This Wednesday marks the start of the summer split of the Ligue Française de League of Legends (LFL). A reshuffled Karmine Corp Blue is putting its two consecutive titles on the line after upsetting BDS Academy in the spring final. In the middle of the table, the balance looks as difficult as ever to establish, and the integration of new recruits into the various teams will be one of the main attractions of the first few weeks of the competition. The off-season has also seen the rosters at the bottom of the table change, but that may not be enough given the amount of ground they need to make up. Check out our power rankings for the LFL 2024 summer split.

1. Team BDS Academy

A team that had already topped our EMEA Masters power rankings in the spring, Team BDS Academy failed to complete its mission last season. The Swiss organization fell in the semi-finals, being reverse-swept by Beşiktaş Esports. It was a second disappointment, twenty days after losing to Karmine Corp Blue in the LFL final, where the team seemed to have lost its edge in League of Legends. Nevertheless, the absence of a title should not overshadow BDS Academy's stellar performance in recent months. The team racked up twelve wins in the French league to finish top of the regular season at 15-3. It then confirmed its status as one of the favorites going into the playoffs, sending KCB into the loser bracket with a 3-0 clean sweep before losing in the final.

BDS Academy impressed in every role, so much so that it was difficult to single out any one player. Observers did, however, award the title of MVP of the split to support Polat "Parus" Çiçek. Two other players from the team, Janik "JNX" Bartels and Rudy "SkewMond" Semaan earned a place in the 1st All-Pro Team. The main advantage of BDS Academy, which largely justifies the team's place at the top of our rankings, is that such a dominant team does not change. All five players remain, and they will certainly be keen to make amends for their mistakes and claim a well-deserved trophy.

2. Karmine Corp Blue

Two-time title holders Karmine Corp Blue will be looking to make it three with two changes to their roster: Doğukan “113” Balcı replaces Linas “Lyncas” Nauncikas in the jungle, and Felix “Abbedagge” Braun takes over from Vladimiros “Vladi” Kourtidis in the mid lane. The two newcomers have a wealth of experience: the young Turkish player won the EMEA Masters with the Blue Wall in the spring of 2022 and joined the LEC the following year with Astralis. On the other hand, Abbedagge is a veteran of the professional scene. A notable figure in the European mid lane, the German crossed the Atlantic to lift the first major title of his career in 2021, in the LCS, with 100 Thieves. His return to Europe to try and save an adrift Excel team last year was fairly successful.

With two new players, Karmine Corp will have to find new ways of doing things. In this respect, KC are starting slightly behind a perfectly settled BDSA team. Moreover, it is difficult to know whether, from a strictly individual point of view, KC has gained from the changes. Lyncas was a serious contender for the title of best jungler in the league in the spring, and Vladi, a rising star on the ERL circuit, had made an impressive start to the season before being promoted to the LEC. However, Karmine still has a more than solid backbone and can legitimately claim to defend its throne once again. Volodymyr "Maynter" Sorokin will have the opportunity to confirm his meteoric rise, as will Caliste "Caliste" Henry-Hennebert, who has just a few months to wait before finally making it to the EMEA elite.

3. Gentle Mates

With only one change to the team’s roster, Gentle Mates is expected to remain a strong contender in the summer season of the LFL. While the benching of Jérémy "Eika" Valdenaire remains controversial, the team has found a worthwhile replacement for their former mid lane captain. Having signed South Korean mid laner and EMEA Masters finalist Jeong "Mireu" Jo-bin, Gentle Mates is not a team to be underestimated. Despite the addition of this new talented player, fans should only remain cautiously optimistic, as only time will tell if he can properly integrate and take over the role filled by his predecessor.

The team’s performance will largely depend on their ability to rebuild a new in-game structure around the shot-calling of Aslan "White" Panglose and Kamil "kamilius" Košťál, following the removal of Eika. Gentle Mates’ jungler also remains a player to watch, as his recent performances in the spring season paled in comparison to his LDLC OL days. With strong individual players on their roster, M8 could contend for a second or even first place in the LFL, if they manage to fix their previous issues. Unfortunately, as seen in the last split, the team has experienced difficulties in the past and, in their worst form, can struggle greatly against stronger and weaker opponents alike.

