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The conclusion of the KeSPA Cup shocked and awed a lot of analysts when Afreeca dominantly won the whole thing.
The tournament itself bought a lot of changes to the League of Legends LCK player rankings, which ultimately affected the overall team ratings as well.
So, with the 2020 LCK spring split just around the corner, it's time that we revisit how teams are going to stack up against each other in the upcoming season.
Now, on paper, each of the top teams rate extremely close. And for that, we will be ranking them in terms of their past performance, their pedigree, KeSPA rankings, and how well the players synergize with each other.
#10 APK Prince
Much like with last season's Jin Air Green Wings, the APK Prince's too will just be fodder for the top teams. Though they can choose to play the foil and spoil a team's chances to qualify for the finals, they're still definitely going to be relegated. Not only are they the weakest team on paper, but their KeSPA performance was indeed very disappointing.
#9 KT Rolster
KT looks far more lacklustre now than what they did for the entirety of the last split, as their top side of the jungle feels a lot weaker.
The top-jungle duo combinations of 'bonO,' 'Malrang,' 'Ray,' and 'SoHwan,' doesn't have the same synergy as that of the previous duo of 'Smeb' and 'Score.'
#8 Griffin
After a majority of their players jumped base, Griffin are now left with a shadow of their former selves. They had to rebuild from scratch and sign new players like 'Untara' and 'Naehyun,' who do seem to show a lot of promise, but after their KeSPA loss to Sandbox, we feel that they're in for a long and hard split.
#7 Hanwha Life Esports
Hanwha Life showed a lot of promise in the KeSPA Cup. There were moments of brilliance in some of their games, where their team synergy looked, world-class.
But what they lack is consistency. And 'Lehends' was perhaps the only member on the roster who showed up in each of the games. So, once they start to perform regularly, we believe, they can be dangerous enough to be crowned as 'King Killer' if not 'Split Winners.'
#6 Dragon X
The glory days of Dragon X (formerly Longzhu Gaming and King Zone Dragon X) may be far behind them, and sometimes even forgotten. But they still have a solid middle of the pack team with great synergy and pedigree.
With 'Doran' and 'Chovy,' they have incredibly strong solo lanes, with 'Deft' acting as the veteran shot caller from the ADC position.
#5 Damwon Gaming
Damwon have been the dark horses for the entirety of Season 9 and will continue to be so when heading into the new split. With an almost unchanged roster, Damwon have the potential to 2-0 the toughest opponent, while getting 2-0'd by a team in relegation.
Their lack of consistency is what cost them an early exit in KeSPA. And in the coming split, they will look to improve on their form with 'Nuguri' (hailed as one of the best if not the best top laner in the world) at the helm.
#4 Sandbox Gaming
Not a lot of analysts predicted that Sandbox would do so well in the KeSPA Cup, let alone reach the finals.
With players like 'Dove,' 'Onfleek,' and star support 'Joker,' they have built quite a strong and stable team that have a very innovative champion pool and playstyle.
And though they might have lost spectacularly and dominantly to Afreeca, they're still great contenders for the top spot.
#3 Afreeca Freecs
It's safe to say that no one saw Afreeca Freecs coming, the way they did in the KeSPA Cup. They looked like the better team in each of their games, with 'Kiin' being the star performer on most of them, especially in the finals.
They may not have made many changes to their roster this year, but they looked much improved than what they did last split, where they had a rather substandard performance.
#2 Gen. G
Much like in the last few seasons, Gen. G has yet again created a star-studded roster, with some of the top veteran players in the LCK.
However, unlike in the last season where they failed to achieve a good synergy with their comp, analysts believe that this time, with 'Clid' in the roster, they will do a much better job of it. They look incredible on paper but will take some time to reach a certain level of form and consistency.
#1 T1
Formerly SK Telecom T1, the most successful team in South Korea, will now be looking to be number one again this season like they did in the last.
The 'Unkillable Demon King' 'Faker' is out for blood after his defeat to G2 Esports in the World's Semi-Finals. With the exit of 'Kkoma,' 'Khan,' and 'Clid,' and the entry of 'Cuzz' and 'Roach,' a team is built around him again, and he is looking even more confident on winning his 9th LCK title.
The Meta is still Volatile
With our team power ranking list done, it's still important to keep in mind that the season has not started yet, and the meta is still volatile.
The initial weeks of the spring split might see a lot of changes and deviations, with both pleasant and unpleasant surprises for LCK fans across the world, until things finally start to stabilize.
