Riot Games has revealed the rankings for the top League of Legends teams in 2024. Surprisingly to many, the Chinese team Bilibili Gaming (BLG), runner-up to T1 at the World Championship, leads the rankings. The announcement has caused mixed reactions among fans and experts, especially given that T1 won Worlds 2024, the most prestigious tournament in competitive play.
However, Riot's scoring system values the annual performance of teams across a wide variety of competitions. The evaluation model used by Riot is based on consistent performance throughout the year, which explains how BLG managed to stay ahead of T1.
Although the Korean team triumphed at Worlds, their inconsistency in other competitions caused them to lose valuable points, while BLG maintained a solid trajectory and accumulated enough points to take first place.
Riot Games' criteria for ranking League of Legends
To better understand the ranking, it's important to consider how Riot Games defines the concept of "best team." The system isn't based solely on individual wins, but also on aspects like consistency, performance in regional championships, and the performance of the opponents faced. Therefore, a team that demonstrates consistency and faces strong opponents throughout the year can indeed achieve a higher position than a team with only one major victory.
BLG's trajectory throughout 2024 serves as an example of this logic. The team won the first and second regional splits and reached the finals of both the MSI and Worlds, thus earning a significant number of points. In contrast, T1 struggled to maintain the same level of performance in regional championships and the MSI, where they finished third, and in one of the splits, where they finished fourth. These results impacted their overall score, leaving them just behind BLG in the final ranking.
The importance of the "Opponent Strength" criterion
Another important aspect of Riot Games' ranking system is the criterion called "Opponent Strength." It assigns value to matches against high-level opponents and to a team's progress in challenging competitions. T1, even with their Worlds victory, underperformed in some key matches. The team faced difficulties that reduced their score throughout the year.
On the other hand, BLG maintained a history of consistency, facing and defeating high-caliber opponents. Their trajectory included finals in international and regional competitions, which accumulated points and strengthened their ranking position. Thus, even after losing to T1 in the Worlds final, BLG consolidated its leadership, standing out for its consistent performance.
The conclusion of Worlds 2024 also brought significant changes for other teams in Riot Games' global ranking. GAM, representing the VCS region, registered the biggest rise, climbing from 37th to 28th position. FlyQuest, from the North American league (LCS), jumped from 16th to 10th position, highlighting the potential of the North American team. T1, with its world title win, advanced from 6th to 2nd position. Thus, establishing itself as one of the biggest forces in the competitive scene, even though it still remained behind BLG.
paiN Gaming in the top 50
Nationally, paiN Gaming represents Brazil among the top 50 global teams, thus ending the year as the highest-ranked team in the country. The Brazilian team achieved a prominent position, solidifying the national scene and bringing hope to local fans. This achievement highlights the evolution of Brazilian League of Legends, which, in recent years, has proven to be competitive in international tournaments, raising the popularity and quality of esports competitions in the country.
Check out Riot Games' top 10
- Bilibili Gaming Dreamsmart (LPL) — 1,641 pts
- T1 (LCK) — 1,619 pts
- Gen.G (LCK) — 1,607 pts
- Hanwha Life Esports (LCK) — 1,564 pts
- TOP Esports (LPL) — 1,509 pts
- G2 Esports (LEC) — 1,472 pts
- Beijing JDG Intel Esports (LPL) — 1,440 pts
- Weibo Gaming TapTap (LPL) — 1,436 pts
- Dplus Kia (LCK) — 1,427 pts
- FlyQuest (LCS) — 1,420 pts
