League of Legends Pro League (LPL)’s Royal Never Give Up will clash with League of Legends Champions Korea (LCK)’s DRX in the first round of the LoL World Championship 2022 Play-In stage.
As two of the strongest Play-in teams, RNG and DRX are expected to produce an exciting affair, but as the latest LoL World Championship betting odds suggest, this is RNG’s game to lose.
Whether that’s a fair assessment is up to debate, and even though RNG have looked better this season, the latest League of Legends odds on DRX seem a bit high and offer us some interesting options to make excellent esports picks.
Last game records
Royal Never Give Up and DRX have never played each other with their current rosters, so there are no head-to-head stats to analyze. Moreover, the teams have played their last official games during their respective leagues’ regular seasons, which happened nearly two months ago, offering us very little insight into the teams’ form.
It’s also important to note that the meta has shifted drastically since August, so while we can acknowledge that DRX placed second in LCK 2022 Regional Finals and that RNG claimed silver at LPL 2022 Regional Finals, those showings won’t necessarily translate to the Worlds stage. All in all, past results will hardly help us make our esports picks.
Team DRX vs. Royal Never Give Up Betting Analysis
As the latest LoL World Championship betting odds show, Royal Never Give Up are heavily favored to defeat DRX, which might seem fair, considering RNG have achieved far more this season. But that doesn’t take away from the fact that DRX is one of the top teams from the LCK.
So despite winning less than RNG, you could say that DRX hasn’t won as much because they had to play against the likes of T1, Gen.G, and DWG KIA, who are arguably much stronger than RNG. Is this the right angle to argue with the recent League of Legends odds is up to debate, but you can’t deny that DRX are more than capable of beating RNG.
DRX
DRX might not have achieved much in 2022, but they’ve played extremely well in the LCK Region Finals, where they showed the best LoL we’ve seen from them the entire year. Moreover, this is an experienced roster and individually very talented – two things many people seem to forget.
We’ve seen similar teams succeed before, namely EDG and Suning, who were far from great during the season, but then went on to make a splash at LoL Worlds. On the other side, teams like DRX can also easily crash and burn if the meta doesn’t suit them – and that’s something we can’t be sure of before the games actually begin.
Royal Never Give Up
Royal Never Give Up are an excellent, well-rounded team that possesses a very high individual talent that can win them games even if they don’t play by the rules. But they also have flaws, and out of the top teams, RNG likely possesses the most.
Their biggest strength, on the other side, is RNG’s bottom side, which could receive a boost if Kaisa returns to meta. Everything points towards that, but again, the Worlds meta usually needs a couple of weeks to develop, leaving us to wonder how the teams will approach their bouts.
But in the world where Kaisa is back on the menu, RNG will be able to count on GALA to carry games, which has happened before. And that leads us to RNG’s biggest weakness – relying too much on GALA to do most of the heavy lifting.
Although it may seem simpler than it is, shutting down RNG’s bottom lane is key to beating this Chinese LoL team, and out of all the Play-In teams, DRX have the best tools to do that.
Updates
There are no new updates on the teams, with both squads having their full roster available. But due to the rise of COVID in the region, we would keep an eye out for any news via the team’s social media.
DRX vs. Royal Never Give Up Betting Preview
The clash between RNG and DRX will be the most exciting match of the first round of the Play-in, as it features two of the strongest LoL teams in the tournament. However, while the LoL World Championship betting odds suggest RNG are much superior, we have enough evidence to prove this is not entirely true.
DRX vs. Royal Never Give Up Betting Prediction
Admittedly, RNG should win this bout more times than not, but DRX have the tools to cause an upset. Then there are also questions of how the meta will develop and which team it will benefit, besides the fact that this is a best-of-one (Bo1) series, which makes it far less appealing to bet on the favorites. RNG are individually better, but anything can happen in Bo1.
How to bet on DRX vs. Royal Never Give Up
Although you could approach betting on this match with a kill handicap, the fact that we don’t know what the new meta will bring – will it speed up the game, will there be fewer kills, etc – the safest bet is the simplest one, moneyline.
At the offered odds, we wouldn’t bet on RNG even had they faced a weaker team than DRX, but it’s not so much the fact that RNG seem a bit overrated as it’s that DRX are undervalued. This is a very strong team that will surprise many and are definitely good enough to defeat Royal Never Give Up.
Prediction: DRX to win
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