Worlds 2021 Play-In Match Predictions – Worlds are Here!

LoL Esports

October 5, 2021

Davide Xu

Worlds 2021 is finally here! After months of anticipation and hype, the biggest tournament of the year is starting in Iceland!
We saw how the Groups Draw were two weeks ago, and now the event will start with the Play-in Stage. Two groups of five will battle it out to see who gets the privilege to continue their journey at Worlds 2021! We will cover some of the most important matches and what we can expect from them!

As always, with our predictions we will be helping you with your LoL Worlds betting and make some sweet cash in this one month full of action! Let’s get right into it!

PEACE vs Hanwha Life Esports – October 6th – 13:00 CET

Starting off, our first featured match is the battle between OCE Representative PEACE and the LCK 4th seed HLE. While it may look like a very one-sided game, the addition of Kiss “Vizicsacsi” Tamás in the top lane adds a lot more uncertainty than most people would think.

Why? Well, HLE’s top laner Park “Morgan” Gi-tae had very bad lows during the season. He struggled to remain consistent and was sometimes a big liability for the team. There are a lot of question marks regarding his performance, and he might suffer Vizicsascsi on an individual level

Remember that if HLE managed to make it to Worlds this year, it’s mainly thanks to their insane mid-laner Jeong “Chovy” Ji-hoon. Just like last year, he is the core of the team, but unfortunately, he doesn’t have a strong roster to support him. Towards the end of the split, we saw ADC Kim “Deft” Hyuk-kyu stepping up, but we still need to wait and see if he’s at his peak once again.

On the other hand, PEACE found themselves with visa issues and the top laner Yao “Apii” Jian-Jing as well the jungler Thomas “LeeSA” Ma weren’t able to attend. This is why Vizicsacsi stepped in, hoping to raise the team’s chances of going through.

With that being said, the LoL Worlds odds are still in HLE’s favor. GG.bet hard agrees with this statement, to the point where HLE’s win is only 1.05x. Nonetheless, I think there are big opportunities to capitalize on. For example, the First Blood for PEACE is quoted at 2.31x. Considering how PEACE will want to play around their EU top laner, and Morgan’s being the weak link, we will witness early game action on the top side of the map. As a consequence, Rift Herald might become a contested objective: if PEACE is able to get a lead, then it’s logical they will get it. (2.57x)

Beyond Gaming vs Cloud9 – October 6th – 17:00 CET

Now that we saw a game in Group A, we will be looking at the Match of the Day of Group B: BYG vs C9. The two favorites of the group will clash to see who’s the better team.

On one side, we have BYG, who were the eternal second this season over at the PCS. Despite being one tier lower compared to first place PSG Talon, they put up a good fight and brought them to Silver Scrapes in the Summer Playoffs. The best player in the BYG’s lineup is unquestionably ADC Chiu “Doggo” Tzu-Chuan. He already had an international experience this year at MSI, when he replaced PSG Talon’s ADC Wong “Unified” Chun Kit. Now that he’s at League of Legends World Champions with his own team, he will surprise everyone.

Going up against Cloud9 won’t be easy. The LCS 3rd seed technically has the better individual players, with Luka “Perkz” Perković and Jesper “Zven” Svenningsen being the shining stars of the roster. There are always doubts regarding C9’s consistency and that is something to watch out for during the play-ins. Nonetheless, both teams are expected to be in the top 2 by the end of the play-ins. It will be just a matter of who gets a bye Groups Stage.

On paper, Cloud9 is favored coming into this match, although not by a big margin. The odds for a C9 win is 1.61x, while for BYG is 2.25x. To me, the series will be a lot closer than people might anticipate. PCS is no longer a one-team region and the competition has caught up. If BYG is able to snowball Doggo accordingly, he will solo carry the game on his own.

With that in mind, we can expect BYG to play around his bot lane, with better drake control. The First Dragon for BYG will net you 2.34x: it’s worth a try. Also, the First Tower seems a reasonable bet: 1.81x for C9 and 1.95x for BYG. You can decide which of the two to bet on based on how the drafts go. Remember that it is a vital element for all your bets. Another bet worth making is on game duration: both teams have an average of 32+ minute games. By going over 32.5 on game duration, you will be able to almost double your investment. (1.9x)