T1 vs Saigon Buffalo Prediction: The Vietnamese will not be able to face the favorite on equal terms

The second game day of the Rumble stage of this year's first international LoL tournament will be on Saturday, May 21. T1 and Saigon Buffalo will face off on the third matchday of the Mid-Season Invitational 2022.

The Mid-Season Invitational 2022 is a LAN tournament in the cybersports discipline of League of Legends, featuring the winners of the spring splits of 11 separate Riot leagues, with LCL not sending a representative this spring due to the cancellation of the LCL Spring Split. It was also announced on April 21 that the LPL representative would compete online from China due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and all teams will compete at 35ms to level the playing field. The tournament prize money is $250,000.

T1: The easiest points for a favorite

T1 is a Korean eSports team run by T1 Entertainment & Sports, a joint venture between SK Telecom and Comcast Spectacor, formed from SK Telecom T1 K and SK Telecom T1 S. They were previously known as SK Telecom T1.

To develop a young squad before the 2021 season, T1 managed to sign Keriya from DRX, replacing Eforth. This squad finished 4th in the Korean Championship in the spring of 2021, with T1 being heavily criticized for many player replacements during the regular season. In the summer of 2021, coaches Daeny and Zefa were fired from the team, right in the middle of the split, with Stardust and Moment becoming interim coaches. This squad finished second in the summer split, losing to DAMWON Gaming in the final, but Team T1 secured a trip to Worlds 2021 with a 3-2 win over Hanwha Life Esports in the regional final. At the Worlds, the Korean team reached the semi-finals, which was a good result for them.

After T1 finished 3-4th at Worlds 2021, the team brought Zeus into the starting line-up, and Canna, Ellim, Cuzz, Clozer, Teddy, and Hoit left the team. In the new season, with 4 of the 5 main players back, T1 became the first LCK team ever to win the regular season, breaking their own LCK Summer 2015 record where they finished with 17/1.

Team T1 knocked out all their opponents in the group, but it is worth understanding that Saigon Buffalo, DetonatioN FocusMe, and Team Aze. T1 will have no trouble repeating their success against the Vietnamese.

Saigon Buffalo: An unrealistic task

Saigon Buffalo (formerly known as Dashing Buffalo, Phong Vũ Buffalo, and Young Generation) is a Vietnamese professional eSports organization. The LoL team is known in the international arena. Buffalo became a member of the MID world championships and tournament series at various times. But the internationals for this Vietnamese team ended back in 2019, so they are to be congratulated on their return to the big game.

The Buffaloes are extremely good in the spring, they became the vice-champions of VCS Spring 2022 just like a year ago, losing in the final to the GAM Esports team (1:3). Just the champions should have gone to the Mid-Season Invitational 2022. Still, the GAM Esports team decided not to participate in MSI due to the participation of players of this roster in the 31st Asian Games with the Vietnamese team. Saigon Buffalo was invited to the MSI as the Asian VCS league winner.

The Vietnamese surprised by advancing to this stage of the MSI 2022 from a challenging group. Yes, with T1, there was clearly no chance (and now there isn't), but Saigon Buffalo sent home an experienced Japanese team DetonatioN FocusMe. But no miracle, the Vietnamese are unlikely to score many points in this stage, where almost all the leaders of the top regions are assembled.

Expert Betting Tips

Total kills on the map will be under 29.5 kills for 1.83.

T1 will win with a handicap (-14.5) kills; the odds on that are 1.83.

The map will last less than 26 minutes; the odds on that are 1.75.

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