The final round of the LCK Summer 2018 Gauntlet is almost here! The Regional Qualifiers will wrap up with the Kingzone DragonX vs Gen.G series on September 16. Which team has the upper hand, and—most importantly—can you make some money off this matchup? Find the answer in our LCK Gauntlet betting tips!
Kingzone DragonX vs Gen.G
Kingzone DragonX have definitely seen better days. This lineup was very hit-or-miss during the regular season, and it didn’t help that it lost 3-0 to Afreeca Freecs in the playoffs. The biggest problem was that Kingzone didn’t seem to know how to approach the new bot lane meta. But even though they got over that hump, they’re still plagued by a multitude of individual shortcoming.
For instance, PraY and GorillA are nowhere near as solid as they used to be. With that, Kingzone have to devote a lot of resources to their bot lane, which coincidentally means that Khan is left out to dry on the other side of the map. Granted, they still have the explosive duo of Bdd and Peanut. But unless they find a creative way to use it, Kingzone will face a lot of struggles in the early game.
Meanwhile, Gen.G are getting better with every passing game. Their LCK Summer 2018 series against SKT T1 was a bit shaky, but they made a massive resurgence in the match against Griffin. For one, they got way better at exerting pressure in the early game—a development that was largely facilitated by their substitute jungler, Haru.
There’s also no denying Gen.G are very strong in the later stages of the game. Ruler and CoreJJ dominate teamfights, and as long as their teammates play around them, they always have a shot at taking over 5v5s. Combine that with Gen.G’s innate macro prowess, and it’s hard to not jump on board of their Gauntlet hype train.
BETTING ADVICE: You can bet on Gen.G winning this LCK Summer 2018 match for odds of 2.35 at Betspawn.
Round 2 Prediction: Griffin vs Gen.G
While Gen.G did take down SK Telecom T1, their victory wasn’t seamless. The entire lineup was riddled with early game issues and it took several mid-series roster swaps to solve them. That said, Gen.G did show great teamfighting and objective control in their LCK Regional Qualifier match, so this team can be deadly in the right circumstances.
On top of that, they were very flexible with their roster. Fly still seems to be their go-to mid laner when Gen.G need a utility pick like Galio, but Crown also stepped up to the plate on champions like Zoe, Ryze, and Lissandra. Moreover, Gen.G turned to Haru to provide more early game pressure, and the jungler showed up by creating clutch picks and orchestrating aggressive invades.
Unfortunately for Gen.G, Griffin have all the tools to counter them. For starters, this is one of the most aggressive early game teams in the league, and Griffin make sure to exert a ton of pressure from the first minutes of the game. If that wasn’t enough, Griffin are excellent teamfighters, so even the likes of Gen.G will be hard-pressed to match them in 5v5s.
And then there are the players. Griffin’s starters are mechanical monsters that overwhelm their opponents with relentless aggression. With that, the duo of Fly and Crown will have nothing on Chovy’s playmaking and Ambition and Haru will struggle to keep up with Tarzan’s jungle ganks. Granted, Gen.G won’t go down without a fight. But even if they bring out their A-game, Griffin are still the clear-cut favorites.
BETTING ADVICE: You can bet on Griffin winning this LCK Summer 2018 series with a 3-1 score for odds of 3.30 at EsportsBetting.
Round 1 Prediction: Gen.G vs SKT T1
At one point, Gen.G seemed set to make a deep LCK Summer 2018 playoffs run, but they crashed and burned in the first series against Afreeca Freecs. That’s not to say they’re a bad team, of course. On the contrary, their late game teamfighting is one of the best in the league and they have a good grasp of map movement and objective control.
However, they’re not that great at handling early pressure. Granted, Ruler, CoreJJ, and CuVee can hold the line in the side lanes but the same can’t be said about Fly and Ambition. On top of that, Gen.G fall usually into the pattern of drafting scaling team compositions. And while it’s great that they recognize their biggest strength, this still makes them way too shaky in the laning phase.
But even if Gen.G have their flaws, can you really expect SKT T1 to best them? Well, they’ve certainly done it before. It’s easy to forget this but SKT already toppled Gen.G during week 7 of LCK Summer 2018. And even though a lot of time has passed since we’ve seen these teams play, it’s clear that SK Telecom T1 have the tools to put a dent into their opponents.
The biggest factor is Faker. A strong mid laner is perfect for punishing Fly’s early game, and few could pull this off better than the god of LoL himself! But even if you take Faker out of the equation, SKT can still bring in Pirean in his stead. The substitute mid laner has already led them to victory against Gen.G, and his presence seems to empower Bang in the bot lane. Moreover, SKT’s biggest weakness—Blank—will be quite secure since Ambition isn’t exactly known for invading enemy junglers.
BETTING ADVICE: That’s right, we’re going to have to go with an upset! SKT’s players match up favorably against those of Gen.G, and even though their teamfights aren’t refined, they will overwhelm their opponents with sheer firepower. You can bet on SK Telecom T1 winning the series for odds of 2.75 at Betway. And if you feel like turning things up a notch, consider placing a wager on a 3-2 victory in SKT’s favor for odds of 5.50.
