Worlds Semi-Final Preview: BLG Revenge for Last Year?

The first semi-final of Worlds 2024 is a rematch of a semi-final from Worlds 2023. Both teams had a challenging journey to this stage, with many counting them out in previous games. But here they are once again.

An all-LPL semi-final ensures that one LPL representative will be in the final. These two teams know each other exceptionally well. Most recently, they faced off in the LPL season final, where BLG won 3-0. BLG knows they can beat this WBG roster. For WBG, it will be a mission of revenge.

The Teams 

Both teams convincingly won their quarter-final series 3-1. BLG put past tournament struggles behind them, as they have yet to perform to their usual standard. WBG finally showed their quality and dominated the Bo5 series. This section will discuss each team and their previous games and provide insight.

WBG

In their quarter-final matchup, they faced fellow LPL team LNG. LNG was most people’s favourite to win. LNG had gone 3-0 in the Swiss Stage and was one of the in-form teams. WBG had shown mixed form throughout the tournament and slumped to a lacklustre defeat to G2, putting them in the 1-2 bracket. Since then, they have been on an upward trajectory and have won some impressive games. In the final match of the Swiss Stage, they impressively beat DK in a thrilling 2-1 series. That victory rewarded them with a Bo5 series against LNG.

WBG won the series 3-1, with the only faltering moment coming in game two, where they could not contain Scout from LNG. The rest of the series from WBG was nearly flawless. Breathe was fantastic on the Gnar and Jax picks. Xiaohu showcased his Orianna and showed us what he can do on the Aurora pick. The WBG roster performed admirably and overcame many doubters in this series. In this series against BLG, Breathe will know he is in for a hard time against BIN in the top lane. BIN has seen equal success on picks such as Gnar and Jax so it will be an exciting draft for the top-lane.

BLG

In their quarter-final series, BLG was up against LCK’s number-one seed, HLE. People wondered if BLG, in their current form, could fight their way through. Game one looked bleak. HLE was the better team, and BLG did not turn up. Game two comes, and you see a completely different BLG. BIN was the driving force of this game and carried BLG to the win on his Rumble pick. In the next game, the top side of BLG was all in sync. BIN, XUN, and Knight massively outperformed their counterparts and gained significant advantages to snowball the game. In the final match, we saw ADC Elk step up and provide the damage threat he had yet to show in this series.

BLG will be reasonably confident entering this series. They had a convincing series against HLE, and WBG is an opponent they are used to beating in the regional splits. They fell at this hurdle to the same opponent last year and will be more determined than ever not to let that happen again. Despite all their success in recent years, BLG has yet to be able to make a Worlds final. They will hope that all changes here.

Betting on WBG vs BLG

Despite WBG’s recent performances, BLG is the overwhelming favourite to win this series. Looking at GG.Bet the odds for a BLG win are 2/11, while the odds for a WBG win are 16/5. (Odds subject to change.) It is not a huge surprise to see BLG as the favourite, but how strong of a favourite they are is surprising. BLG is the obvious favourite here, but as they showed last year, we do not count WBG out. Betting on WBG means backing the underdog, as they have repeatedly demonstrated that they thrive when being the underdog. For more betting advice, check out our LoL Worlds betting page.

Final Thoughts 

This series is set up to be a thrilling watch as two of the best LPL teams go head-to-head. WBG will want to avenge the ghosts of last year and make it to the final once again, but win this time. BLG, on the other hand, will be looking to make a Worlds final finally. They have twice fallen in the final of international tournaments in the last two years, coming second at MSI in 2023 and 2024. A run they will be eager to end.

Our Recommendations

At ESB, we only recommend sites with the best customer experience. Below is a list of sites we suggest checking out for League of Legends betting:

Or here’s a list of our favourite esports betting sites for the LoL Words:

• GG.Bet
• Bzeebeet
• Rivalry
• Bet365
• 1xBet
• Thunderpick
• BC.Game
• RooBet
• Stake.com