Give us your 2015 World Championship Group Stage predictions here!

RiotHitstreak·Sep 8, 2014·6 votes·7,625 views

Two teams from each group go through to the 2015 #Worlds Quarterfinals. Who are your picks and why?

30 Comments

Relentless RogueSep 8, 20144 votes

Predictions for group stages:

Group A: Samsung White (5-1), Edward Gaming (4-2), AHQ (2-4), Dark Passage (1-5)

Group B: Team SoloMid (4-2), Royal Club (4-2), TPA (2-4), SK Gaming (2-4)

Group C: Samsung Blue (5-1), Fnatic (3-3), LMQ (2-4), OMG (2-4)

Group D: Najin White Shield (4-2), Alliance (4-2), Cloud 9 (4-2), Kabum (0-6)

Reasoning:

Group A - By far and away the easiest group, the only team I think has a chance to take a game off of Samsung White is Edward Gaming, and even that is questionable. On the other end, while AHQ has the chance to take a game off of Edward Gaming, I don't see them being able to compete with Samsung White. While Dark Passage played will in the IWC, they're outclassed by all the other teams, and can only hope to take a game off of AHQ at the most.

Group B - TSM proved they can compete. While I don't think anyone will dominate this group, TSM is the most likely to get out, followed closely by Royal. TPA has a chance, but I don't think they can take enough games off of TSM and Royal. SK Gaming is going to be competitive, but they're definitely the dark horse of this group.

Group C - This, along with Group D, was hard to call. The obvious is that Samsung Blue is the team to beat. However, all other three teams have explosive potential. I actually see LMQ being the team to take a game off Blue, however, I think Fnatic will be the team to scrape enough wins to leave groups with Blue.

Group D - Too close to call. Period. Kabum is horribly outclassed, plain and simple. Alliance is hot. Najin White Shield is hot. C9, while they did lose to TSM, is still hot. Any combination of the top three teams could advance out of this group, while Kabum is just along for the ride. My gut tells me Alliance and Najin will advance, however, my head tells me to never count Cloud 9 out.

FoidewallSep 8, 20141 votes

You got some good reasoning and predictions, I think TSM is on the rising, because of the nerf to exsurst and the uprising of assassins this has coursed, on the other hand, then it is probably a small weakening of Alliance, it’s not that Froggen don’t play assassins, but he doesn’t seems so profound on them as he do on more traditional mages.

Relentless RogueSep 8, 20141 votes

Obviously I'm a bit biased as a TSM fan, but I can honestly say they should get out of their group. Alliance's group is just so damn good, it's hard to call, but I think they has a slight edge over C9 based off of momentum.

FoidewallSep 8, 20141 votes

TSM probably got a good change of getting out of their groups, and as Alliance fan, (have to support my fellow danes) i think Alliance will beat C9 but it is 55-45%.

12talesSep 9, 20141 votes

Group C - This, along with Group D, was hard to call. The obvious is that Samsung Blue is the team to beat. However, all other three teams have explosive potential. I actually see LMQ being the team to take a game off Blue, however, I think Fnatic will be the team to scrape enough wins to leave groups with Blue.

I'd argue that OMG are favorites to 2-0 LMQ. The latter's performance in the playoffs was less than inspiring, and I doubt that LMQ will be able to perform against teams that they can't outclass mechanically - when faced with two of the best solo laners in the world (and a jungler significantly better than their own), I don't expect ackerman and XiaoWeiXiao to put on anywhere near as convincing a performance as they can against the folks back home. And if LMQ can't win with brute force and teamfighting, how can they win?

Group D - Too close to call. Period. Kabum is horribly outclassed, plain and simple. Alliance is hot. Najin White Shield is hot. C9, while they did lose to TSM, is still hot. Any combination of the top three teams could advance out of this group, while Kabum is just along for the ride. My gut tells me Alliance and Najin will advance, however, my head tells me to never count Cloud 9 out.

If Najin White Shield plays anything like they did in the regional qualifiers, they're going to 2-0 every team in that group. They've got stronger players across the board (exceptions being Froggen (maybe) and Sneaky/Tabzz (probably)), and on top of that, they're probably the scariest late game team in the world. I don't really see how ALL or C9 could plausibly take a game off of them.

That said, I agree than ALL vs. C9 is difficult to call.

Old Man TeetoSep 8, 20142 votes

This is a really crazy worlds group stage.

I personally think group C is the hardest, all four of those teams are seriously dangerous.

Group A - By far the easiest group to call

Edward Gaming - They'll make it out of the group stage, no question here. Samsung White - The likely second team to make it out, doubtful an upset will occur.

Group B - Three top tier teams hot off great recent play

Taipei Assassins - Season two world champions, and with the game being much closer to season 2, I'm confident they'll make it past groups. TSM - This ones hard to call as StarHorn Royal Club with Insec aren't slouches, but their recent matches haven't been awe inspiring while TSM has rallied to dethrone C9.

