Worlds play-offs finally begins on Thursday, the first match up is DRX versus DWG, and Friday features SN versus JDG: two hyped match ups featuring teams from the same regions. Picks are relatively straight-forward for the matches aside from one role; and you’ll already know which if you’ve been paying attention. Let’s get into it.

Captain

Canyon ($10,200)

Picking junglers for captains ameliorates a lot of the issues elsewhere in the roster: it allows you to build a full roster of quality players without needing to compromise on picks due to cash. It should come to no surprise, therefore, that Canyon is our captain on the day. Pyosik has leveled up his play when he stepped onto the worlds stage, but not even that was enough to secure a win over TES. On the other hand, Canyon has shown his strength the entire time; he was the strongest jungler in Korea and holds an 8.44 KDA at worlds so far. Typically, picking junglers isn’t a fantastic idea due to their lower CS numbers, but due to the meta junglers being fast clearers such as Graves, Nidalee, and Lillia, picking up a jungler as a captain is a fantastic idea. That being said; if you want a different captain, I would actually choose Nuguri. I’ll explain why later, but he’s probably the second best pick considering the competition on the day.

Alternatives to consider: Nuguri ($9,600) 

Top Lane

Nuguri ($6,400)

So, here’s the thing about top lane: Zoom and Bin are really closely matched, meanwhile, we already saw the outcome of Nuguri vs Doran, and it ended seriously badly for Doran. While each of the DRX member leveled up after coming to worlds, Doran’s performances were still relatively mediocre; and that can be seen by DRX failing to find a win against TES. While Doran performed fine against the NA and Wildcard representatives, 369 was way too much to handle, even when he was given a favorable match-up. Doran got slaughtered the last two these met, and I expect the same to happen on Thursday. Zoom is still really good, but Bin has shown extreme promise throughout the tournament; it’s a coinflip between the two, but I favor Zoom.

Alternatives to consider: Zoom ($6,200)

Jungle

SofM ($6,400)

This is really the big question on the day: Kanavi, or SofM? The meta definitely favors SofM, who prefers a more aggressive carry style. Meanwhile, Kanavi has the stronger team, but his pool of mostly early game junglers (Olaf, Elise, Lee sin) are just not good choices right now. I believe League of Legends coach Jensen Goh was correct in his assessment “The meta most closely favors, of all teams at worlds, Suning.” I certainly agree; while strong mid laners are capable of contesting Angel in the mid lane, Huanfeng has shown to be a dominant ADC, and Bin has shown promise in the top lane. I don’t know who will win the series, but I prefer SofM over Kanavi due to his picks being very strong meta picks right now.

Alternatives to consider: Kanavi ($6,600)

Mid Lane

Yagao ($7,400)

While Yagao is the third straight mid laner on the day, this decision is extremely simple. Chovy and Showmaker are so extremely close relative to Yagao and Angel. Angel isn’t going to be absolutely destroyed, but relative to the other three mid laners playing, he’s mostly just “along for the ride” on picks like Galio, Orianna, or a more passive style of Syndra (in contrast to Knight’s). Yagao’s Zoe is one of the best in the world, and while his pool isn’t as expansive as the other three mid laners, he’s adept and world class in his own right. Chovy versus Showmaker is a complete coinflip, and it’s not worth it in my mind to throw a DWG slot at Showmaker when you can instead use that slot elsewhere, and take a match-up with more parity between it.

Alternatives to consider: Showmaker ($7,600)

ADC

Ghost ($7,800)

Furthermore, having DWG slots lets us dodge the AD match-up. Ghost has been a weak point for DWG, but this dude can farm KDA like no one’s business. Ghost exited group stage with the highest KDA out of all ADCs at an astounding ten, and while their group was kind of a breeze, DRX had, arguably, an even weaker group. I hold nothing against Deft; in fact, DRX’s bottom lane is likely the better bottom lane. However, there’s no doubt in my mind that Ghost will play safe, and farm to victory just like DWG did against JDG (the first time). Ghost is a really good pick due to how safe he is, while SN’s bottom lane has the pressure to carry the team, and Loken has looked… hot and cold in the past. If you really want a different option, I’d suggest Huanfeng; he’s looked fantastic aside from SN’s one game against TL.

