The Worlds 2021 quarterfinals are over and there’s only one more round of play before the finalists are decided.
On one side of the bracket, two Korean superpowers compete for one slot to the finals. On the other, a resurgent Gen.G faces the LPL champions, fresh off a bloody five-game series against Royal Never Give Up. It’s important to gain bragging rights and cosmetic items with Riot Games’ Pick’Ems and the latest Fandex options.
All of DWG KIA, Gen.G, and T1 defeated their opponents in a showy 3-0 fashion, while EDward Gaming was taken the distance by RNG. It’s going to be an incredibly close semifinal stage at the World Championship.
EDward Gaming is the favorite over Gen.G in Worlds Pick’ems
Between Gen.G and EDward Gaming, it’s a tight race, but EDward Gaming is the team to roll with.
Gen.G demolished Cloud9 with a swift 3-0 without much difficulty. Gwak “Bdd” Bo-Seong, Gen.G’s mid laner, looked particularly dominant throughout the quarterfinal series. Opposite him in fellow Korean prodigy Lee “Scout” Ye-chan. With junglers Kim “Clid” Tae-min and Zhao “Jiejie” Li-Jie, the two-on-two skirmishes around mid promise to be epic. Clid in particular had a dominant third game in the series against Cloud9.
While Gen.G has certainly proven itself as an international competitor, WIN.gg has Edward Gaming moving on from this side of the bracket to the Worlds finals. Both of these teams have proven themselves again in the Worlds playoffs, and either one could easily take this match home.
DWG KIA likely to send T1 home in Worlds 2021
DWG KIA vs. T1 could easily have been the finals for the 2021 World Championship, but instead DWG Kia is likely to send T1 home with a bronze medal.
These two LCK representatives have arrived in absolute peak form and have been crushing every team unfortunate enough to get within arms’ reach. With the greatest player to ever touch the game, Lee “Faker” Sang-Hyeok, facing down against a new vanguard of regional talent in DWG KIA’s Heo “ShowMaker” Su, Kim “Canyon” Geon-bu and their teammates, this match promises to be one for the ages.
The one difficulty for predictions is that both of these teams met little resistance in their quarterfinals match, making it more difficult to gauge exactly how T1 will stack up when the LCK summer finals get a rematch on the Worlds stage. Just like the LCK finals, this can be expected to go in DWG KIA’s favor. This isn’t the safest bet in the Worlds 2021 Pick’Ems because it’s possible T1 has quietly hit a higher level than DWG KIA, but this is the choice to make.
Fandex observations on playoffs
Finally, for those who have been staking their claim to the fan-run marketplace of Fandex, here are the best opportunities in the Worlds 2021 semifinals.
Cloud9 was one of the best interest-making opportunities on Fandex, but you’d have wanted to unload anyone you could once it qualified for the quarterfinals. Unsurprisingly, it’s never a bad idea to snatch up shares in Korean teams, since the region almost always qualifies to later stages.
FunPlus Phoenix’s fall was likely the most brutal backlash for investors who had faith in the LPL Summer Split runners-up, where it looked like possibly the best team in the entire region. The sudden downturn in the second week of the group stage meant some unfortunate earnings for those who hadn’t offloaded what they had.
Damwon Kia looks to be a heavy favorite to win back-to-back World Championships. Picking it up early and turning upwards ticks in other teams into DWG KIA shares looks to be one of the best options in hindsight.
The next round of the playoffs begin on Sunday, October 31 with T1 facing DWG KIA. Make sure to lock in your choices for the Worlds 2021 semifinals Pick’Ems soon.
