Royal Never Give Up vs Fnatic

Things have not gone "according to plan." There's really no other way to put it. *Some* of the biggest favorites did survive the Group Stage, but things have definitely panned out in a wholly surprising way, one that was by no means predictable coming into the tournament. The fact that FunPlus Phoenix have been eliminated (by Rogue and Cloud9, no less) and that EDward Gaming have fallen prey to T1 and 100 Thieves is simply mind-blowing (in both good ways and bad). The LPL champions *did* get out of groups, but the fashion in which it all went down definitely left a lot to be desired. Heck, we're putting it mildly here.

This tells us one thing and one thing only: everyone other than DWG KIA is as volatile and inconsistent as possible. Whether that'll change in time for the Knockout Stage is anyone's guess, but making any sort of prediction going forward is going to be mighty challenging. There's just no way of predicting what'll happen when everyone's taking games off of each other. It's absolute chaos and mayhem all-around, and while things *will* stabilize in due time, we will no doubt witness a bunch of twists and upsets before reaching that point.

From a viewer's perspective, that's mighty exciting. For us, and everyone else who's looking to bet on competitive League, that's tantamount to a nightmare. This time around, we're taking a look at Group C which, in all fairness, looks pretty darn clear-cut. Then again, if the last two days are anything to go by, you'd be wise to expect the unexpected.

Royal Never Give Up are a cut above, but that doesn't mean they won't drop the ball. We thought the same for EDward Gaming and yet they went from being one of the most dominant teams in the first round robin to losing to 100 Thieves. The strangest of trajectories, no doubt. Facing a "gimped" Fnatic is by no means an insurmountable challenge, but we know for a fact that the boys in black and orange have the potential to upset. They've yet to show it, of course, but we know it could happen any minute now. When Fnatic come out the gate swinging, it's always a show worthy of spectating, so definitely make sure to tune in — the sheer potential of them pulling off the seemingly impossible makes this game an absolute must-watch!

Still, if things pan out as expected — which seems to be a much bigger "if" than expected given recent developments — Royal Never Give Up should, by all means, be able to find a way to win (and do so in rather emphatic fashion, too). They are far from infallible, but they have so many avenues for success it really isn't fair towards most of their peers — doubly so against a weakened Fnatic. They are once again going to compete without Upset, and it's fair to say that team morale has reached a record low. The team as a whole has been dealt the worst possible hand, and there's very little (if anything) they can do about it.