Worlds 2021 begins with a fantastic matchup between Hanwha Life and LNG. In a classic matchup of China versus Korea both teams qualified through the regional gauntlet and turned in on towards the end of the summer season. Another premier matchup is the second to last game between Cloud9 and Detonation FocusMe. These two teams have met twice before on the international stage at Worlds 2018 and MSI 2021. Cloud9 holds the all-time series at 3-1 but every single game between these teams have been competitive.
Here’s a core lineup of 2 players and one TEAM whose strong performances at MSI 2021 bode well for their Worlds 2021 aspirations for DraftKings and FanDuel on October 5
| MVP | ||
| Top Lane | ||
| Jungle | ||
| Mid Lane | Aria (DFM) | $7,000 DK, $8,800 FD |
| AD Carry | Doggo (BYG) | $7,600 DK, $10,100 FD |
| Support | ||
| TEAM | Detonation FocusMe (DFM) | $4,800 DK, $7,600 FD |
Young LJL superstar Aria ($7,000 DK, $8,800 FD) had another dominant split over in Japan for Detonation FocusMe. He led the league in KDA, kills per game, and deaths per game terrorizing people on Ryze and LeBlanc, two champions that have popped back into the meta across regional playoffs around the world. He’s widely considered to be the best prospect from the LJL after taking over from previous top player Ceros at the beginning of 2021. Aria didn’t have as dominant performances at MSI going up against world-class players like Perkz and ShowMaker but the play-in stage at worlds has much easier competition.
The last time Doggo ($7,600 DK, $10,100 FD) stepped on the international stage at MSI 2021 he was the surprise of the tournament. Playing for PSG Talon as an emergency substitute many weren’t expecting him to have an impact and would likely hurt PSG Talon’s chances. The opposite happened where Doggo was able to utilize his aggressive playstyle to elevate his team’s success and take PSG Talon to the semifinals where they fell to eventual winners, RNG. Now back on Beyond Gaming he’s done more of the same leading his team over the dominant PSG in the winner’s bracket final of the playoffs before falling to them in the grand final 2-3.
Detonation FocusMe ($4,800 DK, $7,600 FD) is facing off against the Unicorns of Love. If we flash back to MSI 2021 despite not making it out of the play-in stage, Detonation FocusMe looked great in a difficult group with Cloud9 and Damwon. DFM almost took down Damwon in both games against and went 1-1 against Cloud9. Looking at the Unicorns of Love performance at MSI they were lucky enough to have only three teams in their group with the top two making it out and had the worst team in the tournament, Pentanet.GG, in their group. However, they were unable to advance from their group at MSI losing a tie-breaker game and finishing with a record of 2-7. After MSI DFM dominated their region whereas the Unicorns almost missed out on worlds.
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- Which players’ poor MSI shouldn’t have you worried
- Which two players are most important for a key matchup between HLE and LNG
- Two strong MVP picks
- Strategy on how to build your lineups for the different FanDuel and DraftKings match slates
The Play-In stage kicks off with eight games with matches from both groups. Out of those eight games, DraftKings and FanDuel’s daily games include only four out of the eight. For Tuesday’s matches DraftKings’ set of four games is: LNG vs PCE, HLE vs INF, UOL vs DFM, GS vs BYG and FanDuel’s set of four games is: HLE vs LNG, INF vs RED, UOL vs DFM, GS vs BYG.
Gameplan
Whether it’s MSI or Worlds, the first day of an international tournament is the hardest to predict as different regions have yet to face off. The playstyles are different, champion priority is different which either leads to one-sided stomps or 40 minutes bangers. Especially with the play-in stage where minor regions will be taking on each other as well as the major regions, it’s difficult to place teams in a linear order. There’s plenty of value to scoop up on all the minor region teams playing against each other as no one knows what is going to happen.
MVP Picks
Chovy ($11,700 [MVP] DK) is widely considered to be one of the best mechanical players in the world and is even in contention for best mid laner in the world with players like Doinb and ShowMaker. Chovy has flawless laning which ultimately puts him up in gold even when his team is behind. Chovy kept Hanwha Life afloat when they were struggling at the beginning of the summer 2021 season needing to 1v9 the game for them to win. When they finally figured everything out Hanwha looked like a well oiled machine. They took down T1 2-0 to end the regular season and ran through the gauntlet 3-1, 3-0, dropping to T1 in the finals to finish as the LCK’s number four seed at worlds.
Yutapon ($9,800 FD) is Detonation FocusMe’s reliable carry who will be relevant in the game even if he isn’t getting resources. He exclusively played hard-carries in the regular season and playoffs in the LJL always dishing out more damage the later the game goes. He’s only second behind Aria in KDA and was top three in all major scoring categories among AD carries in the LJL.
Tier One Picks
Chovy’s partner in crime Deft ($7,800 DK) aided in keeping Hanwha upright when they were struggling. Once Hanwha was able to figure out their starting roster late into the summer split everything came together with Deft shining in lane and teamfights. Him and Vsta have finally seem to come together and are looking great going into Worlds 2021. In the regional gauntlet Deft took over Chovy’s duties as 1v9 master completely smashing both Liiv Sandbox and Nongshim on Varus and Ashe. Look for Deft’s strong performances to roll over into worlds against much weaker opponents.
Similar to Doggo, Maoan ($9,200) was right behind him in terms of his impact on Beyond Gaming when challenging PSG Talon for the top spot in the PCS. Maoan was right under top mid laner Maple in all major scoring categories slightly edging him in kills per game. Maoan has a very wide champion pool with a more supportive playstyle to help the primary carries in Doggo and Husha take over the game.
Tier Two Picks
BOSS ($6,000 DK) had a very disappointing showing at MSI 2021. He’s been a great player domestically and internationally for the Unicorns of Love so don’t let a few bad games at MSI detract from his previous results. Yes, the Unicorns of Love stock has dropped since MSI but don’t minimize his impact in the game with great side laning and teamfighting.
Ale ($8,200 FD) and Tarzan ($8,500 FD) were the two massive carries that single-handedly brought LNG to the world championship. LNG finished eighth at the end of the regular season in the LPL and many were convinced they weren’t a threat. During the playoffs they eliminated former worlds 2020 attendees Suning and Top Esports plus they bounced MSI 2021 champions RNG. They ultimately dropped to number one and two teams EDG and FPX respectively at the end of playoffs but qualified to worlds through the regional gauntlet. If LNG is going to beat Hanwha in the first match of Worlds 2021, Ale and Tarzan are going to be the players to do so.
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