Introduction
As the season draws to a near close, the chance to ascend to where teams want to be in the ladder drops and the places are nearly solidified where they lie. Teams like Curse, for example, have already defeated the alleged "difficult" opponents and now have games against the underdogs. With upsetting performances to fans of prior dominant teams such as Counter Logic Gaming and Evil Geniuses, what will this week hold in the LCS?
GosuRankings
NOTE: The number in the first parentheses shows team's position in the overall GosuRankings. The second number represents the climb/fall in team's position compared to the last time such ranking has been published (EU/NA super week). 1. 
Gambit Gaming (#3) (+3) 2. 
Fnatic (#9) (-) 3. 
Team Curse (#10) (+1) 4. 
Team Dignitas (#13) (-) 5. 
Team Solomid (#17) (-1) 6. 
Evil Geniuses (#24) (-5) 7. 
SK Gaming (#20) (+4) 8. 
Copenhagen Wolves (#27) (+1) 9. 
Vulcun (#193) (-) 10. 
Counter Logic Gaming (#32) (-6) 11. 
Against All Authority (#35) (-) 12. 
Team MRN (#208) (-) 13. 
GIANTS! Gaming (#207) (-) 14. 
Dragonborns (#224) (-) 15. 
Complexity (#203) (-) 16. 
Good Game University (#199) (-)
Gambit Gaming (#3) (+3) 2. Fnatic (#9) (-) 3. Team Curse (#10) (+1) 4. Team Dignitas (#13) (-) 5. Team Solomid (#17) (-1) 6. Evil Geniuses (#24) (-5) 7. SK Gaming (#20) (+4) 8. Copenhagen Wolves (#27) (+1) 9. Vulcun (#193) (-) 10. Counter Logic Gaming (#32) (-6) 11. Against All Authority (#35) (-) 12. Team MRN (#208) (-) 13. GIANTS! Gaming (#207) (-) 14. Dragonborns (#224) (-) 15. Complexity (#203) (-) 16. Good Game University (#199) (-)
North American Circuit
The Potential Rise of the Ancients Counter Logic Gaming is the oldest professional team in League of Legends but their performance hasn't exactly been well represented through their veteran status. Mistake or not, the several roster changes leading up to the LCS certainly didn't help the teammates become more familiar with each other. However, they have been making some stylistic differences in their play that could benefit the team. In recent weeks, we've seen the dawn of Doublelift choosing to focus on one or two carries at most rather than needlessly expand his repetoire and stretching himself too thin for comfort. L1nk has been playing utility AP mids going nearly full glass cannon to remain a huge secondary threat to Doublelift while still being able to protect him. They'll be fighting against MRN and Dignitas. All three teams will be desperate for a win as CLG will want to climb out of the negative win/loss zone and Dignitas is itching to take first place back from Curse Gaming, which they very briefly held onto.
Vengeance of the Snapdragon Team Solomid will be coming back this week with only one match to look forward to. Luckily for them, their opportunity to rematch Curse Gaming will be a possibility. Only being at a 1 game deficit, Team Solomid will have one last attempt to even the score with Curse Gaming and the chances of doing so are higher than ever. With WildTurtle and Xpecial having had time to develop synergy in the bottom lane as well as lots of time to study from Curse Gaming, it could be anyone's game, but TSM should be able to pull through with proper execution. Last week, TSM managed to take a victory to a team they were, at the time, 0-2 against. Now, they have nothing but time to solidify their strengths, but Curse is still statistically the strongest team in North America, so it won't be an easy victory for TSM to grasp. TSM is back to attempt the claim the throne that was rightfully theirs in Season 2 for leading the North American scene and Curse is not ready to give it up. 
Securing the Throne For the majority of the LCS, Curse Gaming has shown dominance and proudly kept their lead. Not only that, but they proceeded with the climb by defeating some of the hardest teams in the LCS. Now that Curse is firmly regarded as the top rated team in North America, all that's left is to defend it from a trail of upsets. Aside from TSM, Curse's other opponents (MRN and compLexity) are considered lower tier teams, meaning if they secure these victories, they can stick in their spot comfortably. However, MRN and compLexity are arguably sporting stronger rosters now and are being accustomed to those slots and compLexity are the strongest they've shown in a long while. If Curse becomes overeager or overcompetent, they could let an otherwise easy lead become pried from their fingertips.
European Circuit
Will Innovation be Enough? Dragonborns is running out of time to pull themselves out of a rut. Despite being the lowest rated team in the European LCS at the moment, they've given us some of the most satisfying upsets with some of the craziest lane compositions and interesting playstyles. This week is not going to make it easy on them to come back to a respectable score. For this weekend of the LCS, Dragonborns will have to face both Gambit Gaming and Fnatic, both who top the charts by a landslide for LCS. Either they are going to have to have enhanced their standard play significantly or have something unpredictable up their sleeve to take on these Giants. To pad their confidence, they may be able to take down the GIANTS! as well, as they will be quite literally playing against that team. 
It's time take down the Russians This is the last opportunity that SK Gaming will have to pull a win off of Gambit Gaming. It's safe to say that SK's performance has astonished a lot of viewers for the LCS, not suspecting them to remain top 3 on a consistent week to week basis. Despite this fact, SK Gaming has faced 3 sufferable losses to Gambit, leaving one last game where they can leave their mark. Though the lanes seem to lose individually to the talented Gambit Gaming, SK's teamwork has improved tenfold and if they can keep their negative emotions from putting them on tilt and allow the rise of the competitive spirit boost their play, they have what it takes to take down Gambit. Putting the "Genius" in "Evil Geniuses" The Evil Geniuses line-up has a lot of smart, respectable, and reputable minds to use to pull themselves out of this several week long slump they have maintained. Though the players themselves haven't shown signs of weakness, their strategy and playstyle has. No longer does the turtling nature of the once known Counter Logic Gaming EU work in the aggressive meta game that we've all had to adapt to. It's time for change. Can Evil Geniuses use their raw skill and intuition to develop a strategy that both conforms to their strong niche but also enhance it so it works in the metagame? Recent results would argue the opposite, but the League isn't completely devoid of innovation so anything could go. On the verge of plummeting to negative win/loss ratios, Evil Geniuses might have a scheme up their sleeve to deal with their shortcomings.