The group stage for the 2020 League of Legends World Championship begins Saturday, Oct. 3. The sixteen teams will be halved before the playoffs begin Oct. 15 and today, the Inven Global team gathered to share their Pick'ems for the group stage.

Between groups of death, groups of life, and groups with no clear top 2 (looking at you, Group C), our team found itself disagreeing on many topics, but one sentiment is being shared by all: Korea and China are the regions to watch this year.

Below are Inven Global team's Pick'ems, and maybe they'll help lock yours as well. 

David "Viion" Jang"The LEC is overrated"

The LEC is overrated. I don’t see Europe turning out that well in groups, considering MAD Lions had their devastating flop in the play-ins. DAMWON Gaming is the heavy favorites at this competition and they would be grinding every team. Many would argue Top Esports to be better than DRX, but I’m a genuine LCK fan. Aside from that, I believe DRX has a way higher ceiling than that of Top Esports.

Daniel "Quest" Kwon"As much as I want NA to move into KO stages, I just don't think it'll happen."

Group A: Suning will edge over G2 Esports because of jungle difference. G2 feels stronger in best-of-5s. Teal Liquid did look dominant in play-ins, but them dropping a game to INTZ was the reason why I put them third.

Group B: DWG will look to speedrun Group B. JD Gaming will definitely prove to be the biggest obstacle for DWG, and I think JDG should be able to shut down PSG and Rogue. PSG has their original roster, which actually made them a lot weaker, so it's gonna be close between them and Rogue.

Group C: Gen.G just seems to outclass the other three teams. Hard to predict the other three teams, as LGD looked super weak in play-ins, especially in best-of-1s. Both FNC's and TSM's playoff games were fiestas, so it'll be a close race between FNC, LGD, and TSM.

Group D: With TES looking dominant as ever and DRX looking weaker, TES will definitely outshine DRX. Unicorns of Love can potentially create upsets with unorthodox strats, but I think DRX is too high of a wall. As much as I want NA to move into playoffs, I just don't think it'll happen.

Nick Geracie" Fnatic will likely make it out of Group C with Gen.G, but FNC has been prone to high variance"

In order from first to fifth, Top Esports, JD Gaming, DAMWON Gaming, DRX, and G2 Esports are the top 5 teams at Worlds 2020, so it’s natural that they make it to the knockout stage. After that, things become a bit more nebulous. There is no clear favorite in Group C, but LGD’s weak performance in play-ins makes its fourth-place finish almost certain. Fnatic will likely make it out of Group C with Gen.G, but they have been prone to high variance performances. Should inconsistency get the best of them, TSM could find itself in its first Worlds quarterfinal since 2014.

FlyQuest, UoL, Rogue, and PSG Talon are simply outclassed by the superior teams in Groups B and D. Group A has a clear favorite in G2 Esports, but if LGD’s performance thus far is indicative of non-finalist LPL teams, then TL could have a chance at taking the 2nd seed over Suning, especially if Machi Esports can play spoiler at the convenient times.

Parkes Ousley" It’s a toss up between FNC and TSM for second"

Group A: G2 Esports is likely the best team in this group, but they will also likely throw one game or have a questionable draft or two, whereas I expect Suning to have a stronger gameplan and higher likelihood of going 4-0 against TL and Machi. G2 and Suning will go 1-1. Liquid is strong, but they’ll get jungle-diffed too often, and unless Impact can keep 1v9'ing, it will be too hard to surpass either G2 or Suning.

Group B: DWG is the strongest team, but like G2, they’re not the best in a best-of-1 and they’ll lose a game or two because of that. Last Worlds, they were pretty slow to start, before absolutely dominating and going 5-0 afterward. JDG will win with their topside hard-gapping the other two. Talon loses its two strongest play-in members, which means better teamwork but worse micro. Talon and Rogue will just get out-skilled.

Group C: This is potentially the closest group. Gen.G is likely the second-best LCK team and should be strong enough to outman the rest. TSM is actually a really strong team, especially if Spica doesn’t succumb to the pressure and if the bot lane doesn’t underperform. It’s a toss-up between FNC and TSM for second, but overall TSM can win through top 3v3. (FNC is really the best bet here, they always find a way to win and TSM always find a way to lose, but let’s be bold.) LGD is a dark horse. If they got all their inting out and found some comfort and confidence, they could still just “surprise” everyone and make it through groups. 

Group D: Somehow people thought of this as equal to Group B, but it’s not close. TES will easily go 6-0 or 5-1, but FLY and UOL have a real chance of upsetting DRX. If both play their part and take a game then it’s possible for one of them to make it out. However, it’s more likely that DRX only drops one game to the pair, and FLY and UOL also split games, meaning DRX will get out with a 3-3 record, both FLY and UOL below them. This group could also easily send FLY or UOL on, however, especially with UOL’s draft flexibility.