Worlds Play-ins Day 1

(-2000) LNG Esports v PEACE (+825)

(-900) Hanwha Life Esports v Infinity Esports (+500)

(+125) Unicorns of Love v Detonation FocusMe (-165)

(+140) Galatasaray Esports v Beyond Gaming (-185)

Worlds kicks off on Tuesday with 4 highlight games: LNG looks to crush the new Australian representative PEACE, HLE look to make their stand against Latin America’s Infinity Esports, the Russian Unicorns look to take down a Detonation FocusMe that looked surprisingly solid during MSI, and the Turkish Galatasaray Esports are projected to struggle against the South Asian Beyond Gaming.

Captain

Doggo ($11,400)

Chovy, Deft, Doggo are the big names to keep your eyes on today: I just think all of LNG’s players are overpriced, aside from one we will cover later. These big 3 have solid match-ups, and their team won’t steamroll too hard (most likely) to run away with a decisive win before the stars get sufficient points to rack up. Doggo needs no introduction if you're familiar with PSG at MSI 2021, where he filled in for Unified throughout the event. Doggo was a star through and through despite being a last minute stand in. Otherwise, you can spend an extra 300 and grab either Chovy or Deft- I personally prefer Chovy, but Deft is alright too.

Alternatives to consider: Chovy ($11,700)

Top lane

Morgan ($6,600)

Morgan is bad, but his mechanics alone likely allow him to crush most play-ins top laners, and especially a weak one like Buggax. Latin America is usually out as fast as possible internationally, so I can’t see a top laner who is known as having no brain like Morgan struggling against a team who doesn’t have a brain either like Infinity. If you want a more consistent option, I’d definitely feel safer splashing out the cash for Ale, the only LNG player I really consider “worth it” especially against PEACE’s two substitute top laners in Lived and Vizicsaci.

Alternatives to consider: Ale ($6,800)

Jungle

HuSha ($7,000)

While Tarzan is likely the big, eye catching name, I’d dissuade you from grabbing him as the Beyond jungler, alongside a value pick in UoL’s AHaHaCiK are likely good enough- maybe even better for grabbing points. HuSha has a much more carry oriented style as opposed to Tarzan, who is likely the best control jungler in the world currently. HuSha is much more likely to collect plentiful points, despite Tarzan being a better overall player.

Alternatives to consider: AHaHaCiK ($6,600)

Mid lane

Nomanz ($6,800)

The Russian mid laner has long been touted as being “equal to some of the best LEC has to offer”, and despite UoL’s early exit at MSI this year, Nomanz definitely carries a legacy with him: he’s shown up massively both at previous MSIs and Worlds events, being the dominant carry in the middle lane with strong performances even against major region teams, despite UoL not often finding the win. His opponents in DFM are rough, especially with mid laner Aria leading the squad, but Nomanz has the experience in a place where it matters: an international stage.

Alternatives to consider: Chovy ($7,800)

ADC

Deft ($7,800)

Deft’s resurgence, alongside another player we have yet to mention, has allowed Chovy to carry HLE to worlds. While I don’t think the squad is remarkable, I think they will breeze through play-ins off mechanics alone, even if Deft’s resurgence as a flash in the pan, it’s likely his regular season form will suffice for the group’s stage of play-ins. If you have cash to splash, you can upgrade to Light, but I’d be fine with Deft.

Alternatives to consider: Light ($8,000)

Support

Vsta ($5,800)

The highest growth support this year, hands down. From 7th to worlds: the HLE story is synonymous with the story of Vsta, who was on the verge of exiting this year without a sound. With his last chance at the regional gauntlet, he caused an uproar and managed to be a major portion of HLE’s qualification over big names like Liiv SANDBOX and Nongshim Redforce, both of which HLE handedly defeated.

Alternatives to consider: Kino ($5,400)

Team

Unicorns of Love ($4,600)

Unicorns are coming into the event underrated after a quiet exit to Pentanet, OCE’s representative, at MSI 2021. However, the LCL does have an international history of success as a wild card region, and I expect them to continue this into worlds 2021. Nomanz should be enough to crush most play-ins mid laners, and their new ADC Argonavt is exactly what the squad needs to become competitive again.

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

Stacks

Doggo & Kino

The bottom lane for Beyond is their crowning piece alongside their solid squad: Doggo has proven his grit at MSI earlier this year, and this time, he gets to bring his whole squad with him internationally. His opponents in Alive and Zergsting are some of the stronger players on the team- particularly Alive, but Doggo has already proven that he can be one of the best in his position in the world.

AHaHaCiK & Nomanz

The Russian mid-jungle duo have been through countless international events together. While Nomanz is typically the star of the show, it’s often his jungler, Ahahacik that puts him in position to bring out big points, just as he did at worlds last year. Despite a mediocre MSI showing, I’m excited for the Unicorns to come back at worlds and show everyone what they’re made of.

Deft & Vsta

This may latently be the actual strongest bottom lane in play-ins, depending on the form of HLE versus LNG. Vsta has made tremendous progress throughout the year as a support, whereas Deft has finally came around into a comfortable resurgence by the time the regional gauntlet has came around, and it has landed HLE a spot at worlds.

Top Picks Doggo, Chovy, Deft

Big carries line the top picks category: Doggo, Deft, and Chovy all feel like they need no introduction. In spite of Beyond coming in second in the PCS behind the prestigious PSG Talon organization, Doggo is a star, and represented his region at MSI. Chovy is the best player in the entire play-ins, and Deft is a legendary ADC with a long legacy already behind him.

Top Value: Kino, Nomanz, AHaHaCiK

Nomanz and AHaHaCiK are the likely options for the value pick: LCL is an underrated region, and despite narrowly losing to OCE at MSI, in general, they are one of the strongest minor regions consistently enough to give me faith against the LJL’s DFM. Kino completes Beyond’s bottom lane, complimenting Doggo nicely.