So far, we’ve previewed the first two groups in the upcoming League of Legends Season 5 World Championships. Today, we’ll be taking a look at Group C, which has (arguably) the two teams most favored to win the whole thing.

Group C

The term “group of death” is thrown around each year, and it doesn’t have just one clearly defined meaning. This year, it could refer to Group B, where a legitimate argument could be made for all 4 teams being able to advance, if things go right for them. Or, it could refer to Group C, where two of the strongest teams in the tournament reside. I’m inclined to go with the latter, if just for the sense of foreboding it provides for the other two teams.

SK Telecom T1 should need no introduction at this point. They won the Season 3 World Championships, and despite multiple roster changes, appear to once again be the favorites to win heading into this year’s tournament. Faker is as imposing a presence as he’s ever been in the mid lane, and bengi has returned to form as a world-class jungler. The team has greatly benefited from MaRin’s presence in the top lane, while Bang and Wolf have proven to be an extremely strong duo. The team’s incredible ability to play calmly and focus on objectives hasn’t changed, while all of their lanes are extremely threatening. The ability to have Easyhoon, a fantastic mid-laner in his own right, as a substitute is a luxury few teams can afford.

It may seem like I made SKT out to be a perfect team, but they’ll be going up against the one team who’s proven them to be mortal this year, Edward Gaming. Their marquee player is superstar AD Carry Deft, who they will often rely on for their victories. Of course, it was PawN owning the mid lane against Faker that really stood out at MSI (as well as past tournaments), and EDG will be able to turn to both of these carries in times of need. When they’re at their best, EDG looks like a team that could win a world championship. Unfortunately, they do suffer from inconsistency, as shown when they were unable to take care of business in the LPL playoffs, despite being considered the best team in China.

This will be the first international tournament for Europe’s H2k, and given that they’ve proven themselves to be a very strong team domestically, you can be sure they’re champing at the bit to show what they can do on the international stage. This may be the case especially for mid laner Ryu, whose Zed vs Zed play against Faker remains one of the most iconic moments in League of Legends history. Ryu has publically stated he wants to get even with Faker, and he’ll have plenty of support from his teammates. Hjarnan and Kasing make up an extremely sound bottom lane, and the team as a whole is unafraid to take risks to gain advantages. How well that will play out against the rest of the group remains to be seen.

The underdog of this group will be the Bangkok Titans. They revolve around mid-laner G4, who they count on to exert a ton of pressure in lane, inevitably drawing the attention of the enemy jungler. This allows more freedom to other lanes, which complements they’re extremely aggressive style of play. BKT is a team that is unafraid to look for fights, even when other teams might not. If they can catch their opponents off-guard with their unorthodox and bloodthirsty play, they could find a few wins in games they’re expected to lose. However, this style can be heavily punished if teams are ready for it, which could make victories difficult to come by.

Group C Predictions

1^st: SK Telecom T1

2^nd: Edward Gaming

3^rd: H2k-Gaming

4^th: Bangkok Titans