MSI 2021 Knockout Stage Match Analysis and Predictions

The 2021 Mid-Season Invitational is entering its final phase, the Knockout Stage. The four best teams will play a best-of-5 series to advance to the finals. After a Rumble Stage full of upsets and surprises, things are getting more serious.

Let’s see what we can expect going forward and which teams we think will win.

RNG vs PSG Talon – Did RNG hide their potential?

RNG advancing to the Knockout Stage is no surprise to anyone. LPL is known for creating superteams that always perform well at international stages. After an “easy” group stage, RNG continued to dominate, for the most part, in the Rumble Stage. They managed to finish with a 7-3 record, dropping two games in the last three.

This put them 2nd in the standings, behind 1st place DK. While it may seem like DK is the better team, RNG’s recent performance felt like they were hiding something. They lost games that weren’t that meaningful to them and the whole impression is that RNG didn’t want to give out too much information once they were sure to advance.

One of these losses came right against PSG Talon. The PCS Representative was the dark horse of the Rumble Stage and their performance convinced everyone that they’re still a strong contender. They finished 3rd with a 6-4 record and always looked promising.

Not only they adapted well to the MSI meta, but the substitute ADC Chiu “Doggo” Tzu-Chuan has actually become one of the main stars of the team. He’s established himself as the 2nd/3rd best marksman in the whole tournament: it’s an impressive feat, considering the situation.

For this reason, the bot lane will become a crucial key to the series. Both Doggo and RNG’s ADC Chen “GALA” Wei can single-handedly win games if given the resources. We expect both teams to draft hyper carries and play around mid-bot to get leads.

Despite all the hype, we still think RNG will take the series 3-1. The LPL representative must have something up their sleeves still: we haven’t seen their peak performance yet. PSG Talon may likely take a win, but it will be unlikely for them to advance. In LoL Betting terms, we are looking at a potential x2.45 return on investment over at Betway.

MAD vs DK – Can EU win against KR?

Out of the two series, the MAD vs DK one is surely the most anticipated one. Everyone is waiting to see EU and KR battle it out, hoping to see a thrilling match. While it might be close, DK still has the potential to outright demolish the Lions.

Why do you ask? Well, remember that DK is last year’s World Champions. They’ve been the favorite to win MSI and despite the two losses to RNG, DK managed to win all the other games, ending 1st in the standings with an 8-2 record.

Not only that, but DAMWON Gaming managed to win these games without dominating. They were always able to play the mid-late game well and came out victorious all the time. Their understanding and execution in dire situations have been very strong: it will be hard for MAD to match that.

However, if there is something that the Lions can leverage, is the early game and the draft. KR is known for being quite stubborn and unoriginal in champ select and that puts them in unpleasant situations. MAD must work around that if they want to have a chance to win the series.

As for the early game, the series will revolve around the junglers. Javier “Elyoya” Prades Batalla and Kim “Canyon” Geon-bu will have to impact the map as much as possible to create opportunities. It will be very hard for Elyoya, who will face the best jungler in the world.

To conclude, we expect DK to take an easy 3-0 against MAD Lions. EU has still a lot to work on in order to compete with the best and DK seems a tier above. They might get away with a win, but that might be all she wrote. We are looking at a potential x2.35 return over at GG.BET.

Essentially both of the sites mentioned for MSI Odds offer similar returns if you tie both matches in a two-way accumulator, so the choice goes down to your esports bookmaker preference.