The League of Legends Season 5 World Championships are only a couple weeks away, which means this is a great time to start making some predictions about the group stage. What makes a tournament like this so exciting is that surprises are virtually inevitable, with top teams failing to live up to expectations, and at least one team pulling off an inconceivable victory (see: KaBuM!, 2014.)

Because of this, making predictions is often a fruitless endeavor, as no matter how much information is in front of you, chances are something is going to happen to turn the event on its head. Even so, it’s a great deal of fun, so let’s get started!

Group A

With no teams from China’s LPL, and the strongest Korean team elsewhere, this is considered by many to be perhaps the weakest of the four groups. However, it could also be the most volatile, with none of the four teams appearing to be locked into a certain spot in the standings.

Despite there being a Korean team, there was a chance that Counter Logic Gaming could have been considered the favorite in this group. However, losing Xmithie and instead needing Huhi to transition to the jungle role could be either just fine, or a huge problem with blowing up team synergy (even though Huhi has spent a lot of time with the team.) With that said, CLG looked incredibly strong during the NA LCS playoffs, and their ability to create an early game lead and use it to take over the rest of the match could be critical.

Of course, the KOO Tigers will likely be standing in CLG’s way in fighting for the number one spot. Their laners won’t easily be destroyed, and their ability to play a very map/objective-based style of play is what defines strong League of Legends teams. They don’t need to crush laning phase to win the game, but usually won’t give that advantage to their opponents, either.

While wild card teams have generally not fared well in international competition, paiN Gaming could be the team that finally breaks the streak of last-place finishes. They have a genuine star in mid-laner Kami, a strong and incredibly popular ADC in brTT, and have a roster full of experienced players. It’s hard to ever expect much from wild card teams, but if there was ever a time and place for one to do well, it’s probably here in Group A for paiN.

They may not have the title, but the biggest “wild card” of this group just may be the Flash Wolves. They’ve found their success partially through off-meta picks, and largely through a ton of aggressive plays. If other teams are caught off guard by this style, the Wolves could simply steamroll their way to victory. However, if their opponents are wise to what they’re looking to do, they could simply get punished for their over-aggression, and find it very difficult to achieve victory.

Group A Predictions

1^st: KOO Tigers

2^nd: Counter Logic Gaming

3^rd: Flash Wolves

4^th: paiN Gaming

Check back tomorrow for Group B predictions!