League of Legends global power rankings through June 18

For League of Legends stats and standings, click here.

After a hiatus that felt like forever, the summer split of the 2018 League of Legends season is (nearly -- we see you, LMS) in full swing. With it comes a complicated, crazy and chaotic meta unlike anything we've seen before. It's going to be a fun split.

Nos. 1-10: World contenders

Nos. 11-20: Playoff contenders

Nos. 21-30: Middle of the pack

Nos. 31-40: Struggling

Nos. 41-52: Bottom of the barrel

World contenders

1. Afreeca Freecs

Record: 3-0 | League: LCK

It's no surprise that the Afreeca Freecs look so comfortable in such a volatile meta. Throughout the latter half of 2017, Afreeca established itself as the team that could prepare creatively and execute, at least for the first game of a series. Coach Choi "iloveoov" Yeon-sung's strategy of building two complete lineups with a 10-man roster and practicing extra games on top of the team's regular scrim schedule was met with heavy skepticism, but it brought the Freecs to the finals this past spring and has made them the most flexible team in the LCK. In a new meta in which flexibility is valued, possibly more than anything else, Afreeca is thriving. It has played compositions around Lee "Spirit" Da-yoon's carry prowess, has swapped between Kim "Aiming" Ha-ram and Ha "Kramer" Jong-hun depending on what type of bottom lane strategy it wants to use and has relied on the flexibility of Lee "Kuro" Seo-haeng and Kim "Kiin" Gi-in. Not only does Afreeca understand the patch, but the team also seems to understand itself.

2. Invictus Gaming

Record: 2-0 | League: LPL

Invictus Gaming picked up right where the team left off, drafting pushing lanes to make the most of the team's incredible individual players. For every lane, iG has a talented carry and the team seems to know how to counter a few of the more unorthodox bruiser and mage picks in different positions with the team's focus on winning lanes. Jungler Gao "Ning" Zhen-Ning has also been a large part of the team's success, facilitating those pushing matchups with aggressive jungle picks such as Xin Zhao, Camille and even Lee Sin. Top laner Lee "Duke" Ho-seong is still starting, while Kang "TheShy" Seung-lok is out but has looked more coordinated with the team than his ill-fated semifinals loss. In a new meta in which it's easy to be distracted by so many options, it has been nice to see iG sticking to what the team does best.

3. Gen.G

Record: 3-0 | League: LCK

If you had told us that Gen.G (the team formerly known as KSV Esports, formerly known as Samsung Galaxy, 2017 League of Legends World Champions) would be one of the best teams on this new patch, we would have called you crazy. Yet Gen.G has excelled on 8.11 and has done so by playing similarly to how they've always played: focusing on 5v5 teamfighting and scaling AD carries. You might be asking how this works, especially in South Korea, which has had the highest percentage of non-traditional champions in the bot lane of any major region. Gen.G have used new mid laner Song "Fly" Yong-jun's flexibility along with jungler Kang "Haru" Min-seung's aggressive champion pool to play a more standard style that feeds Park "Ruler" Jae-hyuk. Ruler and support Jo "CoreJJ" Yong-in's Ezreal/Tahm Kench lane has been unstoppable, and Lee "CuVee" Seong-jin has been reliable in the top lane as always.

4. KT Rolster

Record: 1-1 | League: LCK

One or two fewer mistakes, and KT Rolster would be seated atop the LCK standings over the Afreeca Freecs. Like Afreeca and Gen.G, KT has approached the current metagame with a specific style that seems to suit the team, especially when it picks a Mordekaiser composition. No other team has looked as strong with the Mordekaiser strategy as KT, and AD carry Kim "Deft" Hyuk-kyu appears to enjoy micro-ing his Mordekaiser dragon around the map with a continued focus on controlling the bottom side of the map. Regardless of whether veteran jungler Go "Score" Dong-bin or the more aggressive Lee "Rush" Yoon-jae is in the line up, KT seems to have a strong understanding of how the team wants to play and what the individual players must do to win. With matches against Kingzone DragonX and Gen.G in the coming week, KT will have to fix those small mistakes to stay at the top of the rankings.

5. Snake Esports

Record: 2-1 | League: LPL

Snake are rated so highly based on the team's unique adaptations and adjustments on 8.11. Of all teams in the world, no team has approached this patch like Snake Esports. After falling to Oh My God in the first series of the split, Snake adapted by deciding to start the two supports on the roster over any AD carry player. Last split, the AD carry position was where Snake struggled most, even when benching Yang "kRYST4L" Fan for Wang "Light" Guang-Yu, so in a way, the openness of 8.11 suits Snake perfectly, allowing even more focus on top laner Li "Flandre" Xuan-Jun and jungler Lê "SofM" Quang Duy. Four Banners of Command pushing composition? Role-swapping players depending on champion picks? Ivern and Rengar composition? On a patch that already seems open and surprising, Snake has come up with some of the most innovative combinations on the patch.

