MSI Saturday

(+900) Pentanet GG v Royal Never Give Up (-2000)

(-385) Damwon KIA v Cloud9 (+265)

(+225) MAD Lions v Royal Never Give Up (-310)

(-165) Cloud9 v PSG Talon (+125)

(+900) Pentanet GG v Damwon KIA (-2000)

(-185) MAD Lions v PSG Talon (+145)

Day two of the rumble round of MSI continues on Saturday, featuring 6 games total, two for each team. The best thing to look at is match-up spread. Personally, I’m preferring the matchups for RNG which are relatively easy for the squad. Otherwise, I’d pick up players from DK who play against PGG, and MAD Lions & Cloud9 against PSG. Let's check out the picks.

Captain

Xiaohu ($10,500)

The headlines have arrived: Xiaohu top lane, the best player at MSI? The hype is very much deserved, arriving to save RNG’s dynasty by an unlikely role swap. RNG’s two matches against PGG and MAD seem like clear cut wins, and while the Lions may put up a fight later in the day, I find it unlikely that they can wrestle a win away from the most dominant team in the tournament in RNG. Biopanther has been a weak point on PGG, and while Armut is a great top laner, Ming and Wei have incredible synergy and offer buffs to their laners. RNG just doesn’t play by the rules. Speaking of RNG, for a secondary choice, pick up Wei; he’s on the expensive side, but it is possible to make him work in the correct team.

Alternatives to consider: Wei ($11,100)

Top Lane

Khan ($6,600)

For #2 in the event, it has to be Khan. Thankfully for DK, they also get a freebie against PGG on Saturday, in addition to a Cloud9 rematch. I think DK’s previous run in with C9 was a fluke, but that’s not an uncommon opinion. Khan is still a strong top laner despite having a few off games; he dominated domestic greats like Kiin and Canna, and he holds a strong legacy behind him. His opponents in Fudge and Biopanther have looked shaky in the past and are highly exploitable. For a different pick, I’d select MAD’s Armut due to having a solid support+jungle just like RNG’s Xiaohu, but to a lesser extent.

Alternatives to consider: Armut ($6,200)

Jungle

Wei ($7,400)

I unironically think Elyoya may be the best jungler at MSI, but between him and Wei, I’d select Wei due to having a more cohesive team identity; but the real deciding factor is RNG’s superior match-up spread on Saturday: PGG and MAD versus RNG and PSG? While these two junglers play each other, I’d rather have a game against PGG than against PSG, combined with Wei’s fantastic teammates likely leveraging them the win against Elyoya’s Lions. I'd take Wei, but I wouldn’t be upset with Elyoya.

Alternatives to consider: Elyoya ($6,800)

Mid Lane

ShowMaker ($7,400)

Since deaths matter disproportionately, I’d only recommend two mid laners to take on Saturday: Cryin and ShowMaker; and between the two, I actually think ShowMaker is the more well-rounded player. Cryin has shown extremely great laning talent, but he frequently overexerts himself and lends himself vulnerable such as versus Pentanet GG in their last game in Group A. While ShowMaker hasn’t been an overwhelmingly dominant player, I value his stability especially at a decent price point that’s lower than Cryin’s.

Alternatives to consider: Cryin ($7,800)

ADC

Carzzy ($7,200)

MAD’s ADC has been a surprise for me after his underwhelming Worlds 2020 showing. While he isn’t one of the best ADCs at MSI, he’s solid enough and has a decent match-up spread, he’s capable of leveraging his strong support, Kaiser to give him the edge in the laning phase. His opponents are rough, but Carzzy is on the cheaper end and I think he can be worth the low-price tag he has.

Alternatives to consider: Ghost ($7,600)

Support

Kaiser ($5,400)

The “better” part of MAD’s bottom lane: budget Ming. Kaiser has shown good control of the map throughout his MSI games and has assisted jungler Elyoya well. Carzzy enables Kaiser’s rotations well by playing safe in the bottom lane, and he comes in cheaper than both Beryl and Ming. For a different option, RNG Ming is the second-best player at the tournament in my opinion just behind Xiaohu. He plays a similar style to Kaiser but has stronger players to empower relative to the German support.

Alternatives to consider: Ming ($6,000)

Team

Royal Never Give Up ($5,200)

RNG has already conquered Damwon, the championship is already in reach for the squad. Furthermore, they’re cheaper than Damwon Kia, which makes them the best choice overall for team. I can see Damwon dropping another game to C9, but I can also believe RNG not dropping a single game for the entire rumble stage.

Alternatives to consider: DWG Kia ($5,400)

Stacks:

Carzzy & Kaiser

As described above, the MAD bottom lane complement each other well. Carzzy is capable of playing reserved enough to unlock Kaiser, who assists Elyoya and accelerates him to impact the map. These two are a good pair especially against PSG’s weaker bottom lane.

Wei & Ming

The jungle and support pair for RNG are amongst the two best players to grab together; the only issue is it’s risky to put in big cash for a support player like Ming. However, RNG is consistently good enough to make them a worthwhile investment. Ming and Wei run the map for RNG and allow Xiaohu to fully shine.

Khan & ShowMaker

Finally, the solos for DK are my final stack. I’m lukewarm on DK’s bottom lane; Beryl just hasn’t had the impact that supports like Ming have had at MSI. Ghost hasn’t been a significant carry, but still, DK do show promise at MSI due to their solid solo laners; I think Khan and ShowMaker will crush their Australian counterparts and will show up much better against Cloud9 relative to the last time they played.

Top Picks: Wei, Xiaohu, Ming

RNG’s best players round out my top picks for Saturday. The previously described stack on Wei and Ming are the most solid stack on the day and pairing them with Xiaohu gives them the fruits of their labor; the support and jungle deliver their resources to top laner Xiaohu, who in turn proceeds to carry the rest of the game.

Top Value: Perkz, Elyoya, Kaiser

Europeans complete the value picks: Elyoya may be the best jungler at the tournament and has delivered commanding wins to MAD Lions. Assisting him in this endeavour has been Kaiser, a support with strong control of the map and has done a good job at bulking up the top side of MAD. Finally, is Cloud9’s Perkz, the 6-million-dollar import, while he hasn’t shown the highs he’s had in the past, he’s undoubtedly fantastic and is capable of being one of the best mid laners in the world.