The League of Legends 2022 Summer Split is already running across most regions of the world, and Michael Lee is here with his top picks for three League games on Monday, June 13th.
Today, he looks at two Chinese (LPL) games in Invictus Gaming vs FunPlus Phoenix and Weibo Gaming vs EDward Gaming, and one League of Legends Circuit Oceania Split 2 bout between Dire Wolves and Kanga Esports.
Esports Betting Tips: Monday, June 13th
Invictus Gaming vs FunPlus Phoenix
LPL 2022 Summer
FunPlus Phoenix are expected to win this match, and I wouldn't argue with that, but we're still very early into the new season. Besides that, Riot recently introduced a huge update to the game, which will change how League should be played and which champions are optimal.
We still don't know how the teams and players will do in the current state of the game, but the individual strength of the players on the teams will continue to be the main factor that will dictate how the games end. So with that in mind, it makes sense for FunPlus Phoenix to be the favourite.
FunPlus Phoenix are also a very flexible team which should help them gain some traction in the new meta, and they looked good in their 1-2 defeat against EDward Gaming. But I can't agree with the offered odds.
At $1.44 at Picklebet, FunPlus Phoenix are a bit overestimated, and even though they will most likely win, there is a chance they also drop a map. On the other hand, Invictus Gaming might not have as much talent on the roster, but they have shown adaptability and even won a map against Weibo Gaming which is a relatively solid outcome.
I expect to see a 2-1 victory for FunPlus Phoenix, but since the teams are still stumbling and trying out new compositions, it's not beyond the realm of possibilities for Invictus Gaming to win. Over 2.5 maps is the safest bet in my book.
Weibo Gaming vs EDward Gaming
LPL 2022 Summer
EDward Gaming might be the League of Legends World Champions, but I don't have high expectations for this team for LPL 2022 Summer. Obviously, this is relative to what most other people think of EDG since this is still a very strong team, but I wouldn't expect them to be as good as in the last split.
EDG were excellent in spring, but that was mostly thanks to jungler Zhao "Jiejie" Li-Jie, who overperformed and was the main driving force behind EGD's success. If he can show the same level of play this season, we might start talking about another great run from EDG, but I wouldn't count on it happening.
Weibo Gaming edged past Invictus Gaming on Friday (2-1), but they could have easily closed out the series in two maps. It was also the first match of the new season for them, so while Weibo Gaming could have performed much better, I don't believe losing one map against a weaker team is indicative of anything.
Both Weibo Gaming and EDward Gaming field some of the best players in their respective roles, promising an exciting match on Monday. But even though I find it hard to set them apart and pick which team will do better, I surely am not betting on EDward Gaming at 1.66.
We can't know how the teams will do in the new meta introduced with the Durability Patch, but Weibo is strong enough to compete with EDG and are a good bet at $2.10.
Weibo Gaming to win
$2.10
Dire Wolves and Kanga Esports
LCO Split 2
Dire Wolves kicked off the LCO Split 2 with a defeat against the tournament favourites PEACE, but they got right back on the horse with a victory against Gravitas. Kanga Esports were far less successful in the season's opening week and lost their series against Pentanet.GG and PEACE.
It's hard to take much from those games. Based on what I could see from the teams, Dire Wolves have looked better, but they still seem a bit disorganised, which was expected from a team that fields a new roster. But it's not like Kanga are in a much better spot.
Kanga entered the second split of the season with Sami "Leemas" Kip as the new ADC, who replaced Matthew "Lionel" Desa, with the latter moving to the support role. We don't know how the roster changes will shape up or whether the role swaps will continue, but clearly, Kanga are still experimenting, trying to find something that sticks.
As a match between two teams that have yet to find any stability, this one is tough to call, but if we compare the individual quality on the rosters, Dire Wolves should have the upper hand. We could see Kanga improve and compete for a mid-table finish, but they have yet to impress me, and until they do, I'll not be backing them to win any game.