6. Royal Never Give Up

Record: 1-1 | League: LPL

As the 2018 Mid-Season Invitational champion, Royal Never Give Up is receiving a slight pass this week, despite a 1-2 loss to JDG in the team's Beijing opener. RNG picked it up in the team's second series of the split, a 2-0 victory over LGD Gaming for a 1-1 record. Support Shi "Ming" Sen-Ming has also been a standout as RNG's primary teamfight initiator. Certain members of RNG worked nonstop through the offseason, playing in both the Demacia Cup and 2018 Asian Games East Asia qualifier. In Demacia Cup, RNG and substitute AD carry Dai "Able" Zhi-Chun showed off Yasuo bottom lane on 8.10, a harbinger of what was to come on 8.11, and RNG have not seemed fazed at all by any of the recent meta shifts.

7. Kingzone DragonX

Record: 1-1 | League: LCK

Like KT, Kingzone DragonX has tried the Mordekaiser strategy. Unfortunately, the team looked far shakier with it and lost to a Gen.G team that had a much stronger in-game identity and understanding of how they wanted to play. Kingzone also dropped a game to the Jin Air Green Wings and has generally looked shakier since returning to South Korea from the team's Mid-Season Invitational disappointment. Although Kingzone is still indubitably a strong team in South Korea, this metagame has given teams with a strong identity, such as Afreeca or Gen.G, chances to shine in the first week of play. Kingzone still doesn't seem to know what type of team it wants to be, but once it figures it out, the rest of the LCK should be weary.

8. JD Gaming

Record: 2-1 | League: LPL

Another pleasant surprise in the first week of the 2018 LoL Pro League Summer has been JD Gaming. JDG barely made it into the playoff bracket in spring and quickly lost to Bilibili Gaming. Now in summer, this talented team managed to take out BLG in a rematch and then Royal Never Give Up during RNG's home opener in Beijing. JDG lost to Invictus Gaming but still managed to take a game off of the team that is likely to lead the East Region for another regular season. While fellow East Region e-commerce team Suning Gaming is dealing with the absence of mid laner Zhuo "Knight" Ding, JDG mid laner Zeng "YaGao" Qi has been both strong and flexible, playing anything from Lulu to Fizz to Yasuo, which allows JDG to keep opponents guessing in draft.

9. Rogue Warriors

Record: 2-0 | League: LPL

The only reason Rogue Warriors are so low with a 2-0 record is that the team happened to face what still appear to be two of the weaker teams in the West Region in Oh My God and Topsports Gaming. To reiterate what has been said in multiple team descriptions above, the teams that are doing well on 8.11 thus far are teams that have a strong sense of the way they want to play the game as a unit. Rogue Warriors have always had this. Funneling gold into AD carry Han "Smlz" Jin while making the most of mid laner Kim "Doinb" Tae-sang's willingness to play off-meta picks has been a Rogue Warriors staple since the team was formed prior to the 2018 LPL Spring split. Now, those off-meta picks are completely viable (we've already seen a Kled mid from Doinb this split), and Rogue Warriors can still funnel gold to Smlz on champions such as Lucian and Draven.

10. Suning Gaming

Record: 3-0 | League: LPL

Despite missing mid laner Zhuo "Knight" Ding, who had an impressive spring split for the team, Suning Gaming is off to a 3-0 start to 2018 LPL Summer, with wins over Vici Gaming, LGD Gaming and Bilibili Gaming. Previously, Suning had issues of when to be aggressive -- the team often engaged when it shouldn't have and didn't engage when it could have this past spring -- and while these don't seem to be solved, Suning have looked increasingly comfortable trying out a few different styles in this first week of LPL. Mid laner Huang "fenfen" Chen has performed well in Knight's absence, but the player to watch on this team is top laner Xie "XiaoAL" Zhen-Ying, who has looked excellent thus far.

Playoff contenders

11. EDward Gaming

Record: 1-0 | League: LPL

EDward Gaming still has a lot to fix, beginning with the issues that plagued them throughout spring. Veteran jungler Ming "Clearlove" Kai's return to the starting lineup should help, but that also means the loss of a different, more top-focused playstyle that EDG showed briefly at the beginning of 2018 LPL Spring with Chen "Haro" Wen-Lin. The patch doesn't seem to have thrown EDG for a loop, and the team continues to play around Hu "iBoy" Xian-Zhao and Tian "Meiko" Ye in the bottom lane. However, mid laner Lee "Scout" Ye-chan was targeted by FunPlus Phoenix and bested by FPX's Yu "Cool" Jia-Jun. There isn't a lot of shame in losing to a mid laner as good as Cool, but it reiterated for EDG opponents that the key to beating EDG is in taking advantage of Scout's inconsistencies. It's difficult to see EDG not rising up through the ranks with more games and time, but these problems aren't new, and the team will have to address them if it wants to win another LPL title.

12. Griffin

Record: 3-0 | League: LCK

Griffin was welcomed to LoL Champions Korea with open arms this week, thanks to two matches against the weakest teams in the league (MVP and bbq Olivers), and a series against Hanwha Life Esports that Hanwha Life lost more than Griffin won. This isn't to say that Griffin is bad; far from it. Griffin's teamfighting is some of the best in South Korea right now, and it comes at a time when teamfight targeting and micro are very important, especially with so many bruisers and AOE damage-dealers that are viable. Griffin has another week that could be a 2-0 with upcoming matches against Jin Air and SK Telecom T1 before the team takes on Kingzone DragonX and KT Rolster in Week 3.

