This article was originally published on GameSpot's sister site onGamers.com, which was dedicated to esports coverage.

　　With the League Championship Series North American Summer split in a four way tie for first place, and with the fifth placed team only win behind, fans are left in a difficult position when attempting to gauge the relative strengths of the teams.

　　LCS NA Top 5:

　　1st CLG 11-7

　　1st LMQ 11-7

　　1st Dig 11-7

　　1st TSM 11-7

　　5th C9 10-8

　　Of course, those overall records reflect the five teams's records against the entire field of the league, so breaking their records down to only the games played between each other allows us to see a different and more conclusive picture emerge. After applying such a filter, we can divide up the five teams into three distinct tiers.

The best (C9 and Dig)

　　2-1 CLG

　　2-1 LMQ

　　2-1 Dig

　　1-1 TSM

　　TOTAL: 7:4 (63.64%)

　　Cloud 9 may be the team with the worst record of the top five against the entire LCS NA field, but against the other top five teams they posses the best record. Cloud 9 have not only won a an impressive seven of 11 games played against the top 5, a win-rate of over 63%, but they are also the only team in the top five with both a winning record against three of the other four teams and no losing record against any of the other teams.

　　While Cloud 9's dropped games against the lower portion of the league are certainly reason for concern, their record against the top teams makes them a very dangerous proposition once the playoffs rolls around, where only the top six will compete. There is no team can truly feel safe in a series against Cloud 9, not least since TSM, the only team without a losing record against them, has three players who went 1:6 against C9 last split. It's also worth noting, in their favour, that they've faced the top five 11 times, while nobody else has played as many times amongst their peers, with three at 10 matches and one at only nine.

　　It's true that a quality of the elite teams is typically that they consistently beat the worst teams, but C9's flaw in that respect is less worrying that it may first appear. While every other NA team has yet to find the answer to at least one of the other top teams, C9 is merely looking for the consistency and approach to beating the bottom teams. If that is taken care of, then they are right back into a position of dominance in the league. I'd rather have that problem than be left scratching my head over how I'm going to beat another top team.

　　Dig vs. teams in the top 5:

　　1-2 C9

　　0-2 CLG

　　2-0 LMQ

　　3-0 TSM

　　TOTAL: 6:4 (60.00%)

　　Coming in second is the Dignitas line-up which has impressed since the start of the split, having been ranked first or tied for first since the second week onwards. Looking at their form against those competing with them for the top spot, we find that no match-up shares the same qualities entirely, with full variety to be found. Against CLG they have been defeated every time, meaning they are still looking for answers there. Cloud 9 have also handed them two losses, but their single win means they can at least take solace in knowing they have won a game and potentially understand how to do so again the next time they meet.

　　Their two wins over LMQ have shown that this Dignitas team has plenty of skill and can seemingly team-fight with anyone. They are actually the only top five team who is undefeated against the Chinese side. Finally, their perfect three and zero record against TSM suggests that Dignitas is fully in control of that match-up and could potentially head into the playoffs with at least two teams they can be confident of facing.

　　That Dignitas' two losses come against the two most cerebral teams in the league, yet they are undefeated against two of the more mechanical and physical teams, tells its own story about a Dignitas team which has at times straddled both sides of the game and yet ultimately found more success against the latter kind of team. Clearly Dignitas is no one trick pony, so it could be suggested that they match the mechanical teams with their own skill and then win with a better strategical approach, where against the cerebral teams they find themselves sometimes bested in that regard.

The middle of the pack (CLG and LMQ)

　　1-2 C9

　　1-2 LMQ

　　2-0 Dig

　　1-1 TSM

　　TOTAL: 5:5 (50.00%)

　　CLG have picked up where they left off last split, winning big games to provide hope to their fans of a new era of CLG, one in which they can be the best team in the region, and then losing key games to bring expectations crashing back to Earth again. Despite being tied for first in the overall standings, it's worth noting that CLG has a winning record against only one of the other four teams in the top five, Dignitas. Against TSM they are tied and then C9 and LMQ both have beaten them two out of the three times they have played.

　　Having at least one win against all four of the other teams is a positive, so there is no team which can be called unbeatable for them, and they share that achievement with only C9 right now. Having lost just as many games to C9 as to LMQ is ominous, since it shows that even the kind of opponent they lose to and win against really carries no distinct and consistent rationale behind it. CLG can win and lose in both respects: out-fought or out-thought. On the one hand it's good to know you can win any kind of battle, against any enemy, but it's also worrying to not have a solid foundation of knowing which way you will win each game.

　　All in all, the CLG record puts them in a strange position of having weaknesses and strengths which seem very much different sides of the same coin.

　　LMQ vs. teams in the top 5:

　　1-2 C9

　　2-1 CLG

　　0-2 Dig

　　2-0 TSM

　　TOTAL: 5:5 (50.00%)

　　LMQ have been in first place or tied for it for all but one week of the split. The Chinese team that worked their way through the Challenger scene has taken LCS by storm and still shows no signs of being held down just yet. They have winning records against two teams and losing records against the other two, something no other team shares. Dignitas are the only team who have truly tortured them, winning all of their two games. On the other side, they've beaten TSM each time they've faced them.

　　Against C9 and CLG they've gone back-and-forth, winning one out of three against the reigning champions and two of three against Monte's men. Losing to C9 and Dignitas would suggest a weakness to a cerebral approach, with LMQ known as one of the brute-force fight-it-out teams in the league. Their winning record over CLG is impressive, but to have losing records against C9 and Dignitas should be worrying signs, potentially, for the playoffs. It seems very likely that a Worlds spot or a finals finish will run through those two teams, if C9's record historically and against the other top teams holds and Dignitas' form continues.

Worst in class (TSM)

　　1-1 C9

　　1-1 CLG

　　0-2 LMQ

　　0-3 Dig

　　TOTAL: 2:7 (22.22%)

　　All four of the other teams in the top five posses at least a 50% or higher win-rate against the top five, but TSM stand alone with a losing record of only two wins in seven battles, amounting to less than a 23% win-rate. They may be tied for first place, but that comes largely as a result of their flawless 9:0 record against the bottom team teams in the league. It's worth noting, that TSM is the only team in the top five to have faced those bottom three nine times. The rest of the top five have each faced the worst teams eight times overall.

　　On a similar note, which must count against them, is that they are the only one of the top five to have faced the other top teams less than ten times in total, so TSM have not only racked up significantly more losses in less games, but could even add another before they reach the same amount played, in that respect. TSM has a winning record against none of the top five teams. They are also the only top five team to have no winning record against any of the other teams in that group.

　　Against C9 and CLG, TSM have gone 1:1, which does provide some hope that they can be competitive against the two teams who joined them in the top three last split, a good sign certainly. What's worrying is that they are 0:5 against Dignitas and LMQ, the two new teams who are in position to battle for high placings and deep playoff runs. TSM are not considered one of the more cerebral teams, so one would expect them to win by out-fighting their opponents, as TSM of last split often did, and yet they have yet to win a game against two of the most skilled teams in the league.

　　TSM's overall record means they are in contention for first place, so far, and very likely to earn a playoff spot, but it cannot be a good sign to know that they so far possess a strong record against only the team who finish sixth overall, as the standings are right now. Against everyone else they still have plenty of answers yet to be found and even the teams they have beaten have been able to beat them in return.

　　Photo credit: lolesports