We’re just about to set to kick off the 2017 League of Legends World Championships in earnest. After watching some of the best teams in the world battle it out in the play-in group stage, we will now see the top eight teams battle it out in best of five knockout rounds to determine who will make it to the final sixteen. While the three big favorites all held up their end of the bargain and waltzed through the Group Stage, LMS participant Hong Kong Attitude stumbled against Fenehrbahce and subsequently ended up as the second seed in their group.
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Opening League of Legends 2017 Worlds Play-In Stage Betting Odds at BookMaker.eu
Cloud9 -710 Lyon Gaming +510
Cloud9 was placed in the easiest group of them all in the Play-In Stage. Neither LG Dire Wolves nor Team oNe eSports could put up much of a fight against them in the Play-In Stage. Cloud9 ended up going 4-0 and outkilled their opponents by a total of 60-19. They had the most impressive game of any team so far when they beat Team oNe in just a shade over 22 minutes on Day 2.
Jensen continues to look unstoppable when he is on a strong mage. He was phenomenal on the three big mid-lane mages (Syndra, LeBlanc, and Ryze) and outdueled everyone he has faced so far. His play is one of the keys to success for Cloud9.
One of the other keys is if Contractz can continue playing well in the Jungle. Contractz typically selects a champion that is good in team fights and plays a pseudo-support role while counting on Jensen and Sneaky to lead the way for Cloud9. However, he looked good on two champions we haven’t seen him play much earlier this week. Contractz finished with a combined 11 kills, 17 assists, and one death on Nidalee and Ezreal. The play on Ezreal is a very good sign as it seems like the former AD Carry champion has been shifted into a jungle role in the current meta.
You have to feel bad for Lyon Gaming. Lyon was placed into a group with the best team in the Play-In Stage in World Elite. Although they lost both games, they looked like the best team from outside one of the traditional power regions. As nine-time Latin America North champions, they aren’t afraid of a stage like this, but drawing the second-best team in Cloud9 is unfortunate.
Oddie and WhiteLotus are the two players to watch on this team. Oddie is a playmaking jungler who will look to make a difference early on against Contractz, while WhiteLotus is probably the best AD Carry that’s not playing in a major region.
Lyon has fantastic chemistry and looked really strong against Team WE. I would make them a strong pick to move on against Fenehrbahce and would like their chances against Fnatic too. However, Cloud9 is a tough challenge.
Fnatic -320 Hong Kong Attitude +265
Both of these teams deserve to be in this spot. Both were favorites in their groups, but each side looked beatable against supposedly lesser competition.
Fnatic still won their group, but don’t believe that their last loss in the Play-In Stage was just the result of them joking around after they had already clinched. They were outplayed by Young Generation in that game with Rekkles performing really poorly on Tristana in a composition that is standard for them. He is the superstar of this team and to see him play like that was a bit of a surprise.
Even more concerning is the continued poor play of Caps in the mid-lane. He looked fantastic in the EU Spring Split and in the early part of the Summer Split, but has really struggled in recent weeks. His stats don’t look half-bad, but he has not been playing up to the standard he set earlier this year.
Hong Kong Attitude won the play-in seed for LMS as the bottom seed, knocking off more established teams in the process in order to make it here. Unsurprisingly, HKA was the popular pick to falter in the Group Stage and they did, finishing behind Fenehrbahce and getting drawn into this situation.
Unfortunately for HKA, they are a team unable to exploit the weaknesses of Fnatic. Their mid-laner, M1ssion, has not been playing well at Worlds. He finished the Play-In Stage with the worst KDA of any mid-laner on a team that made it to the Knockout Stage and that’s a major issue considering they were playing two teams that were supposed to be lightweights.
At BookMaker Sportsbook, our team of writers breaks down every betting matchup on the wagering board. eSports are exploding in popularity and we at BookMaker have you covered for all of your betting needs.
From League of Legends to CS:GO, BookMaker has all of the eSports betting lines you can hope for. Open an account and get in on the action today!
