Now that the League of Legends Mid-Season Invitational is over, teams all over the world will have one more split to earn a spot at the 2023 Worlds championship, which will take place in Korea this November.
With valuable seeds up for grabs, teams will have to put everything on the line to make sure they can have a shot at the Worlds title. But which are the best teams in the world so far, who has the highest chances of fighting for glory?
Considering the results and the gameplays seen so far, we have created an aggregate of the strongest teams this season. Here are the 10 best League teams in 2023.
The Best LoL Teams
1. JD Gaming
JDG have been the dominant force in League of Legends so far this year, and they don’t seem to stop anytime soon. Thanks to the world-class roster they have put together, with players like Ruler and Knight, the Chinese team is ready to go for the grand slam by winning both domestic and international titles.
So far, they have already picked up the LPL Spring championship and the MSI title, but what’s more impressive is the numbers: the team has an incredible 78 percent win rate across a total of 63 matches, according to Games of Legends, with positive stats across the board.
Even though there is still half a season left, JDG are looking like the team to beat in 2023.
2. BiliBili Gaming
BLG are the underdog team of this 2023 season. When the season started, no one was expecting them to fight their way through the LPL playoffs, and even though they made it to MSI, everyone was treating them as the worst team among the Eastern teams.
With the incredible MSI run, they proved people wrong. All the players showcased their individual talents, especially top laner Bin and ADC Elk. The two were the backbone of the team: Elk dealt 33 percent of the team’s total damage output, according to the stat site Games of Legends, while Bin was one of the top laners with positive gold and CS differentials at 15 minutes and with the highest number of solo kills.
Despite losing to JD Gaming yet again, BLG should be proud of what they have achieved and defy the expectations. Going into the Summer Split, they should be contenders for the LPL title.
3. T1
T1 showed they are still the best Korean team when it comes to international tournaments, but the general impression is that the Chinese region is overall a lot stronger, especially after what happened at MSI.
There are no doubts that this T1 roster is strong, but they can’t seem to make things work in the crucial moments. It happened during the LCK finals, and it happened at MSI as well. While some may say it was primarily a bad meta read in London, the players also made some silly mistakes, like Zeus’ death on Kennen against JDG, for example.
The potential has always been there, but things can’t seem to click: we’ll have to see whether T1 can find a way to bounce back in Summer and be ready when Worlds is around. Korea is the one hosting the tournament, so it will be the best chance for T1 to win their fourth title.
Related: Riot begin testing new LoL esports ‘Virtual Pass’ to spur fan engagement at Worlds 2023
4. Gen.G
Gen.G went to MSI as the first seed from the LCK, having beaten T1 in the Spring Finals and claiming their back-to-back Korean championship. That being said, the team was unable to replicate their results on the international soil.
Not only did the team finish fourth in the tournament, but they also showed that despite the potential, the roster still has some clear weaknesses, especially when on the top side of the map. Even though Doran is a great weakside player, he can be abused in specific matchups, just like BLG Bin did during their series.
While they are definitely going to be contenders in LCK Summer, there are doubts about how Gen.G can improve beyond a certain point with this lineup.
5. EDward Gaming
EDward Gaming were one of the favorites to represent the Chinese region at MSI, but they unexpectedly dropped against BLG in the LPL Spring Playoffs. Nonetheless, they have shown great promise, and despite losing their star player Viper during the off-season, EDG found a new talented rookie in Leave.
The Chinese ADC had one of the highest damage shares among all ADCs and was the No. 1 in CS/minute by averaging almost 10 minions per minute. Leave is also surrounded by veterans like Jiejie, Meiko, and Ale, who can count on years of experience within the LPL.
If they can repeat their regular split run and find a new way to have a solid secondary carry aside from Leave, then EDG will be a scary contender for the LPL title in Summer.
6. Weibo Gaming
This might be coming as a surprise, especially considering Weibo’s results in the LPL Spring Split. But it’s really hard not to consider them one of the best teams in the world with the roster they have put together.
