League of Legends World Championship DFS preview

League of Legends fans, we are back. On Tuesday next week, we return to the action to wrap up our last tournament of 2021. We have a multi-week tournament upon us that features teams from across the world in one location. All the best of the best will be participate. We have 22 teams in this tournament, and I’m going to break down the first 10 teams playing.

The first round of matches are the play-in matches. It will be two pools of five in which each team will play each other in a best-of-one format. The top team in each pool will move on to the next round of play in matches with the big dogs. The second-, third- and fourth-place teams in each pool will move on to a best-of-five elimination bracket. The third- and fourth-place teams will face off, with the winners moving on to play the respective second-place teams. Those two matches will battle it out with the winner moving on to the next round of play in matches.

It’s a weird format, but you can see what I’m talking about here.

After this is done, we will have eliminated six teams, and the remaining 16 teams will battle it out in another round of best-of-one before moving on to the elimination bracket to crown the champion. We’ll get into those other teams another time.

My focus today the first round of play-ins, which consist of 10 teams. Some of these teams are new to all of you, but I’ve done some extensive research. I’ll be making some predictions along with talking about my favorite teams. Some might be bold, but I believe in the process.

Speaking of process, I feel like I need to mention this piece. It’s beyond important.

I want to discuss #hedgelife and what this means. When I say hedge, I really mean that we want to have action on both sides of the match. I will provide a ranking of my favorite stacks, but just because a stack is ranked last doesn’t mean I’ll have them in only one of my lineups. A few people have been lucky with game stacking in some of these slates, which means having both teams playing each other as your lineup. I do not recommend this approach, as it doesn’t hit often. Make sure to follow my Twitter for updates on starting lineups and any changes that I will be making as I research.

Lastly, I want to touch on contest selection. Contest selection is the most important thing to me and it’s the reason I hit big often enough. A lot of DFS players focus on playing in contests with 35,000 people because it’s only $10 to enter and they feel it’s easy to win money. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had a takedown and it barely cashed in the big GPP. Focus on contests with around 250-300 people, where you can max 7-10 entries. Use the #hedgelife strategy and max enter this contest and use the strategy in this article to profit. Trust me on this one.

Let’s dive into it. These are the 10 teams playing in four days in the best-of-one format before we get to the best-of-five elimination bracket.

Group stage (Round 1)

Hanwha Life Esports (HLE)

HLE somehow snuck into Worlds after a killer run during the LCK Regional Qualifiers. They had a terrible split but got hot at the right time to sneak into Worlds.

HLE spent most of the time feeding in losses while being one of the more aggressive teams in the LCK. I honestly think this group is so weak that they should easily go 3-1, but given the inconsistencies, I am concerned one of these bottom-of-the-barrel teams could upset them. Remember, it is best-of-one. I’m predicting they lose once to LNG and sweep the rest, but don’t be surprised if they go 2-2.

Prediction — Tied for first in Group A (3-1 record)

DFS targets (in order of preference): Chovy (MID) , Willer (JNG), Deft (ADC), Vsta (SUP), Morgan (Top)

LNG Esports (LNG)

The LPL is once again in an easy group this Worlds and I don’t see them losing, but given it’s best of one, I am predicting one loss here. LNG and HLE are used to best-of-three or best-of-five, and although I think they have the best shot to be undefeated, I think we get a loss in here. LNG is the Cinderella story of the LPL and one of my favorite teams in all of LoL so I’m a little bias, but I do think they come out on top of this group and with minimal issues.w

Prediction — Tied for first in Group A (3-1 record)

DFS targets — Light (ADC), Tarzan (JNG), Ale (TOP), Iwandy (SUP), Icon (MID)

Infinity Esports (INF)

The returning LLA Champs from MSI are back once again for Worlds. They had a surprising MSI but came up just short. They are a pretty aggressive team, and they will be in faster-paced matches this entire group stage. They rank as the most aggressive team in the group so my main target will be to either play them or play against them. I don’t think they’ll do enough to compete and if I have to pick a winless team in this group, it might just be these guys. They play in one of the weakest leagues and are overly aggressive.

Prediction — Tied for fourth in Group A (1-3 record)

DFS targets — Cody (MID), SolidSnake (JNG), Whitelotus (ADC), Buggax (TOP), Ackerman (SUP)

PEACE

Welcome the LCO to the Oceania League of Legends champs. PEACE is in another weak league and ended up on fire during the right time. They swept through the semifinals and swept the previous LCO champs to stamp their ticket to Worlds. In the semifinals and some of the regular season split, they played a little more aggressively. In losses, they didn’t feed as much so there is a chance they play super passive as opposed to PGG at MSI. They are a super-passive team that focuses on objectives and usually doesn’t score well in wins. Everyone is basically counting these guys out, but my research says to not necessarily write them off with zero wins. I honestly think they could beat RED and INF. These lower-tiered teams are definitely toss-ups. They are carried by their ADC and JNG, but they have some solid TOP and SUP players as well. I don’t hate their MID laner, but he’s one of the weaker ones on this team. My focus will be around the ADC, JNG, and TOP, but that TOP and SUP position can be interchanged. My prediction is they have a shot for 2 wins, but they might only end with one. Whether it’s against RED or INF, it’s a tossup, but I don’t think they beat both.

