Best LoL Teams Going Into Worlds 2023
Despite being more than a decade old, League of Legends remains the most popular PC game in the world. The ceiling, size and quality of talent have continuously improved, especially with Riot recently placing a large investment to develop smaller regional leagues. The 2023 League of Legends World Championships represents the apex of LoL esports, bringing in the top 24 best LoL teams globally.
With teams ever improving, there are no eternal champions. We have formulated tailored 2023 League of Legends World Championship power rankings to help you in your Pick’Ems. In combination with our LoL Worlds betting guide, you can make the most informed decisions at this LoL Worlds event.
What prize awaits the best League of Legends teams?
Like last year, the initial prize pool of the League of Legends World Championships will start at 2,225,000 USD. While this number may pale compared to other major events like The International, the amount is set to explosively increase with crowdfunding sales from LoL Worlds skins, passes & other in-game collectables.
The Best LoL Teams: Top 10 List
1. Gen.G
Gen.G, the champions of the LCK, are the favorites to reclaim glory for not only the team but Korea as the best region in the world. This follows Damwon’s 2-3 loss in the 2021 LoL Worlds finals against Edward Gaming. Gen.G was a solid two-top team in 2021’s LCK, despite not being the best, had cruised their way to the semifinals with a decisive 3-0 win against Cloud 9. While they were ultimately knocked out in the semis, they forced the later world champions Edward Gaming to the full best-of-5.
Falling ever so close to the top spot, Gen.G made a major roster move, signing a large amount of talent, including two big names; Peanut & Ruler. This decision paid off, with the newly formed lineup securing second place in the LCK Spring season and playoffs before trimming down their substitutes and secondaries into the monster lineup they have now. With the lineup having built synergy across the spring season, the team improved even further, almost going undefeated in the summer season, 17-1. Their dominance also carried through into the summer playoffs, taking down T1 3-0 in the finals, the only team that stood above them in Spring.
2. JD Gaming
It is only natural JD Gaming ranks second, given their ability to secure the first seed representing the LPL. The LPL are the winners of the 2021 League of Legends World Championships, a highly competitive league that has churned out numerous super teams in recent years. JD Gaming had a disappointing performance in the 2021 summer season, actually placing in the bottom half of the competition. This forced the team to seek change at the start of 2022, replacing more than half of their roster and retaining only Kanavi and Yagao from their former lineup. This immediately propelled them from a lower mid-tier team in 2021 to a top 3 in the 2022 LPL Spring season. JD’s steady improvement allowed them to cement their victory in the following Spring playoffs, defeating their close rivals Top Esports twice back-to-back in the semifinals and finals.
3. Top Esports
Top Esports fall only slightly short of being the LPL’s top team. While the team did not have a particularly strong start in the LPL 2022 Spring season due to a number of roster changes, they rapidly improved towards the later portion, sweeping opponents with ease in the following spring playoffs. Unfortunately, the team were unable to take down the highly experienced giants of the LPL, Royal Never Give Up, falling twice to the team 1-3 in the semis and 2-3 in the finals. Their strong performance carried through, finishing 14-2 alongside JD Gaming in the Summer regular season, only to fall to the same team twice in the semifinals and finals in playoffs once again. Top Esports have demonstrated to be a highly consistent top two team in the LPL, and given the region’s past performance last year, they are undisputedly one of the best lol teams around. We expect Top Esports to have the best LoL Worlds betting odds, given they are not the LPL’s first seed which may lead to people underestimating them, but have a steady and consistent playstyle which assures victory even in the riskier best-of-1 format in the group stage.
4. T1
T1 started the year extremely strong, with many predicting 2023 to be the year T1 reclaims their top spot. Their explosive start to 2022 saw the team go undefeated in the LCK Spring season, a rare feat in the LCK considering the highly competitive nature of the region. The team also went on to dominate the Spring playoffs, finishing 3-0 in the semifinals against Kwangdong Freecs and 3-1 against longtime rivals, Gen.G, in the finals. T1 proved themselves on the world stage, their second-place finish in the 2022 Mid Season Invitationals declaring to the world the team once again stands amongst the best league of legends teams. While T1 were unable to secure first seed in the LCK due to their finals loss against Gen.G in the Summer Playoffs, they remain a highly consistent top performer. In their glory days, T1’s ability to nail consistency and preserve their strategies for key moments had been instrumental to their numerous past World Championship victories.
