We are guaranteed an inter-regional final for the League of Legends World Championship next weekend after the results of the League of Legends Quarterfinals last weekend. There will be an LPL representative as China’s No. 1 seed FunPlus Phoenix knocked off Fnatic in their first Worlds appearance and defending champions Invictus Gaming upset Griffin to reach this point.
The second semifinal is somehow even more hype. G2 Esports and SK Telecom T1 will meet in a rematch of the Mid-Season Invitational semifinals, and G2 will look to prove that its brand of League of Legends is superior to Korea’s style. G2 was Europe’s best team throughout the season and won the Mid-Season Invitational, while SKT was the top team in Korea and have won more World Championships than any team in history with Faker in the mid lane.
2019 League of Legends World Championship Semifinals Betting Odds
Invictus Gaming -140
FunPlus Phoenix +110
If both teams play at their peak, Invictus will win this match. Invictus is the most volatile team left at Worlds, but they showed what they can do when they are firing on all cylinders. They went 9-6 during the LPL Summer Split and had to win a wild five game series against JD Gaming to even qualify for the World Championships, but they were the only team to defeat FunPlus Phoenix in the regular season.
Rookie and TheShy are two of the best laners in the world, and they can individually outplay their counterparts for FunPlus. TheShy completely destroyed Sword in their top lane battle last week, and while he won’t have the same success against GimGoon, he will have the upper hand.
The mid lane battle will be what everyone focuses on here. Rookie and Doinb have very different styles. While Rookie is more mechanically skilled than his counterpart and wants to dominate his opponent in lane, Doinb is constantly roaming on mobile champions and looking to make plays around the map to get his teammates ahead.
I fully expect Invictus to attempt to limit Doinb’s mobility with targeted bans. Doinb has an absurd 21.7 KDA in five games on Ryze at Worlds, and he has a 9.0 KDA in two games on Kayle. When he has played a tank and moved away from those champions, he has been significantly less impactful.
Provided Invictus ban away Doinb’s best champions, the only way I see the defending champions losing is if JackeyLove ints. He made more than a few questionable decisions against Griffin, and FunPlus will punish him if he makes the same mistakes.
G2 Esports +139
SK Telecom T1 -175
Madrid is going to be electric when G2 meet SKT on European soil. These teams played a fantastic five-game series at MSI with G2 stunning the three-time World Champions, but the Koreans are favored again according to the League of Legends betting odds.
There are some concerns for G2 coming into this series. While they punished DAMWON last week due to their foe’s inexperience, they are now facing the most experienced team in the world in SKT. Those same strategies won’t work, and SKT have a good read on the meta since all of Worlds has been played on the same patch.
Many will focus on the mid lane battle between Faker and Caps, but I’m more interested in the jungle match-up and the top lane duel. Jankos’ pathing was read pretty consistently by both Canyon and Tarzan, and Clid will learn from the tactics of his countrymen.
In the top lane, Wunder’s Pyke is no longer a surprise. Additionally, he has been continually ganked, and he hasn’t looked great on any champion. His kill percentage of 43.1 percent shows how often he is left to his own devices, and Khan can take advantage of that. I like SKT to win this series in four games.
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