This has the potential of being a very good match depending on how you look at it.

One one side AFB has been crushing all their opponents and have yet to lose a map so giving them the edge makes sense. Add to that the WhoRU situation and their chances should arguably be increased even further.

On the other hand you can also suppose that the lack of competition puts them at a disadvantage vs a team that is known for their mental fortitude and coming back from some very dire situations on top of being returning champions and just a solid team overall.

As for the playewr situation, I think that LH is stronger with WHoRU even with the performance they had vs LWB. For the record I don't think the latter was at full power because of the whole Janus thing so there's that. I also still don't think AFB's been properly challenged and if my favorite Korean Genji is back in the mix LH have a solid chance of making this a real competition and possibly even winning.

In conclusion though I'm forced to give the edge to AFB because of the fact that they've yet to lose a single map, but I fully believe this will go all the way if we include WhoRU. I don't know if the results would be the same with Gido if he's in but I can only hope for the best.

My prediction:
AFB 3-2 LH

What I'm actually hoping for:
AFB 2-3 LH, or any LH win.

LH down 0-2 then win 2CP and make a comeback

AFB 3-1 if WhoRU doesn't get back.

LH 3-2 if he does.

If LH manages to shut down Donghyun like they shut Meko this can turn into a stomp. It will also be interesting to see if esca spends as much time on sombra as he did against LWB and how AFB plays around it.

WhoRU or not, AFB has looked increasingly strong and the rest of LH has been running into a few issues. I'll admit they're much more likely to win with WhoRU, but I still think, WhoRU or no, 3-2 or 3-1 AFB.

Despite not dropping a map yet, I feel that we're all overrating AFB; they've only faced mediocre-tier 2 Korean teams, and Lunatic-Hai will be undoubtedly the hardest competition they've faced yet. With or without WhoRU, I think LH takes it 3-2.

edit: seems as though the match is BO7. If this is the case, LH takes it 4-2.

If esca can show up like he did vs. LW blue, then AFB should be scared. However, AFB in my eyes has shown the best team coordination and ult management of any team in the league. Should be a close one, 4-3 to LH if esca shows up or 4-3 to AFB if esca is lacklustre

I can't help but wonder how insane LH would be if they had 2 world-class DPS players like Flow3R and Rascal. Gido has shown he can compete with the best but he hasn't stood out in any particular matches and EscA is the definition of mediocrity.

Even without WhoRU however I still think LH wins 3-2.

KuroiRyuu9625 [#1]

This has the potential of being a very good match depending on how you look at it.

One one side AFB has been crushing all their opponents and have yet to lose a map so giving them the edge makes sense. Add to that the WhoRU situation and their chances should arguably be increased even further.

On the other hand you can also suppose that the lack of competition puts them at a disadvantage vs a team that is known for their mental fortitude and coming back from some very dire situations on top of being returning champions and just a solid team overall.

As for the playewr situation, I think that LH is stronger with WHoRU even with the performance they had vs LWB. For the record I don't think the latter was at full power because of the whole Janus thing so there's that. I also still don't think AFB's been properly challenged and if my favorite Korean Genji is back in the mix LH have a solid chance of making this a real competition and possibly even winning.

In conclusion though I'm forced to give the edge to AFB because of the fact that they've yet to lose a single map, but I fully believe this will go all the way if we include WhoRU. I don't know if the results would be the same with Gido if he's in but I can only hope for the best.

My prediction:
AFB 3-2 LH

What I'm actually hoping for:
AFB 2-3 LH, or any LH win.

Bo7 lad, so your prediction is 4-3 AFB? I think the Bo7 favors LH, I'm leaning towards LH 4-3.

tmunnie21 [#9]

Bo7 lad, so your prediction is 4-3 AFB? I think the Bo7 favors LH, I'm leaning towards LH 4-3.

I'm not sure why this is listed as Bo7, as far as I know this should be Bo5.

But you're correct, if it is Bo7:

My prediction:
AFB 4-3 LH

• Though honestly I think a longer series gives the general advantage over to LH, mainly because they've just been known to be able to turn it around and the more games you gives them to do that the more dangerous it gets. I feel like that's especially true against a team that hasn't had to turn anything around at any point in this tournament yet. I'll keep my prediction as above but I'm not quite convinced.

What I'm actually hoping for:
AFB 3-4 LH, or any LH win.

APEX Season 3 semifinals will be Bo7. OGN introduced double elimination for the second round of 8 teams and Bo7 for semifinals as new features of this season.

astr [#11]

APEX Season 3 semifinals will be Bo7. OGN introduced double elimination for the second round of 8 teams and Bo7 for semifinals as new features of this season.