Group C - This group is the worst draft any of these teams could get

Samsung Blue - Dade is my favorite player in the world, no doubt I'd vote for them to escape group stages. Fnatic - LMQ and OMG are serious contenders, and it will depend on which Fnatic shows up, and if LMQ gets their mojo back.

Group D - This poor Brazilian team

Alliance - First time total domination of the EU LCS for the entire split, and dethroning Fnatic in the playoffs. Najin White Shield - Cloud 9 was recently dethroned, and been shaky, while Shield just stomped through the Korean gauntlet. If nothing, they have the momentum.

My prediction for winner of Worlds?

Samsung Blue.

Of course I'm rooting for my Dade.

12talesSep 9, 20141 votes

Taipei Assassins - Season two world champions, and with the game being much closer to season 2, I'm confident they'll make it past groups.

The Taipei Assasins of Season 2 and the Taipei Assassins of today are very different teams.

FatedTitanSep 8, 20142 votes

Ya know, after how crazy Reddit went in saying that the Group Draw would be rigged, I became a little cautious. But releasing the Group Draw a full year in advance before teams even qualify? Man...that's some balls. I can only imagine the flack you'll all get for rigging it.

ploki122Sep 9, 20141 votes

It says 5 hours to me...

FatedTitanSep 9, 20141 votes

What I'm saying is that this is the 2014 World draw, not 2015, hence posting it a year early.

ploki122Sep 9, 20141 votes

Oh... I somehow missed that little detail... that's bolded in the title.

ValentenSep 8, 20141 votes

gunna have to be Samsung white for A, Royal club for B, Samsung Blue for C, and Najin White Shield for D.

DudermenSep 8, 20141 votes

And have a 4 team quarterfinals stage...?

ploki122Sep 9, 20141 votes

Reworked byes op

Mooi JongenSep 8, 20141 votes

삼 승 비루

D GodplankSep 8, 20141 votes

EDG and SAMSUNG WHITE, TSM and Royal, Blue and FNC, Alliance and Najin WS

FalsifyTheTruthSep 8, 20141 votes

A) Samsung White, EDG B) TSM, Royal C) Samsung Blue, Fnatic D) Alliance, C9

I have western region hope.

AvíanSep 8, 20141 votes

Group A: EDG & Samsung White Group B: TSM & SHRC Group C: Samsung Blue & Fnatic Group D: Alliance & C9

DudermenSep 8, 20141 votes

A: EDG and Samsung White B: TSM and Royal C: Fnatic and Samsung White D: Alliance and Najin White Shield

Earl EulrichSep 8, 20141 votes

#Group A: SSO White>EDG>AHQ>DP

maybe DP can take a game of AHQ, but both of them have no chance taking a game from either EDG or Ozone. I personally would favour White to win worlds, so I´ll put them over EDG.

#Group B: TPA>Royal=SK=TSM

really a tough call...TSM may have improved a tad, but historically they never got out of groups at world. TPA is in a fairly similar position compared to S2 when noone expected much of them and they took it by storm, so i will rate them highly here - they are still a good team and they can pull out some crazy tactics/picks to surprise other regions. I feel that both SK and Royal have the ability to control TSM, but it´ll be tough matches that can go either way.

#Group C: SSO Blue>Fnatic>LMQ>OMG

If Fnatic shows up on their A-game they might even win the group, but they´re always very hard to call...

#Group D: NJWS>Alliance=C9>Kabum

All of them play a fairly controled style, but lategame NJWS should beat any team. C9 vs Alliance will be very close, if balls plays a carry-top and gets rolling C9 will take it, otherwise it´s in Alliances favour.

12talesSep 9, 20141 votes

Group A (EDG, SGW, AHQ, DP)

Easy one to call. EDG and Samsung White are both favorites to win the tournament, while AHQ and DP are... bad. The really interesting game in this group is obviously the set between EDG and SGW, which I'm really looking forward to. I think Samsung's greatest advantage here will be Dandy, who's just so much better at exerting early pressure than Clearlove. On the other hand, NaMei and Fzzf is easily the stronger bot lane, and having the stronger ADC is really important this patch, with the likes of Kog'Maw and Tristana being so popular.

I'm gonna predict a 1-1 split between the two - Dandy will get Lee Sin game one and wreck everybody, but it'll be banned away from him game 2 and NaMei will hardcarry. Obviously predicting a 2-0 for all of their other matches, and I don't really care how AHQ vs. DP goes.

So - SGW 5-1, EDG 5-1, AHQ and DP don't care.

