upset by FlyQuest, yes, but they are still firmly at worst the second-best team in the LCS, and in this power ranker’s opinion, have a significantly higher ceiling than C9. Even if Bwipo never plays any of his wacky picks in a best-of-five, one good game this superweek could linger in an opponent’s mind enough for them to throw a ban at Liquid’s top laner and the investment will have been worthwhile.

C9 were unironically dominated by TSM but are still the best team in the LCS. The only reason Blaber might not win his third Spring Split MVP in a row is because Summit has been the model of consistency. On Jayce and Gnar, he’s completely matchup-immune, and if you’re fortunate enough to force him on to something else, not only are you still up against one of the best top laners in the world, but you’ve also in all likelihood thrown two bans at him in the draft.

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