This article is part of our DraftKings League of Legends series.
GAMES (EDT)
- Friday, 5:00 a.m: Team Esports vs. Team WE
- Saturday, 5:00 a.m: FunPlus Phoenix vs. EDward Gaming
TES vs. WE
WE showed us a very good performance against eStar last game, and it wasn't even close. WE came out with more of a scaling comp, which is something we haven't seen before, and it threw eStar's game-plan off, as WE are usually an early game team. Teacherma played really well, even in tough matchups with the gallio, and even though his player pool is limited, he has shown the ability to lane and let the rest of his team do the work. TES, on the other hand, has looked phenomenal in every lane after signing JackeyLove. Both support players are playing at a high level and this team is very scary to go against. Once again, this game will be decided by which jungler can be more proactive for their team, and even though Karsa is deemed one of the best junglers in the world, Beishang has looked great on a lot of champions, his pathing is great, and he has the ability to carry games, if needed. I'm not saying Karsa can't do that, but he is more of a system jungler who sets up his team for success more than for himself. This game might be a little closer than people think because TES sometimes like to play for lanes, and that style just doesn't work against WE. If TES wants to win, they need to match
GAMES (EDT)
- Friday, 5:00 a.m: Team Esports vs. Team WE
- Saturday, 5:00 a.m: FunPlus Phoenix vs. EDward Gaming
TES vs. WE
WE showed us a very good performance against eStar last game, and it wasn't even close. WE came out with more of a scaling comp, which is something we haven't seen before, and it threw eStar's game-plan off, as WE are usually an early game team. Teacherma played really well, even in tough matchups with the gallio, and even though his player pool is limited, he has shown the ability to lane and let the rest of his team do the work. TES, on the other hand, has looked phenomenal in every lane after signing JackeyLove. Both support players are playing at a high level and this team is very scary to go against. Once again, this game will be decided by which jungler can be more proactive for their team, and even though Karsa is deemed one of the best junglers in the world, Beishang has looked great on a lot of champions, his pathing is great, and he has the ability to carry games, if needed. I'm not saying Karsa can't do that, but he is more of a system jungler who sets up his team for success more than for himself. This game might be a little closer than people think because TES sometimes like to play for lanes, and that style just doesn't work against WE. If TES wants to win, they need to match the aggression of WE or hold out and outscale WE and grab the objectives to win their team fights.
Prediction: TES 3-2
Bets: WE ML (+320)
Players to Target: Everyone on both sides.
FPX vs. EDG
EDG got gifted the series against RNG, who punted their drafts and Games 1 and 2. RNG had complete control in Game 2 and then lost a baron and lost a team fight that they should have taken instead of disengaging. Xiaohu and XLB looked horrible all series, another reason RNG couldn't close out games. I give props to Aodi and JunJia for stepping up this series, but the inconsistency falls in their objective game after getting first blood. They lead the league in first blood but sometimes can't translate it to something bigger. When you have JunJia over extending, Hope getting caught out in team fights, like we saw a lot of Thursday. FPX lost a tough series against TES last matchup, but it was very close in Game 1 and even in Game 2, where FPX were losing in kills and dragons but had a gold lead with their tower control. I wasn't a fan of going rakan/mf when there isn't much to protect MF or even any engages to start team fights, so they were handicapped before the match started. FPX have one of the better objective rates in the league, which is a nightmare for EDG because when they fall behind in turrets they force fights in situations that loses them games. FPX are not a pushover in team fights, as three players on FPX (Tian, Doinb, Crisp) hold a 60-70 percent KP, which tells you they are looking to fight, and looking to snowball from there.
Prediction: FPX 3-1
Bets: N/A
Players to Target: Tian, DoinB, LWX, Crisp
