LoL World Championship 2018 has started and it is raining with a ton of action around the corner. We have reached a long way to the quarterfinals where eight teams will fight for supremacy and ultimately a slot for the semis. Let’s have a look at one of the matches of the biggest competition of League of Legends, Worlds.
The reason why we have picked this match you is due to the fact the Korean giants will be competing against the only NA team. Cloud 9 was never expected to reach this stage of the competition while Afreeca Freecs is one of the contenders to lift the title this year. So can Cloud 9 cause a huge upset? Or will Afreeca Freecs comprehensively beat them? Let’s have a look at both teams.
Cloud 9, The element of surprise
Should we still count on Cloud 9? This is their sixth participation in the Worlds, and also the only American team to regularly go out of the group stage. Cloud 9 is known for its multiple miracle triumphs, qualified from the Split at third place in as many consecutive years. No one is waiting for a Cloud 9 title winning performance yet they are the last hope of the NA LCS at the Worlds.
This season, however, the team has made multiple changes to its roster. The team even had to put their star players Jensen and Sneaky on the sidelines. These changes were not received well by the fans. But over the long term, this strategy has allowed them to form a more consistent and cohesive team while allowing Blaber, their promising Jungler / rookie to gain experience.
However, the unconvincing performance of Cloud 9 against Gambit Esports in the play-in final was enough to scare the team’s fan. Fortunately, Sneaky was there to save them.
After barely surviving the group stage, Cloud 9 has silenced its critics by appearing in the top 8 teams of League of Legends competitive scene.
Cloud 9 will start this quarter-final encounter with a lot of questions that need to be answered. If they are not destined to beat the Korean giants, there is still the EU vs. NA rivalry to satisfy.
Afreeca Freecs in search of dominance in front of its audience
Finalist in the spring and 3rd in the summer, Afreeca Freecs is not the best LCK team but their consistency allowed them to get 2nd place in the qualifiers. The organization combines experience and young talents to form a very formidable lineup. Indeed, 5 of the 6 players have been playing together since 2016 and this great chemistry is one of the many reasons for their consistent form this year.
Kuro – The performing star
One of the stars of the team is Kuro. He has already played two World Cup Grand Finals, including the one in which he reached the finals with the Koo Tigers in 2015. No doubt they are also aiming for the first place in the group, at home!
To accomplish this mission, they will be able to count on their strategic superiority, specific to many Korean teams. Kiin, the top laner, is a real monster and he had the honor of representing South Korea at the Asian Games 2018. No doubt they will try to get him a favorable position with, we hope, some very aggressive champions!
Lee “Spirit” Da-Yoon – The key to victory
Among the veterans, we can count Spirit who despite his slow start in the season remains a leader and an excellent jungler. He will play the 2nd World Cup of his career, the first being the one he had lived at the time of Samsung Blue.
He was the first jungler for the SSB team in 2014. With many of his compatriots, he left Korea subsequently preferring China for a while. After a full year at WE with rather mixed results, he then went to the old continent.
He joined one of the most recognized teams in the region, if not the most successful: Fnatic. Alongside Rekkles and Febiven, he confirmed his position as a world-class jungler, especially on his Lee Sin, at the IEM where the team finished at second after a defeat in the finals against SKT T1. Despite its good performance, Fnatic wasn’t able to qualify for the 2016 Worlds.
With this experience, Spirit returned the following year at home and joined the young team Afreeca Freecs. Although in 2017 the team still seemed relatively fragile, it is in 2018 that players express their full potential. They qualified for this Worlds edition, marking the return of Spirit after four long years away from the most important competition: the coveted World Champion title.
Final Verdict
After looking at both teams, it is a wise choice for tipsters to pick Afreeca Freecs. The Korean side is just a powerhouse. They have beaten the likes of SK Telecom T1 this year multiple times to come at this stage. So, it is highly unlikely that a team like Cloud 9, who many say is just lucky to be here, could beat Afreeca Freecs.
Cloud 9 2 – 3 Afreeca Freecs
Odds on bookmakers
| Bookmakers | Afreeca Freecs Odds | Cloud 9 Odds | ||
| European | American | European | American | |
| Arcanebet.com | 1.30 | -333 | 3.42 | +242.00 |
| Buff88 | 1.30 | -333 | 3.42 | +242.00 |
| GG.bet | 1.32 | -312 | 3.09 | +209.00 |
| Betway | 1.25 | -400 | 3.55 | +255.00 |
| X-bet.co | 1.30 | -333 | 3.42 | +242.00 |
Shehryar is a professional eSports analyst with a particular affinity for CS:GO, LoL, and DOTA. He covers major eSports events across the world for WagerBop.
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