One thing that’s for certain with week one of MSI. There’s going to be a lot of games of League of Legends played. The first six days will feature up to 6 best of one series a day, meaning the Group stage is going to be jam-packed. In this article, we’ll focus on a select few series that take our fancy, and give you the odds for them. For a full preview of the group stage, and to help inform your betting, check out our full Group Stage Preview here.
May 6th – DAMWON v Cloud9
It’s certainly a series that’s set to get MSI 2021 off with a bang. Korea takes on North America, with Cloud9 desperate to get off to a flying start as they look to put North America’s poor international record to bed. As for DAMWON, they’ll come into the series as ultimate favourites, despite Cloud9 being a tough task, they’ll be expected to win. The only good news for Cloud9 is, they’ll be the very first game of the entire event, meaning they might be able to spring a surprise on DAMWON.
As for our pick, while betting against a Korean side is always a risk, we’re going to start MSI with a bold prediction. Cloud9 can be found at 18/5 to win, and we think the fact it’s the first game of the tournament, and the fact Cloud9 are not a bad side… they might just have what it takes to take down the Korean champions.
May 7th – Unicorns of Love v Royal Never Give Up
Day two sets up a classic David v Goliath series. On paper, Royal Never Give Up (RNG) should walk the series, and with it being day two we’ll have likely already seen the danger that RNG can bring to the Rift. While Unicorns of Love (UOL) are outsiders, they’re no slouches. UOL are a good side, and they proved that at Worlds 2020. Unlike the above game between DAMWON and Cloud9, however, it’s harder to see UOL overcoming RNG, arguably the favourites for the event.
For this series, we’ll have to back the favourite. For those of you that like a safer bet this might be the one for you. At 1/12 favourites, RNG is fully expected to walk the series, though it’ll be worth keeping an eye on both side’s day one results to see if the odds are impacted by it.
May 8th – MAD Lions v PaiN Gaming
The shock European side at MSI, MAD Lions has a lot of pressure to contend with. Coming from the current reigning champions region. That said, MAD Lions are not a bad side, clearly. They’ll be expected to get out of their group, and likely do some as champions. PaiN, hailing from Brazil will be no pushovers, of course. They’ve proven in Brazil that they won’t lie down. With the rest of the group being so close, any side taking down top seed MAD Lions will likely be in line for a second-place finish, making every series MAD Lions plays tougher.
For us, we suspect MAD Lions should take it. At 1/ 4, they’re not as short as NRG, but they should be good for the series. The first two days could impact the odds here, especially if MAD Lions struggle to shine. Regardless, they should win the series, even if they start slowly MAD Lions should come good in the end.
May 9th — May 11th
Day four will see the first day of the all group stage. Three days of solid group play. Starting with Group A on May 9th, and ending with Group C on the 11th. With each team having played each other once by this stage, and with playoffs places on the line, the competition starts to heat up.
Odds are likely to change drastically by then, so be sure to keep an eye out for those changes at MansionBet. Odds are available as of now, however, so you’ll be able to place bets on the future series as the first round of matches is taking place.