T1 v Hanwha Life
After their impressive run through Group B, Hanwha Life came into the group as the underdog and left as second-placed. They secured promotion alongside Royal Never Give Up, while first seed PSG Talon and EU second seed Fnatic were sent home. Now, Hanwha faces an even tougher task, as they look to take down the legendary LCK side T1 (formerly SKT1). It’s going to be a tough ask for Hanwha, but they’ve overcome them thus far.
As for T1, they’re runaway favourites for the series at 4/13, and over a best-of-5 series, it’s unlikely that T1 lose. For us, T1 will be the best bet for odds here, it’ll probably not be a 3-0 with Hanwha showing signs of life at Worlds.
Royal Never Give Up v Edward Gaming
It’s another Group B v Group C match up, this time with RNG being the top seed. Both sides went 4-2 in their respective groups, and it looks like it will be a close one. Something RNG has over EDG is that RNG has been one of the most consistent rosters in LoL esports. While they’ve not been their best in 2021, they’ll pose a real threat to teams in a Bo5 situation. For EDG, it was an OK group, finishing in second and only losing two matches. They’ll come into the group with the confidence that they’ll be good enough to progress, and it’s a matchup many will be hyped for.
The odds are pretty split on this one, with a slight favour going over to EDG at 4/ 5. It’s unlikely to be a 3-0 for either side, and we could easily find ourselves in a full five-game series. Or us, it’s probably going to go the way of EDG as they come into the series having beaten better sides.
DAMWON v MAD Lions
After leaving it late to make it out of their group, MAD Lions probably did not want to face the Worlds 2021 favourites in the QUarter Finals. That’s what they’ve got, and that’s who they’ll need to beat. From what we’ve seen at Worlds, MAD can beat DAMWON, though if they can shock them three times in a Bo5 remains to be seen. DAMWON went undefeated in their group, and honestly never looked like dropping a game. Bo5 brings new strategies, but DAMWON has spent an entire year playing multi-game series, so they have vastly more experience than MAD Lions.
Odds wise, this might be the most one-sided in the entire group. DAMWON are at 1/ 8 to win, while MAD Lions stand at a massive 19/4. While we’d love to say MAD Lions is our pick here, we just can’t see it. I’d say that MAD Lions will take a game, however, but their style will likely not catch out DAMWON more than once.
Gen.G v Cloud9
The only other Western side to qualify, Cloud9 kept the hopes of North America alive. They’ve also been given possibly the best top seed draw they could have hoped for as they look to secure a Semi-Final spot. Cloud9 looked good in their group, really upsetting the apple cart along the way. With the other group favourites, FunPlus Phoenix finishing last, it shows how good Cloud9 really were. Though it was a three-way tiebreaker on the final day that decided it, Cloud9 now has the hopes of a region on their back.
Again, Cloud9 are not favourites here, at 11/5 to win while Gen.G stands at 1/ 3, Though this time, we think the underdog might just have what it takes. Again, Gen.G are better practised in Bo5 situations, which may well impact the result. However, I think Cloud9 have just enough talent, especially in EU mid laner Perkz to win the game.
*Odds correct at time of writing