Group B (TSM, SHRC, TPA, SK)

Much harder to call this one. I think Royal Club is definitely the best team in the group by far, but it's a toss up for me between TPA and TSM. Based on their performance at all stars, I'd have to predict that TPA will drop out in groups, but they'd only been playing with that roster for a month - they've had nearly half a year to adapt to Winds, and I don't want to count them out yet.

Ultimately, predicting SHRC to thunder through the group, and TSM to emerge as a plausible second place. TPA are my dark horse, and I don't think SK have the talent to survive Royal Club and TSM.

SHRC 5-1. TSM 3-3, TPA 2-4, SK 2-4

Group C (SGB, OMG, FNC, LMQ)

Easy prediction, in my opinion. Blue and OMG move on from groups convincingly. Even with their recent struggles, OMG is still fielding some of the strongest solo laners at the tournament (and arguably in the world), and I don't think either of the western teams in the group have the strategic ability to play around the brute force that Cool and Gogoing will bring to the table. That said, I think that Fnatic could potentially draw with them - xPeke and Soaz aren't on the same level as Cool and Gogoing, but they should still be able to at least hold their own, and Rekkles plus Yellowstar is arguably the stronger duo lane. It's worth keeping in mind, however, that San and dada7 are used to playing against some of the best bot lanes in the world in their region, so being outclassed in laning is something they've often been forced to play around.

It's also worth mentioning that this is probably the worse possible group for Samsung Blue - as their 2-3 loss to the KT Arrows demonstrated, they can struggle against teams with strong early games, which all of OMG, FNC and LMQ have. I'm predicting a 1-1 split with OMG, and my heart wants a 1-1 with Fnatic as well (although my head says 2-0). I think that LMQ are too heavily gated by their mediocre support and jungle to make the plays they have to before SGB just rolls over them in mid-late game.

SGB 5-1, OMG 4-2, Fnatic 2-4, LMQ 1-5

Group D (ALL, NWS, C9, Kabum)

First off, unless shield has a massive fall off from their performance in the Korean regional qualifiers, they're gonna 6-0.

Between the only other two teams that matter in the group, I'm inclined to give it to Alliance (biased? Me? Don't be absurd). C9 isn't a particularly early game oriented team, and I think that Alliance has the raw skill and early game decision making to abuse that fact. Froggen vs. Hai is an incredibly one sided matchup, and I'd argue that Tabzz and Nyph are the stronger bottom lane by any relevant measure. The only way I could see C9 winning this is if Wickd has another bad series, and Meteos and Balls are able to crush the 2v2 in top lane - the one part of the map where I think C9 has an advantage in player skill.

I'm gonna predict that Alliance and C9 will tie, but Alliance will win the tie breaker. So -

NWS 6-0, ALL 3-3 (4-3), C9 3-3 (3-4), Kabum 0-6

ploki122Sep 9, 20141 votes

Samsung Galaxy White (6-0)
Edward Gaming (4-2)
AHQ e-sports Club (2-4)
Dark Passage (0-6)

This group is pretty easy to call, I don't expect any upset although I do value EDG lower than most. I know nothing of AHQ, but their status is pretty unanimous; they aren't worlds-level. If there's ever an upset, it's AHQ-EDG going 1:1, with AHQ winning the 2nd game after realizing EDG's abysmal early game.

#Group B

Taipei Assassins (5-1)
Team Solomid (4-2)
Star Horn Royal Club (3-3)
SK gaming (0-6)

I really don't know what to make of TPA since I haven't seen them much this year, but I expect them to be roughly the best team in South-east Asia. Imo, TSM and TPA are solid enough to withstand Starhorn Royal Club's hectic aggression and punish their overcommitment. SK, being a more cerebral team than mechanically good team will crumble under that unpredictability. The only irregularity imo will be TSM dropping 1 set to SHRC by either locking in LEe Sin for Amazing (who is far from being Amazing, especially on Lee Sin) or letting Insec play his, pretty much, only great jungler.

#Group C

Samsung Galaxy Blue (6-0)
Fnatic (4-2)
LMQ Tian Ci (1-5)
OMG.DouYuTV (1-5)

In my opinion, Samsung is a head above the others, and then Fnatic are the chest to LMQ/OMG's legs. I really don't see Fnatic dropping a set to LMQ mainly because I feel like they are better strategically and on par mechanically; Vasili's gonna get European Deft'd. Had it been Bo3, I would've been tempted to give it 2:1 LMQ over OMG and 3:2 OMG over LMQ for Bo5, but in a Bo2 format, I will go for the safest option.

