After the Play-In and the group stage, we have reached the quarterfinals of Worlds. After exceptional performances from the teams in the past week, only eight teams remain. This will be an interesting fight for the title since we have seen so many upsets in the competition so far. Even the strongest team cannot be a clear favorite for the title. Now the next three days will decide which of the four teams will remain standing for title contention.
The reason we have picked this match for you is the fact that it is the battle between Asian Giants. It’s the fight between South Korea and China. Kt Rolster has reigned supreme in Korea in the past six months while the same can be said for IG in China so it will an incredible practice for us to see which team will come out on top in the quarterfinal encounter.
Kt Rolster
This might be the year of salvation for the Kt Rolster! After two seasons in the shadows of the SKT and Gen.G (ex Samsung), Smeb and his team have finally managed to win their first LCK. The line-up finally worked and fulfilled its main goal, two years after the “creation” of their superteam. At the end of 2016, the organization had decided to form a team around their best player, Smeb, after failing twice to qualify for the World Championship. The top laner was joined by Score, PawN, Mata, and Deftto to form one of the strongest teams on paper. But the 2017 season was marked by two failures, the first against their eternal rivals, the SKT Telecom T1, and the second, the state of health of PawN that began to pose a problem for them in the Split.
World 2018 for Kt Rolster
For this 2018 season, the kt Rolster choose to give playing time to a young midlaner, His ” Ucal ” Woo-hyeon who was crucial for the team when Riot decided to change the meta for a while. In what was probably the most competitive season in the history of the LCK including the arrival of the “Super Rookies” with Griffin, kt Rolster got a first-place finish for the first time since their formation. After an exceptional performance in the grand finals, Smeb and his band reigned supreme, where their experience was quite clinical for the victory. After a Griffin mistake, kt Rolster made a comeback to the game and snatch the fifth map allowing them to win the league title and lift their first trophy of the LCK.
KT Rolster is, therefore, the main representatives of Korea at the World Championships. Applauded for their performance this summer, they were undoubtedly the favorites of this group C. The team is not dependent on one player. In fact, the squad remains very good on all the points, making them one of the strongest teams at the Worlds 2018.
Weakness in the squad
The only downside is located at the level of the bot lane which is not the most dominant. The duo had its problems against some phenomenal duos Uzi / Ming, Ruler / CoreJJ, or Doublelift / Olleh. The Korean side only dropped one game in Group C which was enough from their solid first place finish. One thing is certain, if KT Rolster does not choke, no doubt they will advance to the grand finals.
Invictus Gaming
The representative of the 2nd Chinese seed, Invictus Gaming is amongst the favorites of 2018 Championship. During the regular season of the LPL 2018 Summer, the team showed an exceptional performance and finished the season with an impressive score of (18 – 1). In the Playoffs
LPL final, the team narrowly fails (2 – 3) against the Royal Never Give Up. Among the players, Rookie, one of the best mid-laner of the competition, knows how to win, as his aim is to constantly exploit the slightest mistake of his opponents. In this regard, he won the MVP LPL Group title for Spring and Summer 2018. The duel between IG Rookie and FNC Caps in the group was an exceptional experience for the fans.
TheShy & Duke duo
Another major asset of the team is the top lane, with the players TheShy and Duke. After a hand injury in April, TheShy gave way to Duke during the regular season. For the Worlds, TheShy returns as the team’s top main laner, ready to establish his dominance on his lane.
Despite good results in LPL, Invictus Gaming has been unlucky at the international level, missing the qualifications of the Worlds 2016 and 2017. In 2015, they were eliminated in the Group phases, including an abandoned game against Fnatic.
Yet it is a very strong team that comes to the doors of the tournament in order to give themselves a name on the stage of the Worlds. The Group stage was easy enough for this team which sees them competing against the Korean giants in the quarterfinals. Indeed, their beautiful results of the regular season indicate that they have all their chances to go far in the competition.
Final Verdict
Reaching the quarterfinals is a good feat for this IG team compared to their previous results. unlike Kt, IG was beaten twice in the group stage. The two defeats of IG took place in the easiest group of the tournament. This is the first big test of the team and it is highly likely that they will fail. After the early elimination of Liquid, the road to the grand final is easier for Kt Rolster. Kt beat some of the biggest teams in the world while IG was beaten by one of the weakest teams of the competition. Therefore, it is fair to say that KT Rolster has got this series in the bag.
Odds on bookmakers
| Bookmakers | Kt Rolster Odds | Invictus Gaming Odds | ||
| European | American | European | American | |
| Arcanebet.com | 1.31 | -322 | 3.28 | +228.00 |
| Buff88 | 1.31 | -322 | 3.29 | +229.00 |
| Loot.bet | 1.34 | -294 | 3.10 | +210.00 |
| EGB.com | 1.26 | -384 | 3.13 | +213.00 |
| 1XBet | 1.27 | -370 | 3.84 | +284.00 |
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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