This article is part of our DraftKings League of Legends series.
GAMES (EDT)
4:00 a.m: ITZ vs. MAD Lions
4:50 a.m: PSG Talon vs. Rainbow7
ITZ vs. MAD
We are back with with the biggest tournament of the year, and this is going to be very exciting, especially for those who may have picked up League of Legends over the past few months. Worlds is probably the second-best event after the World Cup. Unfortunately, we have to go through play-ins before we get into the meat of the tournament, with the first game between INTZ from Brazil and MAD Lions from Europe. We know how Brazil teams love to play: they are aggressive and try to get early leads and win through brute force. This matchup is going to be tough for INTZ, as they are facing a strong team in MAD Lions, who were dominating the early parts of Europe. MAD are able to play through top side as well as bot, and if this meta shifts towards bot lane then I expect this to be a blowout, as Kaiser was one of the top performers on this team. MAD were good at mitigating early game pressure to scale up and take over in the mid-game, as their gold difference at 15 in EU was in the top-three. As long as MAD play their game, they can take this with ease.
Prediction: MAD Win
MAD Players to Target: Everyone
PSG vs. R7
The second matchup is between two teams that many people don't recognize: Rainbow7 from Latin America and PSG
GAMES (EDT)
4:00 a.m: ITZ vs. MAD Lions
4:50 a.m: PSG Talon vs. Rainbow7
ITZ vs. MAD
We are back with with the biggest tournament of the year, and this is going to be very exciting, especially for those who may have picked up League of Legends over the past few months. Worlds is probably the second-best event after the World Cup. Unfortunately, we have to go through play-ins before we get into the meat of the tournament, with the first game between INTZ from Brazil and MAD Lions from Europe. We know how Brazil teams love to play: they are aggressive and try to get early leads and win through brute force. This matchup is going to be tough for INTZ, as they are facing a strong team in MAD Lions, who were dominating the early parts of Europe. MAD are able to play through top side as well as bot, and if this meta shifts towards bot lane then I expect this to be a blowout, as Kaiser was one of the top performers on this team. MAD were good at mitigating early game pressure to scale up and take over in the mid-game, as their gold difference at 15 in EU was in the top-three. As long as MAD play their game, they can take this with ease.
Prediction: MAD Win
MAD Players to Target: Everyone
PSG vs. R7
The second matchup is between two teams that many people don't recognize: Rainbow7 from Latin America and PSG from Taiwan. Rainbow7 as an organization has been to Worlds before, but this is one of the few rookie teams that is getting a chance to showcase their skills. Latin America reminds me of Brazil on how they base their play-style, and they are really dependent on their junlger, Josedeodo, who is the single core that keeps the team together. If he can't get ahead and transfer that to other lanes then they might be in for a short run. PSG have a solid lineup as well, and most of these players have been to Worlds numerous times. They are a methodical team that reminds me of a standard League of Legends team that plays by the book. PSG were playing with Tank, River and Kawaing, but all three won't be able to play in the first couple of series. Instead, they are bringing two former Worlds players and a new bot laner. This really doesn't change much for PSG except maybe some communication problems, but the players are mechanically good and had stage experience before. I expect PSG to play slow and more objective based, which should punish the young aggressive team from Latin America.
Prediction: PSG Win
PSG Players to Target: Everyone
