Things don’t look great for RNG. The only team that held their own to SKT was Misfits, and that was through out-drafting and fearless engages. Unfortunately, Royal Never Give Up have shown no signs of being that kind of team. Their drafts have been successful but not impressive, playing largely to either the Worlds meta or the comfort picks of RNG. In the late game, in mechanics, and in map control, SKT have shown better performances.

What to expect:
SKT are the team that punishes mistakes. Although some teams have managed to get small leads against them, no team has been able to defeat them, and RNG have been a team prone to a lot of mistakes this Worlds. Even if RNG manage to get a lead – and based off past performances, it seems unlikely – SKT will certainly not let them keep it. They will collapse immediately on the slightest miscalculation. We may also get to see Faker pull out some of his favorite assassin champs, as whenever SKT identify a potential chance to crash the early game, they gravitate towards assassins.

It’s a tough match to call. Team WE has looked better nearly every week since the Play-in Stage whereas Samsung Galaxy only managed to pull out an impressive performance when they played against Longzhu. That said, the best SSG has been at Worlds compared to the best Team WE has been at Worlds is night and day. CuVee’s Shen performances, Crown on Syndra, and Ambition on Sejuani were all instrumental in their victory against Longzhu, and they didn’t just look like players at the top of their region, but those at the top of the world. Team WE, by comparison, have been scrappy and persistent, but their shot-calling has showed their inexperience.

What to expect:
WE’s victories have come largely on the leadership and initiation of their top laner 957, but against CuVee, that might be a problem. This is especially true if WE are foolish enough to give Shen over to SSG. Much of 957’s success in leading WE has been in his ability to position himself with teleports for flanks and collapses, but a properly utilized Shen could entirely turn the tables on them. Also, WE’s Xiye has done well, but he hasn’t done much to get himself out of the middle of the pack. By comparison, Crown is looking terrifying going into the semi-finals. As long as SSG can keep the mojo they had in the quarterfinals, they should be winning nearly every lane.