Official Top Teams for NA Region According to Riot Rankings

Congrats to TSM for being #1, love watching you guys!
Left to Right: TheRainMan, Chaox, Xpecial, TheOddOne, Reginald

In Riot's most recent announcement they've listed the top teams in the North American region going into the next major tournament. This post is pretty much just a copy paste, but I think it's worth seeing which teams are in the running right now! $15,000 is a pretty penny too!

Here are our rankings for top teams in North America going into Intel Extreme Masters Kiev.

1. Team SoloMid: Team SoloMid is one of the longest running and most successful Challenger Circuit teams, and they have positive momentum going into Kiev. With a combination of a stable line up, constant practice, and a gaming house, the team has been a dominant force at recent Challenger Circuit events. After a disappointing showing at IEM New York, the team stepped it up and dominated at MLG Providence, then continued their momentum by easily qualifying for IEM Kiev, knocking out Complexity and Curse Gaming.
2. Counter Logic Gaming: As the Circuit Points show, Counter Logic Gaming was no question the most successful team during Pre-Season Two. However, since their victory at Gamescom in August, much has changed, and the team has had downward-trending tournament results ever since, to the point where they were eliminated in the IEM Kiev qualifier. Their recent lineup change did not lead to immediate tournament success, but practice matches and prized events are going well. However, CLG remains a team feared internationally, and the IEM World Championship will be their next chance to shine on an international stage.
3. Epik: Like Team SoloMid before their victory at MLG Providence, Epik is the most successful North American team who has never taken first at an event. When Epik participates, they consistently do well, but haven’t yet secured a first place finish in Season Two. Though Epik contains incredibly talented players, they don’t seem to prepare as well as other teams for tournaments and their performance in later rounds suffers. They lost in the qualifiers for IEM Kiev, locking them out of both Kiev and the IEM World Championship, largely due to that unpreparedness. (Playing down a couple key members certainly didn’t help, either.) However, if they can solve their organizational issues, Epik has a very good chance of getting to the top.
4. Dignitas: Dignitas has had an up and down road through the Pre-Season, but they’ve consistently performed well even in perceived slumps. In October after IPL, Dignitas seemed unstoppable, but IEM New York and a third place finish at MLG Providence were disappointing events for the team. They rallied during the IEM Kiev qualifiers and managed to be victorious, defeating the teams who knocked out Epik and Counter Logic Gaming. However, Jatt’s retirement means Dignitas will be hard pressed to find a new member before IEM Kiev. We’ll see if they can maintain momentum through IEM Kiev and qualify for the IEM World Championships.
5. Curse Gaming: Curse has long been a team just outside of the spotlight. They are consistently a threat, yet have not had a standout performance at a high profile event. Curse has gone through many roster changes recently, and even though they failed to qualify for Kiev, the performed the impressive feat by knocking perceived favorite Counter Logic Gaming into the losers’ bracket. If they are able to maintain a lineup and practice, we could see Curse qualifying for more live events.
6. A Picture of a Goose: After watching Goose dominate games with Leona/Jarvan and jungle Pantheon, many people are asking where they came from. The answer is clearly marked on the Ranked 5v5 Team Ladder: Goose has practiced relentlessly together, participated in many Prized Events, and has already had some Circuit success by qualifying for IEM Kiev, defeating Epik, Curse, and v8. Will their innovative strategies carry them to success in Kiev?
7. v8esports: Since their inception, v8 has always been a player in tournaments. Though they have yet to qualify for any events since IEM New York, their lineup changes have provided some upward momentum: They knocked CLG out of the running for IEM Kiev and wound up one win away from qualifying for the event. v8esports is definitely a potential dark horse team this season.
8. RFLX: After competing at MLG Providence and taking fourth, RFLX earned a place among the Challenger Circuit teams. Though the matches weren’t streamed, top players commented that the team was already a contender at their first event. They’ve yet to experience success since MLG Providence, but the season has only just begun and this team has already made a name for themselves.
9. compLexity: Due to near constant lineup changes and team reformations, it’s unclear where how strong the newly reformed complexity is. Though they were quickly eliminated during the IEM Kiev qualifiers, they say they are committed to sticking together, practicing, and making a name for themselves. We’ll see if their talk leads to results in the coming months.