We typically see one massive upset a year in international play. In 2018, G2 Esports shocked Royal Never Give Up in the League of Legends World Championship quarterfinals. At the 2019 Mid-Season Invitational, Team Liquid stunned world champions Invictus Gaming in the semifinals. Fnatic nearly pulled off the upset of the year against Top Esports last week. They were a massive underdog to the tournament favorites, but they won the first two games of their best-of-five series. Top Esports responded with the first-ever reverse sweep at Worlds to advance to the semifinals, but they no longer look like an unstoppable juggernaut.
2020 League of Legends World Championship Semifinals Odds
DAMWON Gaming -233
G2 Esports +189
DAMWON Gaming are looking for a spot of revenge against G2. The Kings of Europe knocked off DAMWON 3-1 in last year’s quarterfinals, but they are a sizable underdog this time around.
There might not be a more talented team than DAMWON on an individual level. Their laners are the best in the world as Nuguri and ShowMaker have the potential to win their lane hard, but this meta doesn’t reward strong laners as much as usual.
Junglers have proven to be the most important players, and Canyon has looked strong. He currently has the best KDA at Worlds with a 10.6 KDA, and he has been unstoppable on Graves. His Kindred and Nidalee have looked great too, and all three of those junglers have a strong foothold in this meta.
Meanwhile, there are questions about Jankos’ champion pool. G2’s jungler has had his ups and downs throughout the 2020 campaign, and he only has a 4.4 KDA at Worlds. He hasn’t looked sharp on Graves, and we have seen him default to Lillia three times.
G2 are one of the most clever teams at Worlds, and we could see them get early advantages through smart level one ganks. However, DAMWON have too much of a skill advantage, and unlike other Korean teams, their pick and ban phases indicate they understand the meta.
Top Esports -169
Suning +142
At first glance, this line is pretty surprising. Top Esports were co-favorites with DAMWON Gaming entering the quarterfinals, while Suning were an underdog to JD Gaming. However, Suning seem to have found something. This team is peaking at just the right time, as young bottom laner Huanfeng is playing incredibly well. His 7.5 KDA is the best mark on the team, and his Jhin has been almost flawless.
This meta really favors Suning too. SofM is one of the most aggressive early game junglers you will find, and he is always looking to make something happen. Suning will funnel resources into him in order to get him going, and that gives them the advantage in early team fights.
Additionally, Suning have a reliable veteran support in SwordArt. SwordArt is one of the most seasoned players at Worlds due to his time with Flash Wolves, and he is great on playmakers like Bard. We saw TES’ Yuyanjia really struggle against Fnatic, and SwordArt can outplay his counterpart.
Knight is probably the most talented mid laner in the world, but we saw how that position has been mitigated against Fnatic. While Knight continually got the better of Nemesis, he was unable to punish with his advantage. Instead, Top needed Karsa to look like the elite jungler he had been for most of the year, and JackeyLove had to shake off a poor start to the series.
Suning stand a pretty good chance of pulling off the upset here. If JackeyLove and Karsa aren’t at their best, they will be punished by up and coming Suning.
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