Prediction — Tied for fourth in Group A (1-3 record)

DFS targets — You can go focus on Babip (JNG), Violet (ADC), April (TOP) and Aladoric (SUP)

RED Canids (RED)

This team making it to Worlds is a massive shocker. They upset some of the best teams in the Brazilian League of Legends to get to this spot, but their time in Worlds will be limited. These guys play a lot like the aggressive teams of LEC and LPL, but a lot worse. They are a very aggressive team that could get sloppy at times. Given they are potentially playing three patient teams, I see them struggling a little bit here. That said, I think they surprise most of us and pull out two wins. They will have aggressive matches so we will target against them or play them in most lineups.

Prediction — Third in Group A (2-2 record)

DFS targets — Aegis (JNG), Grevthar (MID), Titan (ADC), Guigo (TOP), JoJo (SUP)

Beyond Gaming (BYD)

We finally get to see Beyond Gaming this Worlds tournament, and I’m excited to see what they bring to the table. The PCS runners-up were so close to ending the undefeated PSG squad but came up just short. They impressed all split and almost came out on top in the playoffs. In this Group B, I see them coming out on top. The only issue is the experience behind this team, but Doggo has had international experience in two straight events and has impressed. I can see him carrying even though the meta isn’t for ADC.

Prediction — First in Group B (4-0 record)

DFS targets — Doggo (ADC), Husha (JNG), Maoan (MID), Kino (SUP), Liang (TOP)

Cloud9 (C9)

Cloud9, also known as Clown9, has a chance for redemption this time around. The main teams in their path are DFM and BYD, but again, this is the team that lost to PGG at MSI. We know about these guys, so we don’t need to dive into how we feel about these guys, but I honestly think they either win this group or come up just short. I’m predicting they will disappoint again.

Prediction — Second in Group B (2-2 record)

DFS targets — Perkz (MID), Blaber (JNG), Zven (ADC), Vulcan (SUP), Fudge (TOP)

Detonation FocusMe (DFM)

Welcome to Javi’s second pick for Group B. This Japanese team has a solid carry over at JNG with Steal, but they play very, very, very slow. I honestly think they have a shot at upsetting a few teams so 3-1 is a realistic prediction here for the Japanese champions.They also have recent experience from MSI, and I think they will shock the world again.

Prediction — Third in Group B (3-1 record)

DFS targets — Steal (JNG), Aria (MID), Yutapon (ADC), Evi (Top), Gaeng(SUP)

Unicorns of Love (UOL)

Unfortunately, minimal love here. They are really a mixed bag of aggressive and non-aggressive. They don’t really have a consistent way of playing, so this is why I’m torn on them. I honestly want to have a wait and see approach on them in the beginning before deciding if I love them or not. They had a very poor MSI in which they got beat up so this could definitely happen once again. I think I side they go winless, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they do steal one.

Prediction — Fifth in Group B (0-4 record)

DFS targets — AHaHaCiK (JNG), Nomanz (MID), Argonaut (ADC), BOSS (TOP), SaNTAs (SUP)

Galatasaray Esports (GS)

GS is the Turkish League of Legends champion. This is a pretty unknown team. In the quarterfinals and semifinals of their league, they were so low scoring that it makes me feel gross. When we take a deeper dive into GS, we see they were one of the most aggressive teams during the regular season and they crushed in the finals. I think they sneak a win here, but I don’t have high hopes for them.

Prediction — Fourth in Group B (1-3 record)

DFS targets — Mojito (JNG), Alive (ADC), Bolulu (MID), Zergsting (SUP), Crazy (TOP)

Remember, the pool play is best-of-one, so anything can happen. I recommend doing multiple builds for each slate, especially for the best of one format. Below is an example of the kind of builds I’ll focus on. It will be very similar to this type of build.

CAPTAIN — TEAM A JNG
TOP — TEAM B TOP
JNG — TEAM B JNG
MID — TEAM A MID
ADC — TEAM A ADC
SUP — TEAM A SUP
TEAM — TEAM B

A similar hedge is as follows:

CAPTAIN — TEAM A ADC
TOP — TEAM A TOP
JNG — TEAM A JNG
MID — TEAM B MID
ADC — TEAM B ADC
SUP — TEAM A SUP
TEAM — TEAM B

I’m pretty much always in Discord, so hit me up with questions whenever you have them. Good luck.