Worlds 2016 Group Stage Pick'em Guide

LoL fans everywhere have been fighting over which teams they think will get out of Group Stages at Worlds this year, but there's only one way to truly settle this debate. It's time to put up or shut up. It's time for Worlds Pick'em.

The official 2016 World Championship Pick'em website is already open and you can declare your predictions for where each team will finish within their group right now! (Don't worry, nervous nellies, you can still make changes all the way up until it locks just before the first game on September 29.) Don't pick blind, though. We've put together a quick guide to help you get familiar with every team, and their expected chances in their groups. Happy picking!

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Group A: The Fight for Second

Deficio may have oversold it a bit when he said during the Group Draw livestream that literally "everyone" agrees that ROX Tigers is the favorite to win Worlds, but he's not far off. Korea's No. 1 Seed is scary and their entire roster threatens to overrun their lane opponents in this Group. They should play it safe and save any tricks for the Knockout Stage.

Don't count out G2 Esports, though. Their jungler Trick and bot lane duo of Zven and Mithy, in particular, give EU's No. 1 Seed a strong fighting chance. In fact, Zven and Mithy both had the highest KDAs of anyone in the EU Summer Split (6.8). They're going to have to flex that power to take a lead over the legends they'll be facing in the bot lane, ADC PraY and support GorillA.

Counter Logic Gaming and Albus NoX Luna come into the Group as underdogs, but there's some enticing upset potential here. Xmithie is well-suited to controlling the aggressive junglers in this group, and support Aphromoo and top laner Darshan have proven to be among the best in their roles - at times. Superstitious bonus points: CLG has historically done best when they enter the tournament as underdogs.

You might not recognize Albus NoX Luna, but you should recognize this CIS squad's previous moniker, Hard Random -- or at least their mid laner, Kira, who won the 1v1 tournament at the International Wildcard Event last year. Interestingly, that should signal that Albus is strongest where a lot of the Group A teams are weakest: in the mid lane. If Kira can crush his lane opponent, he'll release a lot of pressure from his teammates.

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Group B: The King and His Underdogs

Until proven otherwise, I'm still going to call SKTelecom T1 the king and, at least in this group, to me, they definitely still are. They may be the No. 2 Korean Seed, but they've won every Worlds they've attended and have more titles than any other organization. The often-deity Faker leads from the mid lane, and is surrounded by a veritable pantheon of LoL demigods like jungler Bengi and ADC Bang. They'll mostly be concerned with avoiding cheesy losses in the Group Stage's Best of 1 format and hoping for an eventual rematch against the ROX Tigers, who took the LCK crown from them this Summer.

But the LMS's Flash Wolves are going to have something to say about SKT coasting through this group. The god-killers stomped SKT at MSI, but have shown some struggles in the current meta. Their top and bot lane may fall, but Maple's going to have to go toe-to-toe with Faker once again to preserve Flash Wolves' chances. Thankfully, Maple's had plenty of success bailing out his team when needed, though, as his 8.2 KDA and constant gold advantage shows.

I May is hoping to repeat Origen's 2015 Cinderella story. They brawled their way up out of the semi-pro league in Spring, then won the LPL Regional Qualifiers in Summer. A lot of that success came off the tremendous play of their ADC, Jinjiao, whose 8.8 KDA and 79% Kill Participation were the highest, and second-highest of any player in the tournament. If the other teams are too concerned with fighting each other that they underestimate I May, the Chinese squad could pull off some very important upsets.

Now, you want to talk upsets? NA's Cloud9 is the best No. 3 Seed team at Worlds. Don't worry about the lack of Hai -- that's long-gone Spring Split paranoia. Summer Split Cloud9 has done just fine without him, and they absolutely came alive in the standard-lanes meta of Playoffs, which is what we should be seeing at Worlds. Impact has absolutely wrecked every top laner sent his way, and will be eager to continue his warpath straight through every top laner in this Group. Everyone on this roster lanes well, and they'll rely on that individual consistency to set them up for success.