#Group D

Alliance (6-0)
NaJin White Shield (3-3)
Cloud9(3-3)
KaBuM! e-Sports (0-6)

Let's start with the obvious : Westdoor's gonna get Froggen'd and then Ggoong'd. He will see Hai as a small respite but will still lose pretty badly. Once their main carry is out the door, KaBuM! has very little chances of creating anything. Then, I believe that Alliance is a step ahead of C9, sadly (since I'm still rooting for NA). I'll be praying that Alliance can become the korean-slayers and since my Words' hopes rely partly on that (all I want is a final that isn't SGB-SGW), I'll go with the bold call of Alliance acing the group. Once that's over, I'll use this group as a wildcard to throw my second hope in, and say that C9 vs NaJin goes 1:1, forcing tie breakers. If I was to be a bit saner, I would've said ALL 1:1 NJWS and groups ends up with 5,5,2,0 victories, but I'm not.

I don't mind going into further details for any of the matches, just ask away.

12talesSep 9, 20141 votes

What makes you think Alliance is capable of taking games off of NWS?

ploki122Sep 9, 20141 votes

My first argument would be that I know very little shields, so I simply rated them as a worst SGB/SGW. Otherwise, I also mentionned that realistically, I would actually rate it 1:1. I feel like Alliance has the raw mechanical skills to take down any teams, including SGW/SGB on a good day.

In term of lane matchups, I expect Froggen to come out ahead, the guy is simply awesome at LoL. Bot lane, I can see go either way but I don't expect Alliance to win it. As for top lane, I really hate Wickd, because on a good day he will basically wreck 1v2, while on a bad day, he will lose 1v0. For the jungle, I basically bet on Shook outplaying the enemy jungler by simply pulling better ganks. I expect Shook to spend most of his energy ganking for mid lane, and then Froggen would spend his energy on side lanes since it's easier for him to pick kills.

Since I feel they're pretty even, it comes down to who performs the best early on, and can they snowball that lead. Since I expect both teams to actually be able to get leads and convert them into victories, I went with 1:1 giving each team an early lead that they converted into a win.

If I had to defend the 2:0 call, I'd say that it's through sheer mid lane dominance and great counter-ganking (mid).

12talesSep 9, 20141 votes

My first argument would be that I know very little shields, so I simply rated them as a worst SGB/SGW.

This is easily rectified by watching the Korean Regional Qualifiers that occurred a week or two ago. Shield is the team that 3-0d the winners of OGN Champions Summer, and 3-1d SKT K. They are why Faker isn't at worlds. They're bringing the strongest top laner in the tournament by far (and arguably the world), and their mid laner is at least on par with Froggen. Meanwhile, their jungler and support are arguably top four at their positions worldwide.

On top of that, Najin White Shield is probably the single best late game team in the world right now (EDG and SGB being the only teams that come remotely close). So, if they don't just roll over you in lane, they'll outplay in the late game.

I will buy a bottle of champagne if my beloved Alliance can even take one game off of them.

LstrikeSep 9, 20141 votes

Predictions for group stages:

Group A: Samsung White (6-0), Edward Gaming (4-2), AHQ (2-4), Dark Passage (0-6)

Group B: Royal Club (4-2), SK Gaming (3-3), TPA (3-3), Team SoloMid (2-4)

Group C: Samsung Blue (5-1), LMQ (3-3), OMG (2-4), Fnatic(2-4)

Group D: Najin White Shield (5-1), Alliance (5-1), Cloud 9 (2-4), Kabum (0-6)

Reasoning:

Group A - Straightforward group. I don't think any team will be able to take a game of a superior team in this group. AHQ might take a game off EDG but thats the extent of upsets that we'll be seeing in this group.

Group B - Going by TSM's poor away record, I put TSM the least favorite to get out of the group. If Group C is the Group of Death with exceptionally good teams, Group B is also a group of death with above average teams. All 4 teams are equal in skill. So it all comes down to nerves, adrenaline and the performance on game day. Which is where I think TSM will falter. The top 2 will be 2 of the other 3 teams but I am going to give the edge to SK Gaming over TPA based on their recent form.

Group C - The Group of Death. Very hard to call so I am going by which team I like to advance. LMQ are the least favorites but I am going to take a risk and put them behind Samsung Blue to qualify for playoffs. Again, this is purely biased and I want to see atleast 1 NA team in playoffs and I think LMQ deserves it since they were the most consistent team in the Spring split. As far as Samsung Blue is concerned, it will be a surprise if they lost a game to the other 3 teams. As far as Fnatic and OMG are concerned, their inconsistencies in their regional split will likely come back to haunt them. But like I said, its very very hard to call.

Group D - Easy to call like group A, C9's form is questionable and as much as people like Kabum to be the dark horses, they are not. Najin White Shield is on fire right now beating Champions Spring Split winner KT A (3-0) and S3 Champions SK T1 (3-1) It will be a surprise if they drop a game to the other 3. Alliance will beat C9 (2-0) which will decide the group.

ButtersBBGSep 9, 20141 votes

Group A: Samsung White and Edward Gaming

Group B: Taipei Assassin's and Team SoloMid

Group C: Fnatic and LMQ

Group D: Cloud 9 and Alliance