Over the next week, 16 teams will fight it out for a spot in the quarterfinals of the League of Legends World Championships. The big question coming into the event is whether or not a Western team can challenge the Korean and Chinese teams that are the heavy favorites to win their groups. Only two Western teams have won their groups over the last four years (Fnatic in 2015 and H2K in 2016), and Fnatic is the only Western team that is considered to have a good chance of winning their group this year.
League of Legends World Championship Group Stage Betting Odds (Courtesy of BetDSI)
Group A
Afreeca Freecs -225 G2 Esports +900
Flash Wolves +275 Phong Vu Buffalo +2500
This is arguably the most wide-open group of the bunch. Afreeca Freecs put together some strong performances in Korea this season, but they are relatively untested on the international stage. This is their first appearance at the World Championships, and their only prior international experience was at Rift Rivals a few months ago.
That’s why I like Flash Wolves to win the group, and I love them at this price. You can make a strong case that they should be the favorites given their experience and previous results in international play. Although they lost Karsa to Royal Never Give Up, the team has barely missed a beat with Moojin taking his spot, and they played very well at both Rift Rivals and the Mid-Season Invitational earlier this year. They have knocked off Royal Never Give Up in two of their three meetings, and they won four games against Kingzone DragonX too. Maple has looked fantastic in the mid lane, and the bottom lane is as solid as ever with Betty and SwordArt.
Additionally, I expect Phong Vu Buffalo to pull off an upset or two. The early game aggression we see out of Vietnamese teams has given opponents fits in the past, and they will use that to take down one or two other teams in this group.
Group B
Royal Never Give Up -188 Cloud9 +6000
Gen.G +137 Team Vitality +10000
Our condolences to Cloud9 and Team Vitality. Being drawn in this group is a death sentence for these two teams, and they have no real chance of getting past Royal Never Give Up or Gen.G.
Royal Never Give Up have been the most impressive team in the world this year. They have done it all. They won the Mid-Season Invitational, led China to a victory at Rift Rivals, and won two domestic titles. They are the favorites to win the World Championship this year, and they have the best AD Carry in the world in Uzi. RNG are justified favorites, even though they have a history of coming up short at Worlds.
Meanwhile, Gen.G are the defending champions. They won the 2017 World Championship as Samsung Galaxy, and that entire team is back to defend its crown. Their play was erratic earlier in the year, but they rounded into form in the Summer Split and ran the gauntlet in the regional playoffs to make it back to Worlds. This team has a great bottom lane and a solid top laner in CuVee, but there are concerns in the jungle and mid lane. That’s why I’ll go with RNG to win this group.
Group C
KT Rolster -450 Team Liquid +800
Edward Gaming +550 MAD Team +10000
This is a very interesting group. KT Rolster and Edward Gaming are two of the top teams in the world, but both teams have a history of choking on the biggest stages. EDG failed to get out of the Group Stage at Worlds last year, losing to Cloud9 and ahq e-Sports Club, and they suffered a pretty embarrassing loss to Infinity eSports during the Play-In Stage of this year’s World Championships. This team plays far too aggressive at times, with Scout and iBoy pushing forward without much support, and that can lead to problems against more disciplined teams.
KT Rolster’s up-and-down nature is ensconced in their name. The Rolster is short for rollercoaster, and any fan will tell you that following them has been an emotional rollercoaster over the last few seasons. They have tapered the lows a bit this season, and that has propelled them to Worlds, but it’s hard to fully trust this team given their past. They are the most talented team in the group by a wide margin, yet I can’t back them when they are this much of a favorite.
I’m going to stay away from betting this group, but there is some value in Edward Gaming and a little bit of value in Team Liquid if you don’t want to roll the dice on EDG.
Group D
Invictus Gaming -500 G-Rex +4000
Fnatic +350 100 Thieves +5000
On paper, this is the most cut and dry group of the four. Invictus is a tier above everyone else and Fnatic should be all alone in the second tier. However, I’m going to roll the dice with G-Rex to win the group at 40-1.
G-Rex was the most impressive team during the Play-In Stage. They may have backed into Worlds after posting a sub-.500 record in the Summer Split, but the team proved they belong here with some great performances last week. Candy has the potential to go toe-to-toe with Rookie and Caps in the mid lane, and jungler Empt2y can get his lanes ahead.
For whatever reason, sportsbooks seem to be underestimating Taiwanese teams. This region isn’t as followed as the other four major regions, but there is serious value in both Flash Wolves and G-Rex. I’ll be on both those teams to make it out of the Group Stage.
