The second semifinal series is between Gen.G Esports and EDward Gaming, two top teams from the LCK and LPL who have never met one another at an international tournament, until now.
With just four teams to go, we're now heading into the final two weekends of Worlds 2021. First up, there's the all-LCK showdown between T1 and DWG.KIA to look forward to. For the second semifinal series, it will be the first meeting ever between the LPL Summer Split winners EDward Gaming and the LCK's second seed, Gen.G Esports.
Both teams have had to work to get here with EDG being put to the sword against Royal Never Give Up while Gen.G had to dig deep to take out Cloud9 after their intense last day of the group stage. As this marks the first-ever meeting between the two sides, it will make for an interesting encounter between the two.
EDward Gaming vs Gen.G Esports - Match preview
This has been EDG's first appearance at Worlds after a two-year hiatus and already have finished in their highest position to date. This is their first-ever showing in the semifinals, signalling that the team is more than capable of performing on the biggest stage of them all. Both Lee "Scout" Ye-chan and Tian "Meiko" Ye have been the longest-serving members of the team whilst also promoting Zhao "Jiejie" Li-Jie from the youth squad. With the addition of Park "Viper" Do-hyeon and Xuan-jun "Flandre" Li last year, it looked like EDG were going to be the team to beat and it showed from the get-go.
After a third-place finish at the LPL Spring Split, the team came back in the Summer in full force, taking the region by storm and taking the title with ease. While they did drop two games during their group stage matches, it wasn't a cause for concern as the team went on to defeat RNG 3-2 in a nail-biting series. Having gotten over their quarterfinal exit curse, the team is now set on creating a new legacy for their organisation.
In the LCK, Gen.G is also one of the teams that have been gaining traction over the past couple of years. Their quarterfinal exit last year exhibited that the team was going in the right direction and it's pretty clear as we head into the semifinals. Having stuck with the same squad, Gen.G came into 2021, finishing second overall in the championship points standings after a second-place finish in the Spring and a third-place finish in the Summer.
The team is looking to cause an upset over EDG with the squad already showing what they're capable of after dismantling C9 without so much as breaking a sweat. It wasn't to say that C9 played terribly; it was Gen.G who was just the much better team that day. If that same team is capable of showing up on Sunday, EDG should be worried.
Who to focus on?
When you look at both teams on paper, it's hard to imagine which team has the upper hand in the series. All eyes will be on the mid lane once more with both Scout and Gwak "Bdd" Bo-seong at the top of their game at the moment. With both players having played 11 games so far, they also share the same average KDA of 4.5. While Bdd does hold a slight lead in terms of kills, deaths, and assists, it's Scout who is the much better farmer, having a slightly higher average creep score per minute (CSM) as well as gold per minute (GPM).
It will be interesting to see just which mid laner will come out on top. Scout has long been touted as one of the best mid laners hailing from South Korea, especially given the stacked talent pool. Bdd will be looking to make an impact once more, already sending home one legendary mid laner earlier in the tournament.
Another player that will be worth keeping your eye on is possibly Park "Ruler" Jae-hyuk. Being the only member of Gen.G with a world title to his name, he is the only player who knows what it takes to make it to the grand finals. He is currently ranked third in overall KDA as well as CSM and DPM, showing that he is a threat in both team fights and during the quieter periods of the game.
What to expect
The series between EDG and Gen.G will start this Sunday, 31st October at 12.00 pm GMT, one day after the first semifinal series. From here, we will know who our grand finalists will be, taking home both the Summoner's Cup and customisable championship rings. As this will be the first meeting between both teams, expect plenty of fireworks to start from the first game onwards.