Alternatives to consider: Huanfeng ($7,400)

Support

LvMao ($5,600)

Support is probably the strongest role on the day: Keria, LvMao, and SwordArt are all likely in the top four supports in the entire world. Furthermore, Beryl is the likely winner against Keria due to how gapped his top side is, and losing does unfortunate things to your KDA. Therefore, I recommend LvMao; I think Suning are really strong right now, but LvMao has shown extreme promise throughout the year and is a consistent highlight for JDG. I think if SN don’t ban Bard, JDG have this series on absolute lock; LvMao is easily the best Bard in the world. I can’t say anything bad about SwordArt either, and Beryl isn’t worth a DWG slot. It’s truly an instance of everyone just being really good on the day; but LvMao eeks out the advantage due to the absolutely fantastic performances he’s shown in the past.

Alternatives to consider: SwordArt ($5,400)

Team

Damwon Gaming ($5,400)

DWG versus DRX is the much easier match-up, while Suning and JDG didn’t face each other in the LPL play-offs, JDG did give TES a run for their money. Meanwhile, DRX got absolutely obliterated by DWG through their top side. Doran is nowhere near as good as Nuguri, and while Pyosik has looked better, he’s been playing against weaker junglers at worlds relative to in LCK. Canyon will likely swat him down just as he did at LCK finals. The real question is the secondary match-up: JDG or SN? JDG looked competitive against TES, while SN got smashed, and while that’s weak justification; I feel strongly that JDG will be capable of beating SN through their superior mid lane.

Alternatives to consider: JD Gaming ($5,000)

Top Stacks

Nuguri & Canyon

The top side is the biggest deficit for DRX, and it’s the part of the map where DWG excel in. While DRX may have the superior bottom lane, Ghost is a KDA machine that avoids dying; he’s a great weak side player and he makes it difficult for the enemy team to simply “win through bottom lane”. Nuguri and Canyon are some of the most mechanically proficient players at the tournament; and Nuguri in particular is basically the successor to TheShy. These two are top of the list for players to pick up.

LvMao & Yagao

Similarly, mid lane is the gap JDG has over SN, Angel is a quality player, but Yagao is an extremely great player and is a contender for “best in the world”. LvMao isn’t necessarily straight better than SwordArt, but he definitely has a more active early game, which can allow JDG to crush SN in the early game. LvMao makes great use of rotations and is a roaming style support, particularly to the solo lanes where Yagao and LvMao can crush the enemy mid jungle.

SofM & Huanfeng

These two players are the immediate advantages SN hold over JDG: SofM’s pool matches amazingly with the meta junglers at worlds. Graves, Lillia, Kindred, Nidalee, etc. It helps that he is also capable of playing Lee sin to a comparable level of Kanavi. Huanfeng is a high ceiling ADC who is one of the hardest carries in the LPL. Loken is more comparable to Ghost in the regard that he is usually low on deaths and lower on the impact relative to other ADCs, but he is still a good weak side player. These two are the ones SN must rely on if they are to overcome JDG.

Top Picks: Canyon, Nuguri, Yagao

Each of these guys exploit the big gaps in the opposition: SN’s mid lane, and DRX’s top side. Furthermore, each of them are also superstar players on their squad: while Yagao may be overshadowed by Zoom and LvMao, he’s still a premier carry on JDG. Nuguri and Canyon have been on top domestically, and are not challenged by their counterparts in Doran and Pyosik.

Top Value: SofM, Huanfeng, Chovy

The big carries of SN make it onto the value picks. Huanfeng and SofM exploit weaknesses in JDG, while Kanavi has been excellent in spring, his form waned slightly in Summer which allowed TES to defeat JDG in the play-offs. SofM has been on top for what feels like forever, and has been a perennially underrated jungler in the LPL. Huanfeng needs no introduction, he is a consistent, high damage, high impact ADC who receives a lot of SN’s resources. Chovy is a different case: he is the prodigy of Korean mid lane. However, there is an unfortunate association with Chovy: Choky. I’d tread carefully with picking up Chovy, but if DRX are to defeat DWG, it’ll be due to a masterclass from the young mid laner.