4. Vitality.Bee

A team that surprised many last season, Vitality.Bee is now entering the fray with a newly upgraded roster, including the addition of Polish jungler Kacper "Daglas" Dagiel. Having developed within the LEC for more than two splits, the 18-year-old player is now back in the LFL once again. While Oskar "Selfmade" Boderek proved to be a strong member of the team towards the end of the spring season, Daglas is expected to bring a more consistent approach and serve as a pillar for his fellow teammates. By upgrading its coaching staff with the addition of two positional coaches and keeping its four other core members, the team is set to build upon its past successes and match the results achieved in the last split.

Despite upgrading its roster on paper, the LFL’s top three contenders are anticipated to remain out of reach for the Bees. With little surprise, Josip "Jopa'' Čančar remains a player to watch after stellar performances in the spring season, and he should prove to be a pivotal member of the team in the next split. Despite mediocre results at the most recent EMEA Masters, the LFL remains one of the strongest regional leagues within the European ecosystem. While qualifying for the tournament might prove a difficult task for the team, it is expected to remain a strong participant locally and one of the best squads within the ERLs.

5. BK ROG Esports

Having gotten off to a great start in the spring season, BK ROG Esports impressed many by achieving a cumulative score of 7-2 in the first half of last split’s group stage. However, the team eventually fumbled, finishing the split at 11-7, before completely falling apart in the playoffs. Expected to be favorites against Gentle Mates in the first round of the playoffs, fans were surprised to see BK ROG fall with a 1:3 score against their nemesis. Lee "Hans SamD" Jae-hoon appeared to be alone in the world, single-handedly keeping his team afloat with a succession of feats on Zeri and Varus. But the South Korean's efforts were not enough, and BKR were sent on a holiday much earlier than expected. It was a tough pill to swallow for a team that had reached the LFL final in the 2023 summer split.

The team will have to bounce back from this bitter failure and manage without Doğukan "113" Balcı, who has returned to KCB. To replace him, BK ROG has enlisted Enes "Rhilech" Uçan, a promising recruit after his participation in the spring EMEA Masters. A solid performer on jungle tanks and carry junglers, the newcomer is well supported, notably by mid laner Paweł "Czekolad" Szczepanik, a solid carry player who typically performs better in the summer. He will likely guide Rhilech as he tries to turn things around. In any case, BK ROG has everything they need on paper to qualify for the playoffs.

6. Solary

Solary was the big loser of the spring segment. The team had been cruelly deprived of the playoffs, ejected from the top 6 on the final day, and overtaken by Gentle Mates due to an unfavorable head-to-head. Solary had shown some very good form at times and had even looked capable of battling with the teams at the top of the table (2-0 in the regular season against KC, for example), but had also, and above all, been inconsistent against direct rivals (0-2 against M8, for example, and also against Team GO and BK ROG). Losing games to bottom-of-the-table teams such as Aegis and Team du Sud was particularly costly for the team, which is still seeking a significant result in the LFL.

Solary prefers to believe in continuity and is starting out this summer with a virtually unchanged team. The only adjustment is the return of Belan "TakeSet" Ahour as AD carry. The Dane, who takes over from Nihat "Innaxe" Aliev, was excellent last year and established himself as one of the best AD carries in the LFL. His performances even caught the eye of Papara Supermassive, who were building a five-star roster in the TCL (Turkey) at the time. In the end, TakeSet was unable to join the team because SUP did not meet the LTR's criteria, so he tried to bounce back with FUT Esports in the same league, where he finished 5th. The return of TakeSet is very good news for Solary, which seems to have what it takes to get back into the top 6.

7. Team GO

Team GO went through two phases in the spring. The first was convincing, with the Red Storm confidently qualifying for the playoffs with 9 wins and 5 defeats. Then came a second, more difficult phase, with seven consecutive defeats: four in a row to end the regular season, followed by a crushing defeat in the first round of the playoffs against Vitality Bee (0-3). Team GO had qualified for the playoffs with little to show for their efforts, securing important wins against the smaller teams and direct rivals, but without taking a single game off the LFL's top 2. Above all, while these same rivals appear to have strengthened their squads during the off-season, there is still a degree of uncertainty at this stage over GO's choices. The team is making just one change in the mid lane.

