Unicorns of Love vs Royal Never Give Up

This year’s Mid-Season Invitational is quite hard to assess. On the one hand, there’s a lot to like, with so many exquisite teams competing “under one roof” over in Reykjavik, Iceland. On the other, the way the Group Stage has been set-up doesn’t really give much room for upsets nor for any mind-blowing narratives. We have three groups and each of them is pretty clear-cut in terms of who’s favored and why. That’s not to say that surprises are impossible, but rather that they are somewhat improbable.

And no group is as clear-cut and, frankly, uninteresting to watch as group A. That, of course, is no one’s fault in particular. Simply put, it was to be expected given who’s competing. We have the Australian champions Pentanet.gg, the LCL champs (and former LEC alumni) Unicorns of Love, and the LPL giants Royal Never Give Up who, coincidentally, are broadly considered as the second-best team at this year’s MSI. So, naturally, they’re expected to win each and every single game and thus far, that’s definitely been the case. But winning is one thing; winning in as dominant a fashion as RNG has been doing is a whole ‘nother ball game. There has been no room for doubt whenever they stepped foot on stage to comete, and even the few meagre mistakes they’ve made were small and insignificant. Moreover, these flaws were in no ways exploitable and punishable by the likes of UOL and Pentanet. In short, we’re talking two vastly different ends of the competitive League spectrum, and it’s become somewhat tiring to watch. After all, if RNG isn’t being challenged, then what’s the point? We already know the outcome by default.

Had the VCS champions been able to attend things would’ve probably been a lot more interesting, but that’s not the world we live in so there’s very little use in hypothesizing what could’ve been and how things could’ve unfolded. To make matters worse, these three teams are competing in a quadruple round robin, meaning we’re only at the halfway point right now.

Now, make no mistake: the Unicorns of Love are a feisty team packed with talented players and an equally seasoned and respected coach. Still, they pale in comparison next to a giant like RNG. The gap in terms of talent and mechanical prowess is simply far too big, so betting against RNG at any point doesn’t really make sense. If anyone’s going to challenge them, it’s going to be in the upcoming Rumble Stage or, more likely, the Knockout Stage once we shift to Best of 5s and they’re forced to face someone like DWG KIA or MAD Lions.