MSI 2019 features some of the best teams in the world; however, there are two teams that stand out from the other four. We are, of course, talking about Invictus Gaming and SKT T1, two Asian heavyweights that will face off against each other in the last game on day 2 of MSI 2019.
World Champions Ready to Prove Their Worth
Invictus Gaming comes into the tournament as the favorites to take it all, and that should not come off as a surprise. They boast some of the best players in the world, most notably their top laner (The Shy), who can’t be compared to any other top laner out there. They also have their jungler (Ning), who plays on a whole other level.
While their mid and bottom lane are not considered “the best,” they are up there with the elite. What we like about this team is their incredibly aggressive playstyle, which cannot be seen in any other team. Invictus Gaming prioritizes kills over everything, which obviously works for them.
SKT T1 Finding Way To Former Glory
SKT T1 is the most recognizable name in League of Legends esports scene for all the right reasons. The three-time World Champions have made a name for themselves with dominant performances, but they failed to continue their legacy in the last two years. Nonetheless, the team went through a complete makeover, adding some of the best players in the world around Faker, in hopes to return themselves to former glory.
The team, while consisting of some of the most experienced players, does have its flaws. Players are mistake-prone when playing alone; however, when it comes to team fights, SKT are an unstoppable machine. When all five players gather together, their individual mistakes disappear, and they play like a well-oiled machine.
Different playstyles
The playstyles of these two teams are miles apart. Invictus Gaming are an incredibly kill-hungry team, who will go over everything for kills. Numerous times we have seen them ignoring objectives if there were kills to grab. This alone makes them incredibly hard to play against, as they are like a swarm of wasps making life harder for their opponents.
On the other side, we have SKT, who have highly experienced players who tend to stick to the “old school” strategy. They approach games calmly and slowly build their advantage through small mistakes of their opponents. However, when the mid game rolls around, SKT’s snowball effect “starts to happen,” which rolls over their opponents.
Waiting for the mid-game power spike sometimes turns around and bites them, which we saw in the game against G2, when SKT counted on mid-game advantage, but their scaling comp fell short against early aggression of G2.
Difficult pick
Comparing the two incredibly strong teams, there is no clear winner. Each team has its own style of play, which if it goes right will result in them dominating their opponents and winning the match. To draw a line, this one is a toss-up game, which on top of all has a Bo1 format. This is why a bet on SKT T1 (2.00) proves to have some value.
Additionally, this game will either end with only a few kills, due to the passive and cautious playstyle of SKT, or plenty of kills on both sides, if SKT manages to scale into mid-late game. With that in mind, the kill handicap +4.5 on SKT (1.72) is an appealing bet to take.
All in all, we are in for an exciting match, which will feature two heavy favorites going against each other in a Bo1 match, which we know can be full of surprises.