Can you feel the excitement? The League of Legends World Championships are nearly upon us. Next week, the five-week tournament starts in Korea, with 12 teams aiming to make it out of the play-in stage and into the main event. Those 12 teams are fighting for just four spots, so the competition will be intense. In this half of the Play-In Preview, I will look at Groups A and B. The second part of the preview will cover Groups C and D.
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2018 League of Legends World Championships Play-In Group A Betting
Edward Gaming -15000
Dire Wolves +2500
Infinity eSports +3300
Edward Gaming are the largest favorite we have ever seen under the play-in stage format. They probably should have received an automatic spot into the main event due to China’s strength this season, but the rules were set before we saw how dominant Chinese teams were.
EDG have had a down year by their high standards, but this is still one of the best teams in the world. They made it to the LPL Spring Split Finals but ended up having to qualify through the regional final after crashing out of the Summer Split Playoffs. The talent on this team dwarves that of the other two squads, and anything other than a 4-0 finish would be a surprise.
Give Dire Wolves credit for dominating the Oceanic region. They have won three straight OPL titles, but they have yet to advance too far in any international tournament. At last year’s Worlds, their one win came against Team oNe, and they went 2-4 at the play-in stage of the Mid-Season Invitational earlier this year. Jungler Shernfire is the player to watch for this team, but he has been suspended for his first two matches.
This will be Infinity eSports’ debut appearance at Worlds. The Costa Rican based team upset Kaos Latin Gamers two weeks ago to earn this spot, and it will be interesting to see if they can finish ahead of Dire Wolves. Mid laner Cotopaco has dealt a large percentage of the team’s damage this year according to Games of Legends, so he is the one to watch.
Group B Betting
G2 Esports -1000
BAU SuperMassive +600
Ascension +5000
G2 aren’t the favorite you might think they would be in Group B. G2’s performance really flatlined throughout the summer, and there are real concerns they may not make their third consecutive appearance in the main event. This team has always underwhelmed at the international level, and they have had some very inconsistent performances from their bottom lane in recent weeks. Wadid and Hjarnan will need to up their performance if G2 wants to ensure it wins the group and gets a favorable matchup in the next round.
Some are calling for BAU SuperMassive to pull off the upset. The Turkish giants were upset by 1907 Fenerbahce domestically last year, and Fenerbahce ended up winning a spot in the main event. This entire team is very experienced, but Koreans GBM and SnowFlower are the ones to watch. Both players had success with Jin Air Green Wings before moving abroad, and they could help pull off the upset.
The biggest longshot is Ascension Gaming. This is a tough spot for the representative from Southeast Asia, but the team acquitted itself well at the Mid-Season Invitational earlier in the year and picked up a win against Gambit Gaming. This team is very active in the early game, constantly looking to gank, and most of their matches in the region were decided before getting to the teamfighting stage.
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!
