Worlds Match Preview: PSG Talon vs Fnatic – By DJ Esports
Lolesports
The League of Legends World Championships are underway in Iceland. PSG Talon and Fnatic are battling it out in Group C alongside RNG and Hanwha Life Esports
DJ Esports provides expert analysis ahead of some of the headline matches at Worlds 2021, to help you make your own predictions and check out some of the odds on offer.
PSG shone in PCS this year, winning both splits and entering Worlds as the first seed from the PCS. At MSI, PSG reached the semi-finals, and looked imperious up to that point. The talented roster has had one of the best years so far of any team at Worlds, and will be hoping to continue this fine form.
Fnatic, usually one of the LEC’s strongest teams, underperformed during the 2021 season. In this year’s LEC summer split, they only entered the playoff losers bracket as the fifth seed. But once in the playoffs, they found their groove, beating VIT, MSF, and G2 to enter the World Championships. Despite a rocky start, Fnatic is looking good coming into this tournament.
The overall strength of PSG and FNC is very close. From the DJ Esports’ data, it can be seen that the ratings of the two sides are neck and neck almost across the board. PSG lost to Beyond Gaming in th winner’s final of the PCS summer playoffs, but bounced back to beat BYG in the Grand Final. In contrast, FNC recently defeated VIT, MSF, G2, and RGE before losing to MAD in the LEC Grand Final.
Although they are a slow-paced team, PSG is stronger than FNC concerning late-game objectives. Expect PSG to rely on vision control to take control over the fight for key map resources. Based on this, PSG is a better pick with winning odds sitting at 2.27. Picking PSG to take Game 1 could be a great choice.
From DJ Esports’ data, we can see that over their last ten games PSG’s first Rift Herald rate and First Dragon rate are as high as 70%. This shows that they can reliably win map objectives, despite a lackluster early offense.
Since both teams prefer to rely on teamfights to determine the outcome of the game, it’s very likely that they will both be rather cautious when it comes to attacking in the early game, instead choosing a line-up more based around teamfights.
Therefore, this game is likely to drag on longer than 32 minutes. With odds of 1.95, this represents a pretty safe bet for users on DJ Esports.
Looking at FNC’s recent matches, we can see that their First Dragon rate is as high as 60% and the first Rift Herald rate is only 40%. This tells us that they are more inclined to exchange Rift Heralds for Dragons in the game and get the first one early.
This is because FNC is more inclined to field a line-up focusing on teamfights and getting the first Dragon early can create openings for later objectives.
In this game, FNC is likely to continue to employ their usual strategy, exchanging the Rift Herald for dragons, to establish an edge in the late game. Because of this, DJ Esports predicts that PSG will take the first Dragon.
From DJ Esports’ data, PSG is more inclined to choose a lineup with stronger abilities in late-game teamfights, hoping to gain an edge in the middle and late stages of the game.
Similarly, FNC also favors late-game teamfights. They may launch a battle for map resources such as the Baron in the early game, giving them an advantage moving forward.
Taking into account that both sides favor the late game, this game may not rack up a high kill count. Both sides are more inclined to rely on stable, conservative play to delay the game. DJ Esports predicts that PSG will exceed the spread of 3.5 kills.