5. Royal Never Give Up
Royal Never Give up have long been one of the best League of Legends teams in the world. The team secured the top spot in the 2022 LPL Spring Playoffs, giving hope to fans who regard them as a king without a crown. RNG went on to secure their third MSI win, defeating their largest international rival, T1, in a hard-fought battle 3-2. Unfortunately, the team made a surprise decision to replace their top laner “Bin” after their MSI win. This move intended to strengthen the team even further in preparation for the LPL summer season and better prospects in Worlds (given their close call in MSI), turned out to be detrimental for the team. RNG ultimately finished the summer season in fourth place and were eliminated immediately in the playoffs stage. While their new top laner ‘Breathe’ is by no means an inferior pick over Bin, due to the team’s untimely decision to sign a new player in the middle of the year, RNG are disadvantaged compared to teams who have a solid roster that have built synergy since the start of the year.
6. G2 Esports
G2 Esports lost two of their stars who ranked amongst the best LoL players, Wunder & Rekkles, heading into the 2022 LEC spring season. Despite that, G2 Esports hit the ground running, ending the season respectably 11-7 in fourth place. In a surprising twist, G2 Esports steamrolled opponents in the Spring playoffs, going undefeated with four perfect 4-0 finishes. Having cemented their position as Europe’s top team, G2 Esports carried this performance into the start of MSI, going 8-0 in the group stage. While the team later fell 3-0 to T1 in the semifinals, it speaks not so much of G2’s failure but the strength of the former three-time world champions.
7. DWG KIA
DWG KIA may not look as dominant as last year but still remain as one of the best league of legends teams due to their star-filled lineup. The team have held their ground well in the LCK, acting as a tough challenge for both Gen.G and T1 on multiple occasions. Without their close rivals Gen.G and T1 posing a threat to them in groups, we can expect with fair certainty they will make it to the knockout stage of the League of Legends World Championship.
8. EDward Gaming
EDward Gaming are the 2021 League of Legends World Champions. This would usually rank them quite highly on power rankings, especially as the team had managed to retain the entirety of their 2021 roster. Unfortunately for Edward Gaming, they failed to keep up with the rapidly improving competition. EDward Gaming failed to adapt to the new meta in 2022, refusing to make roster changes despite a disappointing seventh-place finish in the spring season. While the team did bounce back slightly with their third-place finish in the 2022 LPL summer playoffs, they remain a much weaker force, leaving their prospects heading into Worlds decent yet not spectacular.
9. Cloud 9
Cloud 9 are once again regarded as the North America LCS main hope and are ranked fittingly at ninth place in our power rankings. The team have a history of making it out of groups to represent NA in the true upper levels of competition, the quarterfinals of Worlds. 2021 saw Cloud 9 only narrowly qualify for Worlds, starting in the play-in stage, before proceeding through the group stage alongside DWG KIA in Group A. 2022 had been slightly rocky for Cloud 9. They started off strong in the 2022 LCS spring season, only to be eliminated early in the Spring playoffs at fourth place. This downturn, unfortunately, carried through to the summer season, where they placed poorly once again, this time at fifth place. Qualified for the summer playoffs, Cloud 9 went on to surprise fans with two consecutive victories over 100 Thieves, one more decisively after the other 3-1 and 3-0 in the semifinals and finals, respectively.
10. Rogue
Rogue are the first seed from the LEC but rank behind G2 Esports in the power rankings. This is partially due to the team’s poor track record in previous League of Legends World Championship events and overall lack of success on the global stage. Rogue narrowly missed out on qualifying for MSI 2022 due to their 0-3 finals loss against G2 in the 2022 LEC Spring Playoffs. The summer playoffs also saw Rogue defeated in the semifinals 0-3 against G2 Esports once again before staging a miracle comeback through the lower bracket to defeat G2 in the finals. While a strong overall team, their volatility ranks them amongst, but not as the best league of legends team.