13. Flash Wolves

Record: 0-0 | League: LMS

Flash Wolves are yet to play this season, but their startling performance at the Mid-Season Invitational earned them some credit and a spot in the top 20. Time will tell whether their strength in spring will translate to summer, but strong vision fundamentals around bot lane and the general mechanical competence of Hu "SwordArT" Shuo-Jie and Lu "Betty" Yu-Hung should keep this team strong.

14. Hanwha Life

Record: 2-1 | League: LCK

When Unsealed Spellbook was seen on nearly every champion (one time in China, on every champion) last spring, the ROX Tigers were the most frequent abusers of Spellbook's global presence. Now the Tigers have a new, wealthy, non-endemic sponsor, Hanwha Life Insurance (owned by the Hanwha Group chaebol), but the team is still happy as ever to abuse the use of global ultimates to create pressure on the map. This is Hanwha Life's style. More surprising than how Hanwha Life has adapted to the new meta is AD carry Gwon "Sangyoon" Sang-yoon's surprising prowess on Vladimir and Ryze. He still isn't as good as a top or mid laner who has played these champions at a competitive level for years, but of the AD carries playing mages, Sangyoon has been a strong standout in South Korea.

15. G2 Esports

Record: 2-0 | League: EU LCS

G2 clearly has a strong sense of this meta, prioritizing early strength in the bot lane while picking high-impact mid laners. Heimerdinger stymies most melee champions being played bot and offers a great amount of lane control to control early skirmishes. G2 ran the Heimerdinger into ranged bot lanes but were impressive when it came to snowballing the early lane pressure.

16. Misfits

Record: 2-0 | League: EU LCS

Much like G2, Misfits had a strong understanding of the current meta while introducing fairly situational picks. Steve "Hans Sama" Liv's Draven was the perfect pick against a Kai'Sa-centric position from Fnatic and punished the team's focus on support champions in the laning phase. Misfits also had little issue running picks like Taliyah, Gragas, and Aurelion Sol that dominate early skirmishes and abused Unicorns of Love's incomprehensive early game.

17. Echo Fox

Record: 2-0 | League: NA LCS

Heo "Huni" Seung-hoon has declared that this current topsy-turvy meta was created for him, and thus far, it's hard to argue with the best top laner in the North American region. Huni's Echo Fox smoked Clutch Gaming for third place in the spring split and has come into summer with the same swagger, going 2-0 on the first week and exploiting the current meta for all it's worth. Huni has already played bottom lane carry and jungler, so what's next? Will we see the South Korean superstar in mid on Irelia next week, or maybe he'll delight us with a support Pyke? Huni is having fun, and for Echo Fox, that can only mean good things.

18. Bili Bili Gaming

Record: 1-2 | League: LPL

Hovering just inside the top 20 is Bilibili Gaming, and how the team looks against Royal Never Give Up later this week will determine whether BLG stays there. BLG took full advantage of certain avenues that Demacia Cup provides to try out a few compositions and team lineups, giving new jungler Chen "M1anhua" Jia-Hao some starting time prior to the season and BLG two mid/jungle duos: M1anhua and Kang "Athena" Ha-woon and jungler Lee "Chieftain" Jae-yub with mid laner Li "Mole" Hao-Yan. BLG has looked shakier in this meta than other teams but still looks best when focused on 5v5 teamfighting compositions.

19. Team SoloMid

Record: 2-0 | League: NA LCS

Welcome back, TSM. After a season the most successful franchise in NA will be wanting to forget, it has come out of the gates in the summer split with a head of steam. Although the team's highly touted jungler, Mike "MikeYeung" Yeung, didn't make the impact the team was hoping for last season, the introduction of the safer Jonathan "Grig" Armao at the starting jungle role might be just what TSM needs to return to the top of the league. With a loaded lineup already on Summoner's Rift, TSM doesn't need a carry jungler, and as long as Grig can facilitate and keep his head down, this iteration of SoloMid has a chance to add another trophy to the team's already overcrowded cupboard.

20. Jin Air Green Wings

Record: 0-3 | League: LCK

The Jin Air Green Wings are an all right team until they're, well, not. The veteran presence and in-game leadership that former support Kwon "Wraith" Ji-min likely provided the team looks to be sorely missed. Although it's a small sample of one game, Lee "KaKAO" Byung-kwon didn't look like a good substitute just yet and was bested by Kingzone DragonX's Han "Peanut" Wang-ho in his first start. Jin Air is still full of young talent, but this too is part of the problem, given that a lot of members still lack experience. Also hurting Jin Air is the meta shift. The team can't rely on scaling star AD carry Park "Teddy" Jin-seong into a 50-plus-minute game anymore if Jin Air's early game goes awry. Perhaps the team should take a page from Gen.G's playbook. That way, Jin Air can still play around Teddy and make the most of jungler Eom "UmTi" Seong-hyeon's aggression.