Will the current reigning LPL champs defeat their Regional Rivals?
Worlds 2021 Prediction: RNG vs EDward Gaming
In a few short hours, RNG and EDward Gaming will begin their Quarterfinals Match in the Knockout Stage of Worlds 2021. These two teams have battled for dominance of the LPL throughout 2021, so it's only fitting that they meet again at Worlds. Which of these two teams will move on?
Did you catch the exciting finish to Worlds 2021 Group Stage? Riftfeed has your back with the Recaps!
- Worlds 2021 Group A Recap - DAMWON KIA
- Worlds 2021 Group A Recap - Cloud9
- Worlds 2021 Group B Recap
- Worlds 2021 Group C Recap
- Worlds 2021 Group D Recap
EDward Gaming at Worlds 2021
EDG has had a relatively eventful time so far at Worlds 2021. Their group stage run wasn't perfect, ending with a 4-2 score after dropping games to T1 and 100 Thieves respectively. T1 looks like a top team at this tournament after their stomp vs Hanwha Life Esports yesterday, so that loss is relatively excusable. That being said, the subsequent match that was lost to 100T should give fans something to worry about; So what does this team need to do to beat RNG? Let's look back at their history.
When we talk about these two teams, it's important to remember that although EDG won the LPL Summer Split - they're still trailing heavily in the series record against RNG this year. RNG has managed to win every single series throughout the Spring and Summer Split against EDG so far in 2021, making this more of an uphill battle than it may appear to be for EDG.
Luckily in the Summer Playoffs, RNG was taken care of by LNG - otherwise they may have had the opportunity to knock EDG out. Ironically, EDG faced off against FPX in the LPL finals whilst LNG and RNG didn't survive the gauntlet of teams in their way. FPX was unable to escape groups at Worlds 2021 though, proving that domestic success isn't everything.
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Scout is one of the most notable players for EDward Gaming, he's known for dominating lanes with the type of extreme aggression that can only be seen in the LPL. His champion pool during this worlds has mostly consisted of Twisted Fate, Leblanc, and Ryze - all standard meta picks. That being said, we've also seen him on the Syndra as well as the Lissandra during this tournament.
Ensuring that Scout has a good laning stage is a key part of EDG's strategy, and that shouldn't change for EDG in the wake of an opponent like RNG. Funnily enough, RNG's mid laner, Cryin, tends to be better at playing it safe and enabling his top laner. This will mean completely different strategies for the two teams, as Flandre, the top laner for EDG is known for playing weakside. This essentially means that he'll try to play it safe and avoid taking as much resources in able to get his other teammates ahead. All in all, the solo lanes of mid and top will be a must watch in this series, as they will likely be strong indicators of who will come out on top in this quarterfinal match.
RNG at Worlds 2021
It's impossible to talk about RNG without mentioning their victory at MSI 2021. For those who missed it, the Bo5 Grand Final Matchup against DAMWON KIA went the distance and RNG eventually overcame the Reigning World Champions. It was easy to understand how RNG made it there and eventually took the champion title throughout the series, given their ability to adapt to their opponents in a series. All that being said, MSI was months ago and Worlds is an entirely different beast. Can RNG pave their way to the finals at an international event again in 2021?
RNG were the victims of a chaotic Group C. They were undefeated up until the final day, when all hell broke loose. The team took a defeat from Fnatic, who was far from a competitive team at this tournament, along with a loss to Hanwha Life Esports that almost threw their first seed position in jeopardy. However, they were able to double-down in the tiebreaker and out-last HLE in a 44 minute game.
One thing to note about the tiebreaker match was that Xiaohu had a rough game on Kennen, he took a lot of pressure and struggled greatly throughout the match. Luckily for RNG, their Jungle player Wei was able to excel on the Xin Zhao in a huge comeback win. This could be part of the strategy for defeating RNG, but this team has a lot more depth due to their star studded roster. Shutting down their top laner won't win EDG the game alone.
As mentioned, RNG as a team tends to play towards top side. This is because of their supremely talented top laner, Li “Xiaohu” Yuan-Hao. Once a mid laner, this player excels at carrying games with a uniquely deep champion pool. RNG have made use of several of his off-meta picks at Worlds 2021 so far, most notably taking the Syndra top and winning with it against PSG Talon. Other common picks have been more meta-standard things, like the Graves and Kennen.
Final Thoughts
RNG likely aren't the ones worried headed into this matchup. They have one of the best bot lanes in the world with Gala as ADC along with Ming who is a master playmaker support. They haven't struggled much against EDG throughout 2021, as long as they play towards their win conditions and enable Xiaohu to get ahead - they have a great shot at advancing.
However, one can argue this is all a disadvantage. RNG had a much easier group than EDward Gaming did and they looked shaky. It's entirely possible that EDG has prepared more for this series, given their deficit in the overall matchup records. RNG fans should hope that we don't see a repeat of the team we saw losing against Fnatic, but even with both teams at their best: It will be close. I think this series will most likely end as a 3-2 either way, however I think EDG has a slight edge. That's why I'm putting EDG as the winner in this Worlds 2021 Quarterfinals Matchup.
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