The biggest League of Legends event of the year is here, with the world’s best teams competing for a $486,000 prize. With the play-ins out of the way, it’s time now for the main event.
Twelve teams scrapped and fought across a week of heated contests, and four finally emerged: Fnatic, DRX, Evil Geniuses and Royal Never Give Up will compete in the group stage.
The main event features 16 teams split into four groups. The top two that seed after a double round robin conducted across each group will progress to the knockouts. The world champion will be crowned on November 5.
It’s going to be a pretty tight contest over the next month, but there’s no doubt some teams are a cut above the rest. Gen.G are the favorites at odds of +195, followed by the LPL’s JD Gaming at +230. Next on the oddsboard are Top Esports (+280), Edward Gaming (+550) and T1 (+600).
Check out our guide for how to bet on League of Legends Worlds, and let’s take a closer look at the event.
| Team | Odds |
|---|---|
| Gen.G | +195 |
| JD Gaming | +230 |
| Top Esports | +280 |
| Edward Gaming | +550 |
| T1 | +600 |
Odds as of October 8 at Sportsbook
Favorites To Win Worlds
Gen.G (+195)
After finishing as runners-up three times and in third place twice across the last five LCK splits, Gen.G created history this summer by winning Korea’s LoL championship for the first time ever. Their campaign was as close to perfect as it could possibly get, wrapping up the round robin with a 94 percent win record after having lost just one of their regular-season games.
Those three months showcased an incredible display of dominance from a team that has stood frustratingly on the sidelines for the past three years. After coasting through the regular season, Gen.G didn’t encounter a single obstacle in their path in the playoffs either.
After brushing aside Liiv Sandbox 3-1 in the semis, they might have felt a few nerves coming up against T1, the only team who’d beaten them in the round robin. In the end they obliterated them, winning 3-0. Gen.G are currently the strongest team in Korea, and the ease with which they secured their maiden LCK title makes them the top contenders for the world championship.
JD Gaming (+230)
One month ago, JD Gaming soared to their first LPL victory since the spring of 2020, and it’s been a long time coming for this talented group of players. They won 14 and lost just two series in the regular season, and finished second in the standings behind Top Esports with a 29-12 record.
Within the first couple of weeks, it was clear that the race for the title would be between these two teams. JD’s only two losses in the regular season came against FunPlus Phoenix and RNG, and aside from these two hiccups it was a smooth campaign.
After putting down LNG 3-0 in round 4 of the playoffs, they would come up against Top twice more in the semifinals and finals. Considering that they’d beaten Top in both series of the regular season, this didn’t scare JD too much and they eventually triumphed, lifting the title after three years following a 3-2 win in the grand final. If JD carries on their phenomenal form from the LPL, there’ll be no stopping them at Worlds.
Top Esports (+280)
Finishing as runners-up in the LPL summer was a disappointing end to a great campaign from Top Esports. This is the second LPL final they’ve appeared in and lost this year, and it must be truly agonizing to be stopped short on consecutive occasions. No other team in the LPL could touch them this year aside from JD Gaming, their Achilles heel.
The situation is the reverse of what it was two years ago; in the summer of 2020, Top lifted the LPL trophy while JD watched on as runners-up. There’s been a bit of rivalry between the two teams since then, and it’s led to some great contests.
Throughout the regular season Top looked like the most centered, well-rounded unit, but their nerves in the final stages of the tournament cost them their title. It’s hard to think of any other team that matches their caliber at Worlds.
Underdogs To Win Worlds
While the three teams listed above are the most likely to bring home the championship, let’s have a look at the underdogs who are in with a shot too.
DRX (+800)
The No. 4 seed from the LCK brutally defeated their opponents at the play-ins, with not a single other team in their group able to come close to their standard of play.
Their road to the Worlds was far from straightforward. After seeding at an uninspiring sixth place at the LCK playoffs, they had to defeat KT and Liiv Sandbox at the regional finals before becoming eligible for the play-ins. When they got to New Mexico, however, they became almost unrecognizable. DRX ended with a 5-0 result, becoming the only team in the play-ins to go undefeated.
Their victory over RNG was totally unexpected and will stand out as among the best games of the tournament. Mid laner Zeka has been incredible, and he will certainly put DRX on the map as one of the teams to watch out for in the Worlds.
Fnatic (+5400)
Fnatic was not the best team in the LEC by a long way – that laurel belongs to Rogue Esports, who just won the title – and in fact, they were only the fourth seed. They’re on this list because they have an uncanny ability to exceed expectations and turn in unbelievable performances when the chips are down.
Fnatic’s camp was ravaged by COVID at the worst possible time, delaying visas and certain members’ entry into the country. Upset arrived in New Mexico just a day before the start of the play-ins, and support Hylissang only arrived on Day 2. In spite of this, they achieved a 4-1 result, showing that they refuse to back down in the face of catastrophe.
LoL Worlds Betting Strategy
Aside from the outright bets, like predicting the Sportsbook of games in the main event, or the teams that will qualify for the knockouts, there are plenty of prop bets available that add more diversity and engagement to each game. You don’t need to stop at just picking the Sportsbook or loser, you can try to guess which team is likely to draw first blood or destroy the first tower, or predict head-to-head kills.
As far as your outright bets are concerned, we suggest you stick with the teams based out of China and Japan, particularly JD Gaming and Gen.G. While these two won their respective splits, you certainly should not write off last year’s world champions Edward Gaming, or the LPL third seed and Mid-Season Invitational Sportsbooks Royal Never Give Up.
Certainly keep an eye out for LCK runners-up T1, who last won Worlds in 2016 and have a point to prove after they were struck down by Gen.G.
Looking up stats from each team’s performances in their recent splits should make your in-game bets a lot less dependent on guesswork. For instance, Gen.G had an extraordinarily high first-blood rate of 67.5 percent at the LCK regular season, which means they’re early aggressors and the ideal pick in this category.