Sixten "Six10" Hull, a real ERL prospect, arrived as a potential future midlane star after making his mark with Macko Esports in two editions of the EMEA Masters 2023. However, the Swede failed to make his mark and has already been replaced this summer by a slightly more experienced player: Oliver "Dajor" Ryppa. A finalist in the EMEA Masters in the summer of 2021, the German found a place in the LEC with Astralis the following year. However, the mid laner did not excel there and was dismissed after the winter of 2023. Dajor bounced back with Rebels Gaming in LVP (Spain), but again without much success (8th in the summer split) and did not have a team for the start of 2024. His arrival at GO therefore does not guarantee a better balance for the team. After its unsuccessful end to the spring, the club will, in any case, have to start afresh.

8. Team du Sud

One of the youngest organizations in the LFL, Team du Sud is making great strides to defy its past results and contend for better placements in the summer season. Unfortunately, while the team is expected to improve its performance with two potential upgrades to its roster, TDS is currently anticipated to struggle in one of the most competitive leagues in the EMEA ecosystem. At its best, the team could still have a shot at making the league’s playoffs.

With the addition of bot laner Nihat "Innaxe" Aliev and support Igor "marlon" Tomczyk, the Southern organization should remain a strong dark horse in the LFL. Despite never having played together, the two players are expected to form one of the strongest bot lanes in the league due to their sheer individual skills. While marlon is new to the LFL, he should be a recognizable name, having notably competed for Team Heretics in the LVP Superliga and even reached the semifinals of the EMEA Masters last year. Having shown glimpses of greatness towards the end of the LFL Spring Season, only time will tell if Team du Sud will succeed in leveraging its learnings and capitalizing on these strong additions to overcome its previous limitations.

9. Aegis

Aegis' spring split was the nightmare that observers had anticipated. The Shield finished bottom of the LFL with three wins and 15 defeats, including twelve in a row until the end of the regular season. The club's last win came on 1st February against another of this year's low-ranked teams, Team du Sud. All in all, virtually nothing worked in a roster with no real certainties. Three players were initially due to be replaced: Tobiasz "Agresivoo" Ciba, who had become a shadow of his former self, was replaced by Lucas "Badlulu" Piochaud, who was brimming with confidence after a convincing spell with Case Esports in LVP (4th). Dušan "Ryuzaki" Petković leaves the French league as the anonymous player he was when he arrived and is replaced by Byeon "Citrus" Ji-woong, a recent Arabian League winner with Nigma Galaxy.

Yoo "NaeHyun" Nae-hyun arrives in place of Andrija "Nafkelah" Kovačević in the mid lane. While the South Korean is best known for his record of consecutive defeats (31), NaeHyun joins a roster that can only improve and therefore without much pressure. A fourth change has been made by Aegis: Gian Miguel "Hido" Caruana has revealed that he is suffering from cancer and has announced his retirement to try and beat the disease. He has been replaced by Louis "Bean" Schmitz, who has made his mark in ERL and even played Worlds with Fnatic in 2021, taking advantage of the last-minute withdrawal of Elias "Upset" Lipp. With this team, Aegis certainly looks better equipped, but everything has to be rebuilt, and the other teams already have a big head start.

10. GameWard

On paper, GameWard looks like the least attractive team in the summer 2024 version of the LFL. Firstly, because GW did not shine in the spring. The team finished 8th (7-11) and never looked capable of challenging the league's biggest teams. Four of its wins came against the two bottom teams, Team du Sud and Aegis. GameWard also took advantage of Vitality.Bee and Gentle Mates' slumps to snatch a few more prestigious victories, but the team did not show much more than that. The second reason is that GameWard, despite these mixed results, took the gamble of believing in its project and keeping its five players. The problem is that the two teams chasing them in the spring seem to have strengthened and now look capable of overtaking them.

The pairing of Pengcheng "Peng" Shen in the mid lane and Pierre "Steeelback" Medjaldi in the support role had already not been particularly successful at Solary in 2023 (two first-round playoff eliminations), but the pair are nonetheless entering their fourth consecutive split under the same banner. The man from whom redemption may come is Matias "Matias" Manchin-Opheltes. Having gained experience in his first LFL split, the AD carry may now be more comfortable and has another opportunity to remind everyone that he was dominant in the lower echelons last year with TDS. This season's meta, which is currently dominated by AD carries, could give him a chance to show off his skills. In any case, GameWard will have to rely on this hope if it is to beat the odds and avoid Up & Down.