DraftKings LoL: Saturday Worlds Breakdown

GAMES (EDT)

• 4:00 am: FlyQuest vs. Top Esports
• 4:50 am: Unicorns of Love vs. DragonX
• 5:40 am: Rogue vs. PSG Talon
• 6:30 am: JD Gaming vs. DAMWON Gaming
• 7:20 am: LGD Gaming vs. Gen.G
• 8:10 am: Team SoloMid vs. Fnatic

TES vs. FLY

We are now entering the group stage, which is the main event of Worlds. We have two bloody teams in Flyquest and TES in the first game. This is self-explanatory if you have followed me throughout the year, but TES won the LPL championship and have a star lineup up and down the team. PowerOfEvil is good, but Knight has shown the ability to take over games by himself numerous times. FLY is a type of team that will beat you through scaling drafts and capitalize on mistakes, which TES can make plenty of. But the one thing that separates them from other teams is their gold differential after 15 minutes sky rockets because of their ability to team fight and control certain objectives. TES should smash in this spot and is a high priority pick for all my lines.

Prediction: TES Win

TES Players to Target: Everyone

DRX vs. UoL

At first I wanted to believe UoL had a shot at taking this game off DragonX and then I realized the mid gap is huge. UoL will try to play an aggressive early game comp to keep DragonX from scaling because for some reason CvMax loves to draft Deft into a mage ADC. Hopefully, CvMax finds that is not going to work at Worlds and they can draft him a normal ADC like Jhin, Aphelios or Caitlyn. Chovy will be the focal point of the team, as assassin mid laners are really strong right now and he has a couple solid champions up his sleeves that can lane bully Nomanz. DragonX are good at rotating around the map for side lane control and were the top three in the LCK for dragon control. This is another game that can be bloody and is a solid option for this slate.

Prediction: DRX Win

DRX Players to Target: Everyone

PSG vs. RGE

This is a game that Rogue should win but is on the slower side. Both teams usually draft for a scaling comp and Rogue all season has an upside of 16 kills per game. PSG is changing their entire lineup besides their top and support players. They are bringing back players who they qualified with in their domestic region, and the problem is that they didn't look that good throughout the season. Tank and River are players who are not that aggressive and that will be a problem laning against Larssen. With Tank and River not playing all of play-ins together, they should be bullied through the mid jungle synergy of Rogue.

Prediction: Rogue Win

Rogue Players to Target: Larssen ($7,400), Inspired ($6,600)

JDG vs. DWG

Probably the best game for viewership, this one can go either way. Damwon crushed the LCK, as they were the best early game, mid game, gold differential, and won games with an average time of 27.5 minutes. They have insane numbers because of how well Canyon and ShowMaker played the entire split. They were very innovated in the bot lane by drafting different supports to hold the lane well, as the rest of the team plays top side. LCK teams tend to play for late game, and that is where Damwon took advantage, while in the LPL there were multiple teams that played in the early game. JDG are my team to win Worlds because they have really good players in every lane. Zoom is great playing tank weak side, Kanavi is the best jungler in the world, and he has an insane number of champions under his sleeve. LvMao has saved JDG with his bard plays along with their carries to take over games when they need it. JDG is more of a complete team than Damwon, as they move as a unit while Damwon is more reliant on their mid jungle synergy. JDG are also used to playing more aggressive teams than Damwon, and I think with enough experience and players they can take this one.

Prediction: JDG Win

JDG Players to Target: Everyone

LGD vs. GenG

Coming off a bad play-ins, LGD manage to find their way into the group stage after going 1-3 and crushing the Bo5's. This matchup is pretty straight forward, as GenG should smash because they are one of the best macro-oriented team at Worlds. They know when to fight around objectives, they have great map vision, and they are good in team fights, getting into the enemy backline to take out their carries. LGD has struggled mightily with Bo1, and even in a B03 series they are really inconsistent with their mid-to-late game shot calling. This is a type of team that GenG punishes, and I wouldn't be surprised if this was a high kill game for GenG as well.

Prediction: GenG Win

GenG Players to Target: Ruler ($8,000), Clid ($7,000), Life ($5,600)

TSM vs. FNC

A great match to finish slate, and it is between North America and Europe. This is a tough game to gauge because both teams have equally good players. Bwipo has a slight advantage over BrokenBlade but lane-for-lane everyone is great. Both teams have really strong mid/jungle synergy and are the focal points of their teams. TSM is more macro oriented while FNC are more willing to dive early for kills to gain lane pressure. This could cause TSM to falter back because they are not that style of team, let alone play anyone who has the tempo as Fnatic. The bottom lane is where I believe Fnatic can win because Rekkless and Hillysang both are lane bullies through the laning phase and they are not afraid to dive in for a 2v2. If Fnatic can get bot side ahead, this game can swing heavily into their favor and then they can just pound TSM weak side to force other lanes to open up.

Prediction: Fnatic Win

Fnatic Players to Target: Everyone