Madison Square Garden will play host to the semi-finals of the most important League of Legends show of the season. Any doubts that another region is ready to challenge Korea have been put to rest as all three Korean teams have made it to the semi-finals. SK Telecom T1 won the 2013 and 2015 World Championships and are looking to be the first team ever to win back-to-back titles, while ROX Tigers finally upended SKT in the Summer Playoffs and are looking for their first ever championship.
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SK Telecom T1 -130
ROX Tigers +100
HOW THEY GOT HERE
It shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone that SKT is here. SKT has been the best team in the world over the last few years and always bring their best performance to international tournaments. This team wrecked its competition at the Mid-Season Invitational, won the Spring Playoffs, and dominated its group and Royal Never Give Up in the quarterfinals of this tournament.
This is the best team ROX Tigers have ever put together and it’s a shame that their match-up with SKT is in the semi-finals instead of the finals. ROX finally won a major title when it won the Summer Playoffs this season, but didn’t overcome SKT to do it. The Tigers struggled a bit in the group stage, but pulled through when it mattered and routed Chinese champs Edward Gaming in the quarterfinals to make it here.
MATCHUP TO WATCH
Even though they won’t be facing off against each other directly, the two best players in the world will be showcased here and how the opposing team strategizes will be of utmost importance.
Smeb has been hailed as the best player in the world this season and has been considered the best top laner in the world for each of the past two seasons. He has been the biggest reason behind ROX’s meteoric rise in Korea over the last two seasons and has consistently outperformed top laners en route to winning back-to-back MVP awards. Smeb hasn’t looked like the world-class player he is yet this tournament, but if he rises to the occasion he can dominate Duke and give ROX a serious chance to win.
What hasn’t been said about Faker at this point? He is the most dominant player that the game has ever seen and is the biggest reason why SKT has been such a powerhouse. Faker’s play has evolved with the meta and he continues to be unstoppable in virtually every aspect of the game. His CS per minute is the best of any mid laner left at Worlds and he is dominating solo fights as well, competing in just 58.1 percent of kills. Kuro has the unenviable task of matching up with him, but he will have plenty of support from his Jungler, Peanut.
THE PICK
This will be the fourth time that these teams have faced off in a best-of-five series and SKT has dominated. SKT has won all three previous series, including last year’s World Championship 3-1, when ROX was playing under the name of a different sponsor.
It’s tough to go against history and that’s why the wise play is to back SKT here. After being so dominant for so long, SKT may lack focus at times, but the defending champions have always come through when it matters. This price is a steal to bet them at and as long as Duke doesn’t get slaughtered in the top lane, SKT should advance to the finals.
ESports League of Legends Odds: SKT -130
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