This article is part of our DraftKings League of Legends series.
GAMES (EDT)
- 4:00 a.m: T1 vs. Damwon Gaming
- 5:00 a.m: Dominus Esports vs. Invictus Gaming
- 6:50 a.m: Suning vs. LGD Gaming
- 7:00 a.m: SANDBOX Gaming v. Gen.G
T1 vs. DWG
This is going to be an amazing game to kick off the slate, as the resurgence of Damwon has put them in contention to make it back to worlds. This is two teams that like to play on opposite sides of the map, as Damwon has a 100 percent first turret rate, the highest rift herald control and early game rating in the league. This is because of how canyon and showmaker work together around top side of the map to get leads and let Ghost free farm lane until they can knock down that turret mid lane. T1, on the other hand, have the best mid-to-late game rating and has the best dragon control at 73% which is 50% better than Damwon. This is because of how much they play towards Teddy in the bot lane. Faker is an amazing player who won't get bullied in lane no matter the player, while he mitigates a lot of the early damage focus to let his bot lane get ahead. They will most likely start Ellim, who has been really good in the early game as they will need that type of style to compete with Damwon's early game. This is a close game to call, but T1 should win, as Ghost never plays Aphelios and, even though they still
GAMES (EDT)
- 4:00 a.m: T1 vs. Damwon Gaming
- 5:00 a.m: Dominus Esports vs. Invictus Gaming
- 6:50 a.m: Suning vs. LGD Gaming
- 7:00 a.m: SANDBOX Gaming v. Gen.G
T1 vs. DWG
This is going to be an amazing game to kick off the slate, as the resurgence of Damwon has put them in contention to make it back to worlds. This is two teams that like to play on opposite sides of the map, as Damwon has a 100 percent first turret rate, the highest rift herald control and early game rating in the league. This is because of how canyon and showmaker work together around top side of the map to get leads and let Ghost free farm lane until they can knock down that turret mid lane. T1, on the other hand, have the best mid-to-late game rating and has the best dragon control at 73% which is 50% better than Damwon. This is because of how much they play towards Teddy in the bot lane. Faker is an amazing player who won't get bullied in lane no matter the player, while he mitigates a lot of the early damage focus to let his bot lane get ahead. They will most likely start Ellim, who has been really good in the early game as they will need that type of style to compete with Damwon's early game. This is a close game to call, but T1 should win, as Ghost never plays Aphelios and, even though they still win without it, Teddy and T1 are a complete team when given the right champions.
Prediction: T1 2-1
- T1 Players to Target: Everyone (3/4 games went over the total)
IG vs. DMO
The crazy thing about this is that people are thinking DMO can beat IG, and there is a world that can happen, but not here. DMO stole a very lucky win against EDG, who looked horrible in their game decision. IG have been playing on a different level lately, with TheShy performing at a level that was expected of him all year long while having Ning and Rookie supplementing each other in lane. IG are bringing in a new support, Reheal, who is another good player from their academy team, and this move is probably just to get young talent a shot. Southwind hasn't hurt this team at all, but it might also be trying to play a little more aggressively in the laning phase for Southwind, as generally he takes a bit of time to catch up to his item spikes. All and all, this is an easy game for Invictus and a solid spot for cash. Sometimes they lack the upside because they don't force many fights while trying to speed run through games.
Prediction: IG 2-0
LGD vs. SN
This is a game with two teams that have similar strategies, as they play through bot side heavily. The difference is that Kramer and Mark have been dominating the laning phase, which causes a lot of trouble for Huanfeng because his other lanes aren't that strong. There are numerous times that it takes Huanfeng and SN to start rolling late because of how bad the other players are getting bullied, which could be the case here due to Peanut's jungle control and first bloods. Conceding those first bloods and jungle control to LGD, who have better dragon control and tower rate than SN, and they can just snowball them in the mid-to-late game. This should be a pretty easy game for LGD, though sometimes LGD will drop a game, which could either limit their upside or make them the best team to stack.
Prediction: LGD 2-1
GEN vs. SB
The LCK teams have adopted a new tempo this split and have been bloodier than the LPL because of all the errors we see teams make in adopting this new fast-pace style. The LCK teams also are really good in team fights and their KP% are better than the LPL, and we see how they have scored very well in a lot of games. Sandbox DPL is 17.5, on average, and GenG have some 20+ kill games recently, as they are showing their dominance in all three lanes. Gen.G should smash here, as they make very few mistakes and really punish teams that do. This could be the bloodiest game on the slate and could be in a take-down lineup.
Prediction: GenG 2-0
- GenG Players to Target: Everyone
