G2 Esports vs Counter Logic Gaming
Day 1 Prediction
The first game of Worlds will be a battle between the two western representatives from MSI. When they last met at MSI CLG was able to sweep G2 as a part of G2’s disappointing 2–8 run. This time however G2 is coming in without telling two of their players they are being replaced after the tournament. Things are also different for CLG as they are coming into Worlds without the momentum they had going into MSI. Unlike at MSI where CLG was coming in as the winner of the NA LCS Spring Split, CLG is now coming into Worlds after losing to Immortals in the third place match.
Now while CLG may not be their regions champion anymore, G2 is still the unquestioned #1 team in Europe after winning back to back EU LCS titles. With the addition of the best bot lane in the west, Jesper “Zven” Svenningsen and Alfonso “mithy” Aguirre Rodriguez, G2 hopes to have a more successful run at this international tournament. CLG on the other hand will be hoping their bootcamp was a huge success, and that Zaqueri “Aphromoo” Black can lead them to another deep run on the world stage.
For this match up a lot of the pressure will be laying on Jake “Xmithie” Puchero’s shoulders, whether CLG will be able to come out ahead. Xmithie has shown throughout this year that he can control junglers rated higher than him, and keep them from getting ahead like they do against other teams. This skill is going to be important in this match up since he faces off with the 3rd best jungler at Worlds, Kim “Trick” Gang-yun. Trick is an aggressive jungler who likes to make plays and get ahead of the enemy jungler. Xmithie is going to need his head on a swivel to keep Trick in check, and allow his lanes to try and stay even until they can group up. If CLG is able to group up without getting beat during the laning phase, they will have a good shot at winning this game.
Staying even in lane is a lot easier said than done however, especially when it comes to facing G2’s bot lane duo. Zven and Mithy have proven over the past year that no matter what team they’re on or who they’re against, they can win their lane and transition that into winning the game. Aphromoo and Trevor “Stixxay” Hayes are going to have their hands full, and will need their solo lanes to step up big time, Darshan “Darshan” Upadhyaya in particular.
Throughout CLG’s run to and during MSI Darshan was one of his team’s biggest strengths, and helped them reach their top 2 finish. During the Summer Split however, Darshan has been nothing like his MSI self, and has instead been one of the major problems for CLG. In this game he is facing off against Ki “Expect” Dae-han, who like Darshan , is also one of the weak points for his team. If Darshan can somehow bring back his form from MSI, he should be able to create an advantage for himself in this lane. If Darshan doesn’t though, then this lane is going to be about which jungler shows up first.
When it comes to the mid lane, both teams have well known players, but not always for the best reasons. Luka “PerkZ” Perković came into the EU LCS this year dominating other mid laners, winning the Outstanding Rookie award for the Spring Split, and the Spring Split title. During the Summer Split, Perkz started to cool off a bit. He still showed that he is mechanically gifted, but he also showed that he sometimes does not know when to dial back his aggressive play. This over aggression has hurt G2 multiple times, causing them to have to reset during a play because Perkz got himself killed diving someone. If Perkz can control his play and work with the team better, G2 will be set up for success.
Choi “Huhi” Jae-hyun came into the NA LCS this split with much less fan fare, but in the end also had a Spring Split title. During the Summer Split however, social media was probably not the best thing for Huhi to check. With CLG not playing like their performance at MSI, a lot of the questions were placed on Huhi. Huhi would get caught out during games either in side lanes pushing, or trying to go where CLG didn’t have vision. If Huhi can stay even in lane and not get caught out during the late game, CLG will have a better chance at winning.
When it comes to this game, I think that overall G2 has more firepower than CLG. G2 should be able to get ahead during the laning phase, and transition that into a win. CLG can win if all their lanes are able to go even or ahead, and make plays as a team in the late game. Based on their play these past few months though, I do not see that happening.
Official Prediction: G2 WIN
