The first quarterfinal of the 2021 League of Legends World Championship is right around the corner and will be a match between two Korean rivals from the LCK.Â
In the first best-of-five of the main event, T1 will clash with Hanwha Life for the first time since the LCK regional finals when T1 won a close 3-2 series. Even though that match happened less than two months ago, a lot has happened for both teams since then. Hanwha Life has ramped up starting with the Worlds play-in stage, while T1 topped group B ahead of LPL champion EDward Gaming against all odds.Â
Even though it’s an international event, it’s nothing new that two LCK teams will clash in the knockout stage. As seen in previous years, domestic matches at Worlds usually have their own way of playing out as both teams know each other very well. This is the case between T1 and Hanwha Life, who are accustomed to playing against each other through multiple meetings in the domestic season.Â
Betting on a match like this would usually be purely based on recent form at the event, but this time the team’s head-to-head throughout the year can also come into play. In 2021, the two teams played each other five times with T1 coming out on top in four of those occasions. This gives T1 a clear advantage, on top of the fact that the team has been looking better at Worlds. Â
Hanwha Life going into this match as the underdog is no surprise, and might even suit the players. With the star power in mid laner Jeong “Chovy” Ji-hoon, Hanwha Life can never be underestimated. The team proved this in group C, where it took down the likes of Fnatic, PSG Talon, and defending MSI champion Royal Never Give Up before ultimately finishing second.Â
For Hanwha Life to win, all players will need to show up and shut down the consistent and controlled play of T1. The bot lane of T1 has been incredible so far, which means that Hanwha Life bot laner Kim “Deft” Hyuk-kyu will have a big task ahead of him and needs to show his veteranship on the big stage. If this happens, fans might be looking at another five-game thriller between T1 and Hanwha Life.Â
If not, there’s a chance that T1 could roll over Chovy and the rest of Hanwha Life. T1 is one of the most experienced teams at Worlds and will know how to perform when it matters most.
To spice up the quarterfinals, we are once again looking at the esports stock exchange Fandex and how these two LCK teams are performing there. Both T1 and Hanwha Life have proven to be great investments so far at Worlds after the group stage.Â
Going into the quarterfinal, there will be a lot of potential in the Hanwha Life stock if the team manages to find the upset. A win here could see the Hanwha Life price rocket even further and surpass its current price of $25.46. With that said, this investment will be risky as T1 is the clear favorite. T1 winning will likely see its current stock price of $16.61 climb as well with a win, but not by as much.Â
T1 roster:Â
Hanwha Life roster:Â
With the head-to-head record in 2021 and performance at Worlds so far in mind, it’s clear that T1 will be the favorite to win this match and advance to the semifinals. Hanwha Life is currently struggling to perform when mid laner Chovy doesn’t carry his teammates, making the team fairly one-dimensional. This is something T1 can abuse as the squad has plenty of versatility across all roles. This alone makes it risky to bet on Hanwha Life even though the odds are attractive.
Betting on T1 to win will give pretty small odds of 1.25 in this one, while believers in Hanwha Life can harvest higher odds at 3.56 if the roster manages to pull the upset. It seems unlikely that it will happen, but it is very possible that Hanwha will take one or two games.Â
The quarterfinal between T1 and Hanwha Life kicks off on Friday, October 22.Â
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