It’s a full LPL battle between BLG and underdogs WBG in the semifinals of the LoL 2023 Worlds. Who is locking a ticket to the finals? Will it be the rising stars BLG? Or will WBG and TheShy make the upset happen?
Let’s go over the two teams’ journey so far and check what will happen in this next match.
Photo Credit: Yicun Liu/Riot Games
Worlds 2023 – BLG vs WBG Semifinals – November 11, 09:00 CET
BLG – The LCK killer
Despite not being able to win on domestic soil, BLG continues to be a force to be reckoned with on the international stage. After sending home the LCK at MSI earlier this season, the LPL #2 seed managed to take down Gen.G in the quarterfinals in another breathtaking series.
Coming into the series, hardly anyone expected them to win, especially after the rough path they took in the Swiss stage. “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger” is probably the best way to describe this BLG squad, who have been the eternal second for the majority of the year and often underrated.
What we saw in the series against Gen.G was an evolution of the BLG squad: the LCK team tried to target Bin in the top lane and was heavily punished by it. By doing so, Gen.G gave BLG so much freedom elsewhere on the map, allowing Elk and Yagao to be put in carry positions while Bin was managing on his own.
Photo Credit: Colin Young-Wolff/Riot Games
But the real key to BLG’s success is none other than Xun. The jungler has often been overlooked but when going up against Peanut, the Chinese player overpowered his counterpart. Great map presence and consistent plays and mechanics: he might not be the flashiest player but Xun is definitely becoming one of the best junglers in the world and he might be the X factor for BLG if they were to win it all.
WBG – are we witnessing an underdog story again?
On the other hand, we have WBG, the great underdogs of this Worlds 2023. The LPL #4 seed often showed ups and downs during the year, to the point where people weren’t expecting them to make it out alive from the Swiss stage. But here they are, in the top four, and with a chance to make it to the Worlds finals.
While most people will point their attention to the top lane matchup between Bin and TheShy, I’m also excited to see how the two bot lanes will fare off. Light and Crisp versus Elk and ON will be an explosive battle that can heavily swing the momentum in one or the other’s favor.
Crisp, in particular, might have the big role of having to deliver to his maximum potential. WBG have been able to find ways to bring back a few interesting combinations like Caitlyn-Lux or Heimerdinger, and those will definitely be picks to watch out for in the next series. If he were to pull out something new, we might see a really close series.
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BLG vs WBG Predictions
That being said, the odds are currently in BLG’s favor. The team showed much more consistency throughout the tournament and have stepped up hugely, especially considering they took down Gen.G. WBG played well against NRG, but it was a much easier opponent compared to the LCK #1 seed.
For WBG, this will be the first big test. If I were to look at the key factors of this match, I would probably put most of my focus on the jungle matchup: we have learned throughout the tournament how important it is to have a strong impact around the skirmishes and have the ability to focus on neutral objectives. Expect a lot of action down in the bottom lane right off the bat: that will decide how teams behave for the entire series.
Drafts will also play a major role but until we see the choices, it’s hard to make a clear prediction. WBG has shown a bit more fantasy in that regard, but that also leads to much higher volatility. And with that in mind, I’m expecting BLG to punish that volatility with more consistent plays. Both teams will look to wait for the teamfights, so expect drawn-out games. Regarding the score for this Worlds semifinal, I’m leaning towards a 3-1 for BLG, but it can also get to Silver Scrapes if WBG is actually delivering on the day.
