League of Legends World Championship Semifinal Predictions

Four more teams to go in the 2019 League of Legends World Championship. This is quite possibly the best final four in League of Legends history, featuring the defending champion, a former multi-time champion looking to reclaim the throne, and two stalwarts. So what's gonna happen? Here's my best guess at figuring it out:

Invictus Gaming vs FunPlus Phoenix

We already know how this ends, right? Phoenix is the LPL's top seed, therefor are better than Invictus Gaming? Well, not exactly. The Invictus Gaming we see now is not the same Invictus from summer split, clearly. I'm not sure what's gotten into them recently, but they've looked incredible. The thing about IG is they're not afraid to act. Their calls are quick and decisive, often putting them in risky situations that normally shouldn't work. However, because everyone on their team is on board with whatever plan, they often win off of catching the enemy by surprise.

Prediction: FPX is talented but sometimes they tend to wait too long in between objectives before making another play. IG will not hesitate to jump on them as soon as the opportunity arises. The defending champions will reach the finals.

SK Telecom T1 vs G2 Esports

This will be one heck of a rematch. G2 knocked SKT out of the MSI semifinals and since then, SKT's Sang-hyeok "Faker" Lee has thanked G2 for "opening their eyes" since then. What does that mean? I'm not exactly sure. Maybe it means that SKT has some sort of flex pick that they've been less afraid to use after watching G2 use flex picks to their advantage all year long. Maybe it means that SKT has been able to utilize the aggressive snowball play style that seems very popular this worlds. Maybe it doesn't mean anything, but it's just Faker being Faker.

Prediction: That being said, I do believe that SKT Telecom will take down G2 this time. SKT looked great in the LCK finals, playing fast and loose early before buckling down mid to late game in team fights much like Invictus Gaming. Not to mention that SKT has possibly the best bot lane that G2 has faced yet, a bot lane that doesn't make a lot of mistakes.