NRG vs. Weibo Gaming Prediction on November 2, 2023

Match info

The League of Legends World Championship 2023 is heading toward Knockout Stage, and South Korea is hosting a true eSports carnival. We can’t overstate the significance of the occasion because Worlds is always a spectacle full of entertainment and theatrics. The playoffs of the season’s main event for LoL will feature the match between NRG and Weibo Gaming. To be honest, we didn’t anticipate seeing the former at this particular point, but here they are.

The Quarterfinal encounter is on the schedule for Thursday, November 2, at 5 p.m. local time at Sajik Indoor Gymnasium in Busan.

Meeting statistics

Let’s see if the North American club can make it to the next stage at the tournament in Korea by overcoming a more challenging opponent and continuing the “Western“ fairytale. Practically every bookmaker League of Legends who has released odds at the time of writing this betting thread doesn’t believe in this outcome.

The current form of NRG

As the season’s biggest shocker thus far, NRG serves as the starting point for our match analysis. They’ll compete as underdogs, with about 5.00-6.00 odds of winning.

In 2016, NRG made their debut in the professional League of Legends in North America. The club placed sixth in the Spring split and ninth in the Summer split back then. They vanished from the scene after that and remained on the sidelines until 2023. After assuming the Counter Logic Gaming slot, NRG were able to get back to the LCS. It has been working out well for them afterward. NRG advanced to the Upper Bracket of playoffs at what was effectively their first split. They completed the group stage 9-9, which looks well overall.

NRG signed players who had formerly played for Counter Logic Gaming after assuming their slot. Victor “FBI“ Huang and Lee “IgNar“ Dong-geun, who were previously members of Evil Geniuses and Dignitas, respectively, joined the North American squad following a little roster reshuffle. Although the roster is relatively new, it’s simply a modified CLG that performs in a little more enjoyable way.

Team Liquid was the opponent for the LCS “newcomers“ in their first playoff match. The game concluded 3-1 in favor of NRG, who proved much better than their supposedly superior opponent. The fact that NRG defeated the Golden Guardians, the top team in the regular season, made their route even more intriguing: NRG triumphed 3-1, showing class. They advanced to the Upper LCS Bracket, where they took on Cloud9, following their qualification for Worlds 2023. The game finished as predicted, with Cloud9 winning 3-1 and NRG dropping to the Lower Bracket. NRG met Liquid there, already with a scant margin for error. The first LCS playoff match had a colorful replay, and the outcome was essentially unchanged with a tiny variation: NRG prevailed 3-2. As previously stated, NRG unexpectedly emerged as the summer LCS champion. They triumphed over Cloud9, the most titled team in America, in the Grand Final.

NRG lost the opening Worlds 2023 match as was to be expected. They had no chance against Weibo Gaming. However, NRG eventually rose up. They defeated Team Liquid first, then outperformed Mad Lions to get 2-1. NRG took on G2 Esports in the decider for the Worlds 2023 playoff qualification; at that point, the latter seemed like a team with greater potential. It was highly unexpected to witness the North Americans’ complete dominance, who defeated G2 with a score of 2-0.

ADC Caitlyn is the most successful NRG character (5 games, 100% victories).

The current form of Weibo Gaming

We continue our match analysis by examining Weibo Gaming’s performance. They are playing as favorites in this match, and figures representing their odds are so low that it’s not profitable to make a moneyline wager on them.

Weibo Gaming can be considered a rookie to the LPL, having made its debut in 2022 after previously making its eSports big-stage debut in 2021. They achieved excellent results for novices. They made the top 8 twice in 2022, finishing top 6 at LPL Spring 2022 and top 8 at LPL Summer 2022. At the last tournament played before LPL Summer 2023, the previous LPL Spring 2023 split, the Chinese side even finished in the top 6. Not surprising, given their roster.

Weibo Gaming made a very confident entry into the championship playoffs. They finished sixth in the LPL Summer 2023 Group Stage with a score of 10-6. Ninjas in Pyjamas, who had an incredible run through the Group Stage and then shocked everyone by making it to the top 8 were Weibo’s first opponent in the playoffs: Weibo prevailed 3-1. Next up for Weibo in the LPL Summer 2023 Knockout Stage was LNG Esports, who finished the regular season with a strong showing, in the top two, and coming close to defeating JD Gaming in the championship game. That being said, Weibo lost that match by a score of 2-3.

Weibo began their participation in the regional finals from the Lower Bracket, where TES was their initial opponent. WG were on the edge in this game but resolved it in their favor with a 3-2 victory. Weibo competed against EDward Gaming in the next round to earn a spot at Worlds 2023. They put up a great show and defeated their opponent 3-1 to secure their participation in the World Championship.

Weibo Gaming took against NRG in the Worlds 2023 opening match. The game finished just as it should have: the Chinese side easily won and the American top team was completely destroyed. The most interesting match of Worlds 2023 was perhaps Weibo vs. G2 Esports. In an incredible series, the latter won, sending Weibo to a 1-1 record. Then Weibo suffered yet one more setback. After WG easily defeated the MAD Lions, having a 1-2 record prior to the game, they proceeded to play against Fnatic, another LEC member. The team from China overcame a one-card deficit to win the pivotal match on the Swiss Stage.

Vi, from the forest, is the most successful champion for Weibo Gaming with six games and 100% wins.

Head-to-head encounters

The teams have previously faced off against one another in the group stage at Worlds 2023. Then in bo1, Weibo Gaming prevailed.

Match analytics

NRG have already demonstrated their capabilities on a global scale and have won some prestigious awards. However, they’ll probably end their Worlds 2023 journey in the top 8. It seems unlikely that they’ll surpass Weibo Gaming. The skilled Chinese team just won’t let itself be overpowered throughout the laning play, and NRG is a lesser performer overall.

Bottom line: Best of 5 Correct Match Score 1:3 (for Weibo Gaming) at odds of 2.90 on Thunderpick.

Results of the forecast

Forecast failed. NRG vs. Weibo Gaming 0:3