Eight of the top League of Legends teams in China are set to do battle this weekend for the Demacia Cup. This competition has historically been dominated by Edward Gaming. EDG have won six of the eight Demacia Cups that have been contested, but they are not the favorite to win this weekend’s tournament.
The favorite to win the Demacia Cup may surprise some people. Although Royal Never Give Up won the Mid-Season Invitational a little less than two weeks ago, Invictus Gaming are the favorites to win this tournament. Invictus will be looking for a bit of revenge after Royal Never Give Up knocked them off in the LPL Semifinals last month.
2018 Summer Demacia Cup Betting Odds (Courtesy of BetDSI)
Invictus Gaming +175
Royal Never Give Up +225
Edward Gaming +550
Rogue Warriors +800
Bilibili Gaming +900
Snake +1000
TyLoo +8000
ShadowCream +10000
Many would argue that Invictus Gaming are actually the best team in China, even though Royal Never Give Up just bested the world at MSI. Invictus went 18-1 in the regular season and were heavily favored to win the LPL Spring title. Unfortunately, star top laner TheShy suffered a hand injury and was unable to take part in the playoffs.
Substitute top laner Duke played relatively well in TheShy’s place, but he was unable to carry like his teammate had all season. TheShy played more carry champions than any other player in China, specializing in picks like Gangplank and Fiora. The team missed his pressure, but indications are that he will be playing in the Demacia Cup.
Royal Never Give Up have not had much time to rest. The team won MSI just 10 days ago, and they will now be taking part in another major tournament on a competition that will take place on a different patch. There have been a lot of changes in recent patches. While the other seven teams have had plenty of time to formulate strategies, RNG have not had that luxury.
It might be hard for RNG to be fully focused for the Demacia Cup. The season has been a grind for them over the past few months, and the other teams have had time to recharge their batteries.
Strangely, Edward Gaming is largely seen as something of an afterthought for this tournament. EDG finished runners-up for the LPL Spring Split, but no one is giving them much of a chance to win the Demacia Cup. That’s a mistake.
Edward Gaming are finally complete. The team did not have superstar jungler Clearlove for much of the season, but he is now back in the lineup and has been training with EDG once more. He is widely viewed as the best jungler in China, and he is great at getting his lanes ahead with his ganks. His creative pathing is hard to predict, leaving opposing teams flustered when going against him.
It’s hard to see any team outside of those three winning the Demacia Cup. Rogue Warriors are too reliant on Smlz to carry them, and the rest of the teams simply don’t have the talent. Of the three, I’ll be betting on Edward Gaming. There is great value in EDG at this price.
