League of Legends European LEC power rankings based on off-season trades

With every League Of Legends season, comes new expectations. The LEC has had some major roster shakeups this off season and is poised to have an explosive spring split .

The change to a franchise model in 2020 helped EU teams consistently remain in the league without having to fear relegation. This means the players are at risk of losing a job every year and the organizations are safe if their team posts a losing record.

These power rankings are based on the rosters currently put together by the LEC teams and all of the trades made, for better or worse, to acquire players and coaches from across the world.

League of Legends European LEC power rankings

#10 Team Vitality

Top: Mathias "Szygenda" Jensen

Jungle: Duncan "Skeanz" Marquet

Mid: Aljoša "Milica" Kovandžić

Bot: Markos "Comp" Stamkopoulos

Support: Labros "Labrov" Papoutsakis

Coach: Hadrien "Duke" Forestier

Team Vitality fans are in for another rough season following a tremendously disappointing 2020 season. The roster in place is an absolute mess.

With every player on the roster being new to professional play, the ex-Splyce coach, Duke will have his hands full. Fans shouldn't expect the team to finish higher than 8th place.

#9 SK Gaming

Top: Janik "Jenax" Bartels

Jungle: Kristian "TynX" Østergaard Hansen

Mid: Ersin "Blue" Gören

Bot: Jean "Jezu" Massol

Support: Erik "Treatz" Wessén

Coach: Jesse "Jesiz" Le

SK Gaming is a storied organization in gaming and the LEC. Though the story they have written is not one glamorized with success in recent years.

The roster in place is not poised to impress this spring with their top laner, Jenax, swapping from mid in the offseason. The rest of the roster, save for Treatz, are all academy/amateur players turned pro this year.

Fans should not expect the SK glory days to return this season. If SK is lucky, they will pick up a few upset wins over bottom tier teams.

#8 Misfits Gaming

Top: Tobiasz "Agresivoo" Ciba / Shin "HiRit" Tae-min

Jungle: Iván "Razork" Martín Díaz

Mid: Vincent "Vetheo" Berrié

Bot: Kasper "Kobbe" Kobberup

Support: Petr "denyk" Haramach / Oskar "Vander" Bogdan

Coach: Ilias "Enatron" Theodorou & Alexander "Candyfloss" Cartwright

In a similar position to Vitality, Misfits has a roster of seemingly random players. Some Korean teams have figured out how to run a seven man roster efficiently and the coaching staff at Misfits has a lot of experience between the two.

If the Misfits roster can fit together cohesively, they may find themselves sneaking into playoffs, but fans shouldn't be too hopeful. The roster is talented, but it isn't filled with the biggest names in European LEC history.

#7 Excel Esports

Top: Felix "Kryze" Hellström

Jungle: Daniel "Dan" Hockley

Mid: Paweł "Czekolad" Szczepanik

Bot: Patrik "Patrik" Jírů

Support: Tore "Tore" Hoel Eilertsen

Coach: Joey "YoungBuck" Steltenpool & Petar "Unlimited" Georgiev

Excel gaming has found itself a talented, young group of players capable of picking up wins in this upcoming spring season. They will look to ride on the backs of their veteran bot lane.

Excel's inexperienced roster will look to their coaching staff and bot lane for leadership and guidance as they venture into the maw of the teams like Fnatic and G2. If the strategies employed are solid and the execution is done to perfection, fans can look for an Excel playoff berth.

#6 Rogue

Top: Andrei "Odoamne" Pascu

Jungle: Kacper "Inspired" Słoma

Mid: Emil "Larssen" Larsson

Bot: Steven "Hans sama" Liv

Support: Adrian "Trymbi" Trybus

Coach: N/A

Rogue finds themselves at #6 on the list because every team above them has better veterans. Odoamne and Hans sama are high quality veterans who can carry Rogue to the playoffs.

In order for Rogue fans to see their team in the playoffs, the unproven Larassen, Inspired, and Trymbi, will have to preform better than they ever have before. It wouldn't be a surprise to see Rogue take a playoff spot as long as they don't lose to any teams below them on this list.

