Day 3 of 2021 LoL Worlds is bound to deliver in every which way! So, as always, let’s take a closer look at all eight games and see which teams are favored and why — this is the point when betting makes the most sense as we finally have a solid enough sample size at our disposal. We’re at the halfway point of the Group Stage, and, needless to say, the pressure is starting to mount.
The #Worlds2021 Groups standings after day 2! pic.twitter.com/PjIFRDRnp9
— LoL Esports (@lolesports) October 12, 2021
Teams can no longer afford to experiment and test their limits — now is the time to deliver as a single game can end up being the difference between advancing further and waiting things out on the sidelines.
Regions ranked after day 2 of #Worlds2021 Groups:
1. #LPL 6-2
2. #LCK 5-3
3. #PCS 1-1
4. #LCS 2-4
4. #LEC 2-4
6. #LJL 0-2— LoL Esports (@lolesports) October 12, 2021
And that’s especially true for teams like FunPlus Phoenix and Cloud9 (just to name a couple) who failed to start off the “right” way. If they don’t pick up the pace, they’ll almost surely be packing their bags and heading back home in just a couple of days.
2021 LoL Worlds Group Stage | Day 3 Preview
What’ll happen, though, still remains to be seen — we’ve already witnessed a bunch of upsets (some of which made more sense than others), so just keep that in mind if you’re looking to put your hard-earned money on the line! There are never any guarantees when it comes to betting, and Day 3 of 2021 LoL Worlds should be no different in that regard!
Royal Never Give Up vs. Hanwha Life Esports
To start things off, we have a very interesting match-up between the 2021 Mid-Season Invitational champions and the fourth-best team from the LCK. Now, one thing became quite evident recently, and that is the fact that Hanwha’s beatdown of Fnatic wasn’t necessarily indicative of their immense strength, but rather of the tremendous regression the boys in black and orange went through with the loss of their starting ADC Elias “Upset” Lipp.
Don't miss a single match of ours at the #Worlds2021 Group Stage with this schedule! #RNGWIN pic.twitter.com/6PAXFEOpNj
— Royal Never Give Up (@RNG) October 11, 2021
Such a thing was to be expected, which means that Hanwha are currently the third-best team in their group and will have to pull off a small miracle to make it out. They’re very capable, there’s no doubt about it, but other than their stellar mid laner and marksman, they don’t have much to work with.
Expect a fairly competitive affair, but if RNG plays to the best of their ability, they’ll no doubt improve to 3W-0L with relative ease.
MAD Lions vs. LNG Esports
Yet another barnburner in the making! Both teams are now 1W-1L, and have been quite inconsistent in their performances — they both had moments of brilliance and moments of absolute mediocrity as well. Fortunately, the latter, it seems like, can mostly be attributed to “stage fright.”
Now, with a bit more experience behind their belts, they’re starting to show their true colors — and boy have they impressed!
MAD Lions’ win over Gen.G was a bit more impressive in that regard, but the difference between them and LNG is as minute as it gets. We’re going with the LEC champions on this one, but it could really go either way.
FunPlus Phoenix vs. Rogue
The sheer fact that Rogue looked better and more consistent than the 2019 World Champions simply boggles the mind. The boys in blue were by no means going to beat DWG KIA, but they actually fought back valiantly and even had a couple of stellar moments, too — a total surprise, given the odds.
?️FPX #Worlds2021 Group Stage Schedule!
(China Standard Time)
Please stay tuned and keep cheering for us!
Let's go Phoenix, Roar The Flame!?#FPXWIN #FPXLOL pic.twitter.com/N9pwOW0pHR— FPX (@FPX_Esports) October 10, 2021
FunPlus, on the other hand, Fumbled and failed their way en route to a shaky win over Cloud9. It wasn’t a good showing by any stretch of the imagination, but at least they got the job done and were eventually able to regain composure and close things out. They’re still a competitive LoL behemoth and are surely aware of the many mistakes they’ve made, so we’ll give them the benefit of the doubt on this one. With that being said, Rogue will not go down without a fight, and if FPX don’t step up, we might witness an upset for the ages here.
Fnatic vs. PSG Talon
What does even say about Fnatic at this point other than the fact that they’ve been dealt the absolute worst “hand” one can imagine? There’s just nothing to hope for, other than an upset further down the line. This venerable organization is known for pulling it together in the second phase of the Group Stage, but without Upset, by their side, there’s just no way they’ll be able to accomplish much, if anything at all.
The PCS champions might not be perfect when it comes to individual play and decision-making, but they’re definitely better than Fnatic at this point in time and should be able to prove it, too.
Gen.G vs. Team Liquid
Group D is basically wide open — everyone’s taking games off of each other, and there’s very little rhyme or reason behind what’s going on. Team Liquid’s game against LNG Esports was a far cry from their showing against MAD, and the same goes for their horrendous draft, too. We basically saw two entirely different shades of TL in the span of just two days which, in all fairness, was to be expected given their topsy-turvy run back on home soil.
The group stage is set and we're ready to take it all against @MADLions_EN, @TeamLiquidLoL, and @LNG_Esports next week ? #Worlds2021 pic.twitter.com/JSYJ0pRMSC
— Gen.G Esports (@GenG) October 10, 2021
Gen.G looked marginally better than MAD, but their play also left a lot to be desired. Still, they were by no means as egregious and ineffective as the former four-time LCS champions, so they’re still a shoo-in to make it out of groups until further notice.
This game is completely up in the air, but Gen.G simply has to be favored — although they’ve yet to earn our benefit of the doubt.
DWG KIA vs. Cloud9
Based on all that we’ve seen thus far, DWG KIA and EDward Gaming are two of the best and most capable teams at this year’s Worlds.
DWG KIA are better in every way, shape, and form, and will surely deliver yet another masterclass performance at the expense of the 2021 LCS Spring Split champions.
EDward Gaming vs. DetonatioN FocusMe
Continuing the trend of one-sided beatdown, we have EDward Gaming vs. DetonatioN FocusMe. The LJL champions are simply out of their element, and we mean that , in general, , not just against EDG. They’re good, but just not good enough to compete with the who’s who of competitive League.
By the same token, they’ve earned their shot at playing on the biggest of stages, but have very few tools to work with and have been getting smacked around by basically everyone they’ve been scheduled to play against — even 100 Thieves.
By the same token, EDward Gaming are in a league of their own and will surely outclass DFM as much (if not even more) as T1 did on the first day of Group Stage play.
T1 vs. 100 Thieves
Finally, to close things out, we have the venerable T1 facing off against 100 Thieves. Not exactly the most mind-blowing match-up at Worlds, but it’s not half-bad either. If the LCS champions draft for comfort and harness a bit of their inherent underdog status, they could definitely make things a bit more competitive than expected, but they really shouldn’t be able to do anything more than that.
Our schedule for the Worlds 2021 Group Stage.#T1WIN #T1Fighting #Worlds2021 pic.twitter.com/HV1gxDM1Hb
— T1 LoL (@T1LoL) October 11, 2021
T1 might not be as strong as they were “back in the day,” but they’re still a force to be reckoned with and are favored in this one for a reason.