Now that the team brought in former DK and T1 coach Daeny, there are good chances we get to witness the true version of Weibo in the second half of the season. TheShy, Xiaohu, and Karsa form one of the most decorated trios in League history, and with a bot lane of Crisp and Light, the team has what it needs to deliver great results.
On paper, they have been regarded as the second superteam behind JD Gaming, but before pushing them up in the rankings, we have to see whether the head coach change does really works out as intended.
7. G2 Esports
Despite going into MSI as the LEC’s second seed, G2 proved they are still the best Western team and the only ones who can contest some of the LPL or LCK teams.
Yike and Brokenblade were the big protagonists in London, and a big round of applause must go to G2’s top laner for defying expectations and proving people wrong after he was seen as the weak link before starting the tournament. Yike, on the other hand, had a great showing, proving he’s not that far off from the best junglers in the world. Considering it’s his rookie year in the LEC, the Swedish prospect might get stronger in the near future.
Overall, G2 is probably the West’s best chance at a good international result later this year: the general impression is they can raise the bar even further. We’ll see whether they can actually do it or not going into Summer.
Related: London’s MSI was such a success, Riot reportedly plans to go back for Worlds
8. Cloud9
Cloud9 were the last Western team to be eliminated at MSI. Unfortunately, they were demolished by Gen.G in the losers’ bracket, proving there is still a consistent gap with the Eastern teams.
That being said, C9 do have a lot going on for them: Berserker showed his mechanics internationally and became the shining star of the roster, with EMEN3S just behind him. Zven and Blaber have also had decent performances, although they made some serious mistakes in their positioning and setup in the mid-to-late game. Fudge was the one struggling the most against the Eastern tops and had a rough tournament overall: if he can find good form in the upcoming months, the team’s potential might quickly go up. For now, however, they can only be 9th in the standings.
9. KT Rolster
KT Rolster came third in the latest LCK Spring Split, but that doesn’t mean they are worse than the other top teams from Korea, especially if you’re able to push T1 to a five-game series.
What KT lacks compared to the other top two LCK teams is consistency: while they have incredible highs, they also happen to have lows more often than other lineups. KT can sometimes botch plays or make individual mistakes that mess up their rhythm or flow in-game, which you technically want to avoid in heated moments.
Regardless, their roster is stacked from top to bottom. Kiin and the bot lane of Aiming and Lehends are considered top-tier in their roles, and mid laner Bdd returned to form after a disappointing 2022 season. Unless they have a major drop-off going into Summer, they should be strong contenders in the upcoming Summer Split as well.
10. MAD Lions
Despite being the winners of the latest LEC Spring Split, the MAD Lions took a major beating at the Mid-Season Invitational. Not only were they unable to win a game in the two series played, but they were also dominated by G2 Esports in the losers’ bracket.
The impression MAD Lions gave in May was that the team still has big weaknesses they must fix if they want to fight the top teams from other regions. During the LEC Spring playoffs, MAD were able to find the winning formula for them: play through their jungle-mid duo of Elyoya and Nisqy, get the snowball going for either of the two and then use that advantage to open up the map by transferring the lead over to the side lanes.
While it worked out fine in Europe, the issue comes up when the jungle-mid duo is unable to generate a lead. They held out fine against T1 in their first game, but the Korean team punished them in the following games, and MAD Lions fell apart.
The positive is that MAD can only go up from here on paper. They know what they need to fix going forward, but there will be two different directions to sort it out: they either look to further improve their mid-jungle coordination to increase their snowball potential or work on a way to give more agency to the side lanes. Between the two, it’s probably better to go for the latter: Elyoya and Niqsy’s duo is already good enough, and focusing only on that might be detrimental in terms of return on invested time.
MAD might have had a rough split, but there is a good base to continue building over the Summer. Given they already have a spot in the LEC Finals, their focus should be on improving in the upcoming split.
