This hasn’t been like last year. At the 2017 LoL World Championship Play-Ins, teams from North America, China, and Europe all dominated their opponents and had little trouble getting through to the main event, while the lone favorite to stumble was the team from Taiwan. This year, the team from Taiwan has been the most impressive to this point, while teams from North America, Europe, and China have all looked shaky. On Saturday, North America’s Cloud9 and China’s Edward Gaming will aim to shake it off when they play Gambit and DetonatioN FocusMe with a spot at the League of Legends World Championships main event on the line.
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2018 League of Legends World Championships Play-In Knockout Rounds Betting Odds
Cloud9 -1468
Gambit Esports +839
If you think Cloud9 are happy after going 4-0 in the group stage, just listen to an interview with their head coach Reapered. Cloud9 were expected to cruise in a relatively easy group, but instead they stumbled and came close to losing to DetonatioN FocusMe twice.
For the most part, Cloud9 played fine. Top laner Licorice has shown why many consider him the future at that role in North America, and Sneaky was solid as always in the bottom lane. However, jungler Blaber was not particularly impressive in his Worlds debut, while mid laner Jensen was caught out of position and picked off multiple times throughout the group stage.
Many observers, including myself, thought that Gambit had the best chance of any team from outside a major region to win their group. However, Gambit were steamrolled by Taiwan’s G-Rex in both their games, and that exposed some flaws within the team. Mid laner Kira was consistently outplayed by his counterpart Candy, and both Diamondprox and Edward seem to have taken a step back.
I expect Reapered to have Svenskeren start in the jungle, and it’s him I’m placing my faith in by laying the chalk with Cloud9. Svenskeren has had some impressive performances in the past on the international stage, and Reapered is likely to set the team up with some good drafts. Gambit’s team compositions haven’t made a ton of sense, and I think Cloud9 will outdraft and outplay them.
Edward Gaming -1808
DetonatioN FocusMe +902
Isn’t this what we always see from Edward Gaming? China’s representative at play-ins is one of the most individually gifted teams in the world. Scout is one of the best mid laners in the world, and Meiko is a great support player. However, this team continues to be plagued by mental lapses, and that led to them going 3-1 in the group stage after a stunning loss to Infinity.
DetonatioN FocusMe made history by becoming the first Japanese team to make it to the knockout rounds. Their aggressive early game is considerably different than teams that have represented the region in the past, and that might have caught their opponents off guard. Top Laner Evi has played incredibly well, and he has been far more proactive than most top laners usually are in the early going.
Unfortunately for DFM, their style plays right into the hands of Edward Gaming. Edward Gaming have been at their best in the early game at Worlds, consistently outplaying their opponents and getting solo kills in the laning phase. With a spot in the main event on the line, I expect EDG to maintain their focus this time and sweep DFM.
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!
