Who's Top and Who's Not in the LEC in 2022

10. Astralis: Long story short - Astralis struggled in 2021 and we don't see that changing. The three remaining players are Matti "WhiteKnight" Sormunen, Nikolay "Zanzarah" Akatov and Hampus "promisq" Abrahamsson, joined by Oliver "Dajor" Ryppa from Fnatic Rising and Kasper "Kobbe" Kobberup from Misfits. Dajor looked okay on Fnatic Rising, but he is playing at a much higher level now - and while Kobbe is a veteran teamfighting ADC, he would need someone to carry early so he can shine. We'd expect Astralis to keep their proud tradition of missing playoffs. | © Аstralis

9. Team BDS: This is a team that is a big darkhorse, a newcomer organization spending a lot of money to buy the former Schalke slot and entrusting it to a mix between the old S04 players and new talents from the regional leagues. This is likely to be a very volatile team and a big test for former G2 coach Fabian "GrabbZ" Lohmann. Previously, he found great success with proven veterans, but can he overperform with less well-known players? | © Team BDS

8. SK Gaming: SK Gaming are one of the founding organizations of the then-EU LCS, but their recent years have not matched their pedigree. Acquiring Erberk "Gilius" Demir is a good move as the jungler has shown that he can revitalize a struggling team and returning Erik "Treatz" Wessén to support looks good as well. That said, we don't think this is enough. Daniel "Sertuss" Gamani was great in the LFL, but just as with Dajor, we would be wary of overhyping him just yet. SK will be no pushover, but stronger teams will beat them. | © SK Gaming

7. Еxcel Esports: Despite its reputation for just missing playoffs, Excel enters 2022 with only one change ot its roster, taking the former Rogue and CLG top laner Finn "Finn" Wiestål. We think he looked relatively solid considering what he had to work with in NA, and the rest of the roster have been serviceable. Meanwhile, veteran mid laner Erlend "nukeduck" Våtevik Holm has quietly delivered impressive stats. In a season with a lot of unknowns, Excel looks reliable, but, ironically, does not excel. | © Riot Games

6. Misfits Gaming: Misfits are a hard team to rank because of several unknowns, but on the whole we’d place them around the border of making playoffs. Shin "HiRit" Tae-min and laner Vincent "Vetheo"Berrié remain the solo laners for the team and based on their summer performance we are fairly optimistic. The new players have been around the LEC and the top layer of the regional scene. We have some questions about their bot lane, but the team just about edges Excel for the sixth spot. | © Riot Games

5.Rogue: For a team that went to Worlds and eliminated one of the top LPL squads, a fifth place is awfully low - but it's hard to overvalue how much former Rogue ADC Steven "Hans Sama" Liv contributed to the team. In addition, there is a big unknown in how new jungler Kim "Malrang" Geun-seong adapts to the team. The former DWG KIA player does not lack for ability, however, and there is still plenty of talent in the team. If the team does not crash and burn, they are an easy shoe-in for playoffs, but we would be surprised to see them in the finals. | © Riot Games

4. Mad Lions: The Lions are still strong, retaining three of their 2021 star roster - İrfan Berk "Armut" Tükek, Javier "Elyoya" Prades Batalla, and Norman "Kaiser" Kaiser. However, it's far from certain that newcomers Steven "Reeker" Chen and William "UNF0RGIVEN" Nieminen will be nearly at the level MAD would need to defend its 2021 LEC titles. This is squad that had potential to go higher, however. | © Riot Games

3. G2 Esports: After several years on top, G2 had to come down to earth in 2021 and let go of several of their superstar players, opting to rebuild around Marcin "Jankos" Jankowski and Rasmus "caPs" Winther. While these two are some of the very best players Europe has ever seen in their positions and we think Sergen "Broken Blade" Celik will hold the top lane, the bot lane does not strike us as quite so strong. For now, our expectation is that G2 will contend for third place.| © Riot Games

2. Team Vitality: After several years of staying around the middle of the table, Vitality has found the money for an intimidatingly star-studded roster. Luka "Perkz" Perković and Barney "Alphari" Morris come back to Europe and are no doubt ready to reassert their reputation as top-tier, while Oskar "Selfmade" Boderek is likely itching for another strong season. Vitality's bot lane should be top 4 in the LEC as well. The only question is if the team gels together, but with Perkz as a leader we have high hopes. | © Riot Games

1. Fnatic: Fnatic had some troubles last split, but rallied for the playoffs and took down every other team except eventual champions MAD Lions. The changes they made make them powerhouse in 2022 as well. The team kept a top-tier bot lane and attracted star players for the other roles - Marek "Humanoid" Brázda from MAD Lions, Iván "Razork" Martín Díaz from Misfits Gaming and Martin "Wunder" Hansen from G2. If Fnatic went so far with their 2021 roster, we expect they would be the team to watch for next year as well | © Riot Games