DWG KIA vs. MAD Lions: Worlds 2021 betting analysis

William Davis Published 22/10/2021

It’s time to find out whether MAD Lions can keep the European World 2021 dream alive or if DWG KIA will keep its journey for a back-to-back trophy alive in the third quarterfinal match of the knockout round. 

A Europe versus Korea matchup is about to unfold, but this time MAD Lions has taken over where the likes of G2 Esports and Fnatic are usually present. As the only LEC team in the playoffs, MAD Lions has made it out of groups and will now be facing the potentially toughest opponent in the quarterfinals. 

DWG KIA topped group A with a flawless 6-0 record, and therefore remained undefeated in its chase to defend the Summoner’s Cup. DWG KIA topped its group in front of Cloud9, with Rogue and FunPlus Phoenix failing to advance. The performance of the defending world champion has been great so far and is indicating that DWG KIA should be considered the biggest favorite of all at this point. 

After losing the 2021 Mid-Season Invitational final to Royal Never Give Up, some started speculating if the DWG KIA era was already over. Since then, the team has proven differently with the same tightly coordinated and solid play style that was originally what led the team to victory. 

MAD Lions came out of the LEC with two trophies in the bag this year and is slowly starting to ramp up after a shaky first week at Worlds 2021. MAD Lions showcased against Gen.G and LNG Esports that its players are still strong mentally and can turn any late-game situation around if given the chance. This will be important against DWG KIA, who are usually unbeatable when given a lead. 

For MAD Lions to stand a chance against DWG KIA, the team will need to improve its early game compared to the group stage. Despite making it out of groups, MAD Lions struggled to keep up in the early game and had to rely on late-game coordination and outplays to take home wins. 

This is a strategy that likely won’t work against DWG KIA, as no team is better at closing out games when given a lead. DWG KIA is a team that can close out games with a single baron buff or an advantageous team fight. This will put MAD Lions on a clock and force the roster to stay focused and try to come up with some early-game aggression of its own. 

If jungler Javier “Elyoya” Batalla can show up and make things happen in the first minutes, fans might be looking at a closer series than believed.  

MAD Lions upset could pay off on Fandex

Playing the esports stock exchange on Fandex is always fun, especially with these intense Worlds playoff games. For a match as one-sided as this one between DWG KIA and MAD Lions, it’s pretty clear that there won’t be a lot to gain from the DWG KIA stocks even if the team wins. 

Instead, there could be a big profit to gain if MAD Lions do the seemingly impossible and find an upset against the Koreans. This would potentially go down as one of the greatest upsets in years, forcing the MAD Lions stock to skyrocket. Going into the series, MAD Lions has its stock valued at $10.16, but that will change if an upset happens. But this is only a pick for people who like to go for big gains.  

DWG KIA vs. MAD Lions rosters

DWG KIA roster: 

• Top – Kim “Khan” Dong-ha
• Jungle – Kim “Canyon” Geon-bu
• Mid – Heo “ShowMaker” Su
• Bot – Jang “Ghost” Yong-jun
• Support – Cho “BeryL” Geon-hee

MAD Lions roster: 

• Top – İrfan “Armut” Tükek
• Jungle – Javier “Elyoya” Batalla
• Mid – Marek “Humanoid” Brázda
• Bot – Matyáš “Carzzy” Orság
• Support – Norman “Kaiser” Kaiser

DWG KIA expected to dominate MAD Lions at Worlds quarters

As for the odds, there isn’t a lot of value to gain by believing in DWG KIA as the team will enter as a huge favorite. Everything is pointing towards a win for DWG KIA over MAD Lions, meaning that the odds will be very low for any DWG KIA bet. Looking at these odds, it’s not expected that MAD Lions will win even a single game. Even though DWG KIA is clearly the better team, MAD Lions is usually able to put up a fight against any opponent. If this happens against DWG KIA, we might look at one or maybe even two game wins for the Europeans, and that could pay off for bettors. 

Betting on DWG KIA in this match will give very low odds at 1.09. On the other side, MAD Lions is rocking extremely high odds of 6, but it would be a risky pick. 

DWG KIA will take on MAD Lions at Worlds 2021 on Sunday, October 24. The odds featured are gathered from the time of writing. 

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