by League Champions Korea returns to our screens on July 25 with an exciting match between Gen.G and SKT T1, two of the hottest teams in the competition at the moment.
SKT had a short week six, with only one match on the schedule. Even that was against Jin Air Green Wings, who have managed only one win over the course of two splits.
While it should come as no surprise that the most successful team in LoL esports history defeated Green Wings, the match was closer than expected. Even so, SKT’s class shone through as they claimed two straight maps to extend their winning streak to five.
That result takes the three-time world champions to 6-5 and puts them just outside the playoff spots. They face a tough run home, however, with matches against Griffin, Kingzone DragonX, Afreeca Freecs, Hanwha Life Esports, and the top two teams DAMWON Gaming and SANDBOX Gaming in the final week.
That nightmare stretch begins with Gen.G, who have played exceptionally well in the last couple of weeks. Following their perfect 2-0 week five, when Gen.G defeated Griffin (2-0) and Hanwha Life Esports (2-0), they impressed once more with wins against SANDBOX (2-0) and Kingzone DragonX (2-1) last week to go 8-4 with a four-game winning streak.
A lot of credit for Gen.G’s sudden rise from a mid-table team to a playoff contender goes to their top laner Lee “CuVee” Seong-jin and mid laner Song “Fly” Yong-jun, as they have both stepped up for their team with a streak of great performances.
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Like SKT, however, Gen.G are no guarantee to reach playoffs and have a tricky run of fixtures late in the split. After this, they must take on KT Rolster, who defeated them in week two, then Jin Air Green Wings, Griffin, Afreeca Freecs, and DAMWON Gaming on the final day.
Gen.G vs SKT betting predictions
Both teams will view this fixture as a must-win. The question is: which team can perform better under pressure? Or better yet, which team can use that pressure to their advantage?
When Gen.G met with SKT in week four, it was Faker and his crew who came out ahead with a dominant 2-0 win. It took them only 41 minutes to win the first map with an impressive 13-3 score and 18.2k gold lead, so the former world champs will take plenty of confidence into this week’s rematch.
BetOnline has SKT as -175.44 favourites to win, yet a blowout seems unlikely. Gen.G (+125) are in great form and will not go down as easily as last time. It is also worth noting that SKT have not played any top-six teams in their past three matches, whereas Gen.G took down the league leaders SANDBOX and third-placed Kingzone DragonX last week.
This one could easily go either way, which is why we won’t be backing any side to win. Instead, we will put our money each team to win at least one map in a three-part thriller.
Prediction: Over 2.5 maps – +100 at BetOnline