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Group C: The Lucky Ones

You can just go ahead and put China's Edward Gaming at the top of Group C in your Pick'em sheet. As long as I didn't just jinx them, it's the equivalent of the free center tile in Bingo -- everyone gets it. They've got one of the best ADCs in the world with Deft. Clearlove is a long-time leader in the mid lane. And they're coming hot off of an incredible 16-0 win streak in the LPL. They might struggle against some teams at Worlds, but those teams aren't in Group C.

LMS's ahq e-Sports Club is returning with the exact same team we saw at Worlds last year, where they got out of Groups and lost to SKT in the Quarterfinals. A similar destiny this year wouldn't surprise anyone, and their stable roster definitely gives them an advantage over their direct competition, H2K.

Why? Because H2K has been the exact opposite in EU this year: an erratic mess. Visa problems, player injuries, and internal drama regularly denied them any chance of consistency. But, on the plus side, their on-again-off-again ADC Forgiven finally gets the chance to wield his highly touted mechanics on the Worlds stage, and their jungler Jankos' signature aggressive playstyle should be their biggest advantage over the weaker junglers in this Group, like ahq's Mountain.

Pick'em players looking for some surprise picks to break from the standard mold should take a serious look at INTZ. A Brazilian team hasn't made it out of the Group Stage yet, but they've been doing better at every International event they participate in. INTZ, in particular, has strengths in the jungle and top lane that could help them secure some early advantages against the Group C teams. 

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Group D: The Ones on the Tough Road

There's really only one thing that everyone agrees on with this group: EU's Splyce is toast. Deficio even said "they're just here to learn" during his analysis on the Group Draw livestream. SPY got here on the back of strong coaching and smarter understanding of the metagame and team strategies than their EU rivals.

How do the rest of Group D's teams compare? What China's Royal Never Give Up lacks in team coordination and strategy, they make up for in raw power. The individual talent on this roster is insane. Looper, Mlxg, Xiaohu, Uzi, and Mata should all be familiar names to League fans, but they're still struggling to figure out out how to play together. If they snowball early (and they often did in the LPL Summer Split), their innate skill level guarantees they can keep their opponents down long enough to run them over. They want fast, chaotic games and should create some of the most exciting-to-watch matches. And, if I'm being honest, that alone makes me want to root for them.

Samsung Galaxy surprised a lot of fans when they stole the Regional Qualifier spot from KT Rolster (who'd beaten them 19 times in a row, previously). Their secret power might come from the insane amount of mid lane talent this team is hoarding. Their current mid laner Crown is one of the best in the world right now, and their dominant jungler Ambition used to play mid with both SSG and CJ Entus. Those two will be key carries, backed by their surprise superstar Corejj, who earned an amazing 6.3 KDA as support in the Regional Qualifiers. Many analysts think SSG may actually be the second-best Korean team (above SKT) in the current meta, so don't underestimate them!

And, finally, we have NA's No. 1 Seed TSM - the team that many Pick'em players put at the top of Group D before reading who else was in it. But TSM's massive fanbase is well-deserved and likely to be rewarded this time at Worlds. Revitalized by a new bot lane for the Summer Split, this current roster has been incredibly dominant, disciplined, and flexible. Bjergsen and Doublelift provide a powerful dual-carry threat that's hard to keep down, while Svenskeren keeps them safe from the jungle. Biofrost and Hauntzer may be new to Worlds, but they've been playing like veterans against NA talent. Now it's time for their big test.

Pick Your Own Pick'em Picks... With Picks

Of course, anything can happen at Worlds, especially in the Best of 1 format of the Group Stage! Make your own wild and/or crazy predictions right now on the official 2016 World Championship Pick'ems website, and tune into the matches when they start up at the end of the month.

Josh Augustine's favorite champion is Teemo, he's never enjoyed a Darius, and he will always go for the kill, even when he knows he shouldn't. He currently works as a game designer at Daybreak Games. He’d love to talk with you on Twitter.