S Tier
- 100 Thieves — Dominated Americas and won EWC. Since EWC they have lost only once, to Cloud9. 15 wins to 1 loss.
- Nongshim RedForce— Yoru/Neon meta is back and they were unstoppable till finals. They will of course work on the mistakes they made against Global Esports.
NRG — Last year's world champions and have been consistent throughout the year. Experience and bonkar will make sure they are prepared for Champs.
Karmine Corp — Dominated and won EMEA Stage 2, only lost to Fnatic. But their group is tough so no idea if they will be able to make it out of groups.
A Tier
LOUD — No one really expected them to be here after how their year started. They really looked good throughout Stage 2 and kept evolving, taking down NRG in the lower final and pushing 100 Thieves to a close 3-2 loss. They will really need Erde and Luk Xo to stay consistent.
Global Esports — Another unexpected team to qualify for Champions. Reverse swept the grand final of Stage 2 against Nongshim RedForce who looked unstoppable. Since coach Platoon has taken over they have looked really solid and consistent, hopefully they can maintain the performance in Masters.
Paper Rex — Of course a S-tier team, but this Stage 2 they looked really shaky, maybe because they had already qualified. Losing to Varel twice is something not expected, whereas other teams like T1 and Global Esports basically dominated Varrel. Sure they will work on the mistakes they made in Stage 2.
Tyloo — Since SuifattBB has joined the team they have looked so strong and even won Stage 2 China. Slowly has really looked consistent and reliable throughout Stage 2. Feel they are a team that can reach top 4.
B Tier
FUT Esports — A team with a lot of potential, top 3 in Stage 2. Worried about the Chinese crowd effect on them, and Xeus has to be consistent and support Sopp or else they will crumble hard. If both of them show up they can reach top 4.
Liquid — EMEA Stage 2 finalist, a very solid lineup, but replacing Purpo for a young player GSR is a very risky move. And to top it off his first game is against Paper Rex. They really need to win that first game to boost their confidence and make it out of groups. But they really have an experienced team.
EDG — Throughout the year they looked average. Is bringing in Stew a good move, no clue. They have a very star tier lineup team and they had so much time to prepare, but is it enough?
G2— They have really been the 2nd disappointing team the whole year. On paper a very solid balanced team, but Jawgemo and babybay need to step up huge if they want to have a good finish because their performance has been inconsistent.
C Tier
Vitality — The biggest disappointments of this year. So much experience and firepower in this lineup, still a very average performance. Really want them to do better, but losing to two T2 teams may have lowered their confidence. But they had a lot of time, so let's see.
T1— Another superstar team that has looked shaky throughout the year. Their win con is Meteor stepping up. Under the leadership of Stax they looked strong but couldn't win against Global Esports. But they are a team that can fix their mistakes.
XLG — Feel bad for them, they have such a strong group going against tournament favourites. It all comes down to can Noman and Rarga really go against these monsters in other teams. They just had bad luck maybe.
JDG— Sorry, no clue about them, but they can pull off some upsets in their group.
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