This week I’m going to run through some predictions, hopeful scenarios, and a quick glimpse at what the results of this tournament could mean going into the offseason.
Predictions:
Here’s a screenshot of my picks in the Riot Games, League of Legends Worlds Pick ’em.
Group A:
Group A statistically should not come in different than how I picked them, SKT1 has been the greatest team around for a long time. However, they slipped in the summer split but they have shown that when it comes to worlds it does not matter. 
I had a hard time picking the 2nd place but ultimately went with EDG over C9. I’m a die-hard #C9Win fan, but I think that EDG is tired of placing 5-8th at worlds and I think they could make a top 4 push this year.
AHQ has had a strong showing at worlds as of late, but last years failure to qualify for bracket play behind H2K lands them in the 4th spot.
Group B:
This is an interesting group as 3 of these teams have never qualified for worlds at all before. However, Immortals and Longzhu have some veteran players that have seen deep into the tournament before. LG take first in this group with Pray and Gorilla dominating the bot lane. IMT takes 2nd after beating up on a weak FNC team to send them home. FNC has not seen strong worlds play since 2015, and has struggled in the EULCS. IMT is a first-time worlds team and is going to be most likely eliminated after the group stage, but I have my eye on them as an upset alert that could put them at #1 in the group. GBM had a strong showing at MSI and in the play-in stage, however, they are going up against years of top-tier play and fail to qualify.
Group C:
I tried to find a way to get G2 into the 2nd spot in this group, but I can’t see Uzi (RNG) settling for anything less than first after his 2 previous 2nd place finishes. Samsung has proven they can win a world championship and this year they have supplied a roster as good and exciting as their 2014 world roster. G2 is undoubtedly the best team in Europe and has made that known but their poor worlds performance see’s them fall out early. Fenerbahce, making their first worlds appearance, gets slammed in a group stacked with veterans that are absolutely terrifying.
Group D:
We’re going to start this one from the bottom up, Misfits a first-time worlds team gets placed in a group filled with veterans and I can’t see it being anything short of a rough time. WE has seen a few good splits but a weak summer doesn’t help them pass the LMS champion Flash Wolves to slide into the 2nd spot. Flash Wolves, will probably win this group but I don’t have the heart to not give an NA team the 1st seed and I believe this could be TSM year. TSM has failed time and time again at the world’s stage, but their consistency is unprecedented if they are in their comfort zone.
Dream Scenarios:
CLOUD 9 WINNNNNNNNNNN. I don’t have any interest hiding my fandom from the North American powerhouse, but they consistently perform on the world’s stage and seeing them in the bracket play would not bring a real shock. This is probably highly unlikely due to the strength of their pool.
Group B in a perfect scenario we see the westerners of FNC, and IMT take the 1-2 spot, but as I said earlier the FNC roster is weak right now and I could even see them dropping a match to GBM.
Not a whole lot to dream about in Group C, as Fenerbache is a 1st-time team from a nondominant region. The best thing I’m looking for is G2 to finally show something on the world stage where it matters. MSI was a strong showing for G2, but if they can continue their play at the world stage is to be decided!
Group D, I have TSM at the top of the group already even though a 2nd place is likely due to their weak group performances of years past. I’d like to see a strong first-time performance from Misfits, hoping that they don’t go winless and we never hear from them again.
Outcomes:
I think that SKT1 takes their 3rd world championship in a row, and continues their dominance in South Korea. Behind that we see 1 NA team make it to the top 4, but it’s likely that we see 2 knocked out in groups and TSM making it to the first round of bracket play. After the trophy has been raised, the biggest shake-up is going to come from the NALCS as the franchising rules go into effect and we see a completely new North American structure in place, that will hopefully finally put the NA as a contending world region.
Interact with me and let me know how you feel about my picks, and share yours! World’s is one of my favorite events of the year, hears to a month of excellent play and a successful North American run!
Around The Sticks 