#5 Astralis (Formerly Origen)

Top: Matti "WhiteKnight" Sormunen

Jungle: Nikolay "Zanzarah" Akatov

Mid: Erlend "Nukeduck" Våtevik Holm

Bot: Jesper "Jeskla" Klarin Strömberg

Support: Hampus "promisq" Mikael Abrahamsson

Coach: Baltat "AoD" Alin-Ciprian

Formerly Origen, Astralis is poised to enter the LEC with a promising roster. Consisting of mostly well known veterans, Astralis will pull its fan base from people who like their players.

Nukeduck has always been an entertaining name to follow in the LEC and Jeskla/promisq make for an intriguing bot lane dynamic. Any fans looking to cheer for a team that isn't the common G2, Fnatic, or S04, can look to Astralis as a team to watch to make playoffs in their inaugural split.

#4 MAD Lions formerly Splyce

Top: İrfan "Armut" Berk Tükek

Jungle: Javier "Elyoya" Prades

Mid: Marek "Humanoid" Brázda

Bot: Matyáš "Carzzy" Orság

Support: Norman "Kaiser" Kaiser

Coach: James "Mac" MacCormack

The MAD Lions are coming off an impressive 2020 season which found them in the playoffs beating G2 Esports when they first met in the upper bracket. They proceeded to lose to G2 when they met them in the lower bracket finals again though.

Still, defeating G2 is an impressive feat and fans can look forward to their team showing up for another good split. With the addition of Armut from SuperMassive, the roster looks even stronger than last year.

Fans should expect the MAD Lions to find themselves in the playoffs again with a #4 seed or higher.

#3 FC Schalke 04

Top: Sergen "Broken Blade" Çelik

Jungle: Erberk "Gilius" Demir

Mid: Felix "Abbedagge" Braun

Bot: Matúš "Neon" Jakubčík

Support: Dino "LIMIT" Tot

Coach: Dylan Falco

The previous season saw many S04 players leave the team after a disappointing performance in the LEC. Management stepped up their game and recruited many great new members and veterans to the team.

Fans can excitedly watch S04 once again this season, and should keep their eyes on the German trio Broken Blade, Gilius, and Abbedagge. This trio will feel right at home within the German organization and their bot lane should be up to the task of holding their own.

If the Schalke 04 bot lane can preform on the same level as the other members on the roster, they will find themselves in the top four teams in the LEC. They could just as easily prevent them from succeeding as well, so consistency is what the coaching staff should focus in on.

#2 Fnatic

Top: Gabriël "Bwipo" Rau

Jungle: Oskar "Selfmade" Boderel

Mid: Yasin "Nisqy" Dinçer

Bot: Elias "Upset" Lipp

Support: Zdravets "Hylissang" Illiev Galabov

Coach: Jakob "YamatoCannon" Mebdi

Fnatic, just like in the 2020 season, loses to G2 Esports in these power rankings. Coming off another close finals after a dominant regular season, Fnatic has revamped their roster for the upcoming split.

Fans may have felt uneasy after the departure of long time members Rekkles and Nemesis, but their replacements are high quality veterans who will breathe life into the roster. Nisqy from C9 and Upset from Astralis/Origen each bring a unique skillset to a roster that was lacking explosiveness like G2.

It would not come as a surprise if Fnatic took back their crown this year, but it will require an MVP performance from Selfmade to really propel them past G2 and other competition.

#1 G2 Esports

Top: Martin "Wunder" Nordahl Hansen

Jungle: Marcin "Jankos" Jankowski

Mid: Rasmus "Caps" Borregaard Wingther

Bot: Martin "Rekkles" Larsson

Support: Mihael "Mikyx" Mehle

Coach: Fabian "GrabbZ" Lohmann

In perhaps what was the most shocking move of the LEC offseason, Rekkles moved from Fnatic to G2. This move was made to replace Perkz, who went to C9 in NA.

G2's consistent dominance of the LEC has made it difficult to not predict them winning the whole thing another split in a row. The League of Legends meta is faster than ever, and that's where G2 thrives.

G2's players simply view the LEC as a stepping stone to worlds. Last year at worlds G2 lost to FunPlus Phoenix (LPL) in the finals in a decisive 3-0 match. They will look to return to worlds this year and take the most sought after title in professional League of Legends.

Fans can expect to see every player at the top of their game. Rekkles undoubtedly came to this roster because he feels his best chances for victory are with G2. He is right in that assumption and the LEC will all be gunning for victories over G2 this spring.