Royal Never Give Up vs SK Telecom T1

For our first match of the day we have an absolute spectacle on our hands -- SKT T1 vs. Royal Never Give Up! Now, regardless of where these teams are in the overall power rankings or which line-ups they're fielding, there's always a reason to celebrate whenever they step foot on stage to face one another.

They're titans of competitive League and are synonymous with the regions they come from. Also, they always find a way to be competitive. Even though ultimate success might elude them, they're going to fight tooth and nail to emerge victorious which means fireworks are always guaranteed in one way or another.

This game should be no different. They're also entering this clash with similar amounts of hype and momentum. SKT T1 is currently sitting with a spotless 3W-0L record after outclassing everyone in their group, whereas Royal Never Give Up has a slightly less stellar 2W-1L tally. They're definitely worse than SKT (or at least that was everyone's conclusion after the first game had ended), but are still head and shoulders above Fnatic and Clutch Gaming, meaning they're poised to get out of groups as the second seed.

In other words, both teams are entering today's clash as winners, in one way or another. Everyone's expecting them to advance forward into the tournament and they only need a slight push in order to make that goal into reality. That said, if RNGU manages to get a win here they'll tie SKT and will force a tie-breaker at the end of the day. Everyone wants to get that oh-so-important first spot for the quarterfinals so you can expect the Chinese representatives to get out the gates swinging.

By the same token, SKT looks downright frightening. With G2's recent fall from grace and FunPlus Phoenix's inconsistent level of play, it's fair to say that SKT are the favorites to once again hoist the World Championship trophy. If they get the win here they'll basically guarantee themselves the number one spot in the group, so they're surely going to fight for every inch of the Summoner's Rift from the moment they spawn in-game.

In the end, we have to side with SKT T1. It's the only logical choice. They've looked spectacular in every game they played on the Worlds' stage, and they've shown no signs of stopping. They know how Royal Never Give Up wants to play the game and they're well-equipped to take on such a challenge. That said, expect a hectic, skirmish-heavy affair that'll go down to the wire.