This article is part of our DraftKings League of Legends series.
GAMES (EDT)
- 5:00 a.m: Team WE vs. LGD Gaming
- 7:00 a.m: Victory Five vs. Invictus Gaming
LGD vs. WE
We have some sweet games Monday, and the first matchup is between WE, who are still somehow not getting punished for their linear game-play against a team that bounced back against EDG. I am going to bash this in everyone's head, and even the casters have said this on stream, but Beishang is the best jungler in the LPL right now. He is single-handedly getting WE wins with his early invades, pathing, objective controls and setting his team up for fights. The other thing they said is that they are shocked that nobody has beaten WE because they do the same thing every game. Arguably they are one of the best late-game team-fighting teams, but that still doesn't make up the fact that they are one of the most exploitable teams in the LPL. One thing about the LPL is that every team is hard headed to change what they are doing to beat other teams because it seems like they want to prove something. LGD, on the other hand, went through a horrible stretch, but the game against EDG was one of their cleanest games since the first half of the summer split. LGD are a good early game team, as they have the second-best first blood rate (63 percent) plus a 64 percent first turret because of Peanut. The way you beat WE is to play early and snowball
GAMES (EDT)
- 5:00 a.m: Team WE vs. LGD Gaming
- 7:00 a.m: Victory Five vs. Invictus Gaming
LGD vs. WE
We have some sweet games Monday, and the first matchup is between WE, who are still somehow not getting punished for their linear game-play against a team that bounced back against EDG. I am going to bash this in everyone's head, and even the casters have said this on stream, but Beishang is the best jungler in the LPL right now. He is single-handedly getting WE wins with his early invades, pathing, objective controls and setting his team up for fights. The other thing they said is that they are shocked that nobody has beaten WE because they do the same thing every game. Arguably they are one of the best late-game team-fighting teams, but that still doesn't make up the fact that they are one of the most exploitable teams in the LPL. One thing about the LPL is that every team is hard headed to change what they are doing to beat other teams because it seems like they want to prove something. LGD, on the other hand, went through a horrible stretch, but the game against EDG was one of their cleanest games since the first half of the summer split. LGD are a good early game team, as they have the second-best first blood rate (63 percent) plus a 64 percent first turret because of Peanut. The way you beat WE is to play early and snowball them before they get to mid-to-late game. LGD know their win condition because they are a team that has trouble in the late game, and if LGD look like they did against EDG, LGD should have no problem beating WE in this spot.
Prediction: LGD 2-1
- LGD Players to Target: Everyone
IG vs. V5
V5, who are 8-2 and sitting fourth in the standings, are a Cinderella story and now get to take on Invictus Gaming. V5 are the biggest hype this season, as they did not record a win last split and are now are contenders to go to Worlds. A team that plays around SamD and ppgod, this team beats you through team fights, team rotations and team objectives. Team is the biggest key word in their success, as they all have great KP%s compared to most teams because after the laning phase they are constantly grouping up to take advantages around the map. IG have been playing a lot better, and they are starting to flex their top side more while letting Baolan do the shot calling to get their advantages around the map. Invictus are a team like Damwon,a where they want to finish as early as possible, and I believe this is the best way to handle V5 because of their scaling drafts. Invictus are good at split pushing and grouping when they need to, and their team fighting is one of the best in the league because how good Rookie navigates throughout the fights. Invictus' overall stats aren't impressive because they are starting to concede more objectives, but this was the same way back in 2017 when they won worlds where they would flex through fights to gain map pressure. This is going to be a close game, but with how IG have looked in the early game and how good their solo laners are, they are a team that can cause chaos around the map to pull V5 around to stop them from grouping up.
Prediction: IG 2-1
- IG Players to Target: Everyone