I see, I like this a lot, the mentally tough teams will be even tougher now.

AFB 4-0 LH. You saw this here first.

LH 4-2

this gon be gud

LH 4-1 if they don't get Ilios. If they do it's 4-0. Heard it here first folks.

Taimou [#16]

LH 4-1 if they don't get Ilios. If they do it's 4-0. Heard it here first folks.

GOD HAS SPOKEN. HEAR HIS WORDS. BASK IN HIS GLORY.

LH 4-2, not really buying into AFB hype train since they're schedule this season was not really that difficult. LH will be the toughest team they face all season and I think LH has the stronger team overall.

Whoru please come back

came here to post for this legendary matchup. 45min hype lets go.

ARHAN LUL vs ESCA LUL, who will win the meme battle?

I have returned to the prediction realm to utter this curse...

OMG, didn't expect LH to look this strong against AFB

obligatory reverse sweep comment

Admirable [#24]

obligatory reverse sweep comment

I don't think AFB has the mental testicles for a reverse sweep unfortunately...

dive is so annoying i rather watch 3-4 tank meta again where games actually lasted for a while

Lol these comments ^^ ez 4 LH

ESCA PogChamp

curse complete

4-0 completed. AFB just wasn't able to handle the tactical and aggressive tank busting nature of LH. They never had to adjust their play so I guess not getting properly tested was a bigger deal than I had previously thought.

Good game by Lunatic Hai, complete domination.

Those were some insane games, despite the results. AFB has given a really tough fight even though they got 4-0'd.

But most importantly, it's how LH showcased how to properly abuse Sombra to the fullest. It's very likely that Sombra is going to be the D.Va of APEX S1 at this rate.

This was not about aggression of L-H or lack of preparation against a top team imo. Lunatic-Hai counter-stratted them as they did with LW Blue. The pressure on DongHyun forced Mano to be more aggro than usual, then he was focused, they remove the tanks then pick off the back line. They didn't once dive the supports, always focused on killing Mano and DongHyun early with hacks.

Miro was turning to focus Mano constantly after baiting him to jump, Gido focused on de-mechs with EscA hacking, and Ryujehong was getting massive damage into Mano and ArHaN.

They put lots of pressure on ArHaN simply through Ryujehong and Tobi being so damn good, he and Mano couldn't get picks in their counter dives. Forced him to switch to Tracer and he had to just play passive and block Gido and EscA instead of getting picks or aggressive wipes.

Annoyingly I'm sure the narrative being spun will now be that AF.Blue were just overrated but they weren't. Just got tactically demolished and matched in terms of talent. The Sombra comp used like this to focus tanks is scarily good, forces teams to play aggressively and then they can soak up the aggro because their focus and back line is so good. L-H have found their own niche.

lowpriorityallday [#26]

dive is so annoying i rather watch 3-4 tank meta again where games actually lasted for a while

triple tank ResidentSleeper

Guess I was completely off with my predictions. Can't be helped when Afreeca blue is the korean version of Rogue..Creating hype by beating Tier 2 teams and getting swept by tier 1.

Sideshow [#32]

This was not about aggression of L-H or lack of preparation against a top team imo. Lunatic-Hai counter-stratted them as they did with LW Blue. The pressure on DongHyun forced Mano to be more aggro than usual, then he was focused, they remove the tanks then pick off the back line. They didn't once dive the supports, always focused on killing Mano and DongHyun early with hacks.

Miro was turning to focus Mano constantly after baiting him to jump, Gido focused on de-mechs with EscA hacking, and Ryujehong was getting massive damage into Mano and ArHaN.

They put lots of pressure on ArHaN simply through Ryujehong and Tobi being so damn good, he and Mano couldn't get picks in their counter dives. Forced him to switch to Tracer and he had to just play passive and block Gido and EscA instead of getting picks or aggressive wipes.

Annoyingly I'm sure the narrative being spun will now be that AF.Blue were just overrated but they weren't. Just got tactically demolished and matched in terms of talent. The Sombra comp used like this to focus tanks is scarily good, forces teams to play aggressively and then they can soak up the aggro because their focus and back line is so good. L-H have found their own niche.

Do you think they would have fared better against KDP?

Taimou predictions OP plz nerf.

lowpriorityallday [#26]

dive is so annoying i rather watch 3-4 tank meta again where games actually lasted for a while

i agree.

KuroiRyuu9625 [#35]

Do you think they would have fared better against KDP?

Yeah far better, I think they would have won. KDP's backline is squishy, they don't have a way to punish L-H's tanks, and I don't think their dive would have won out.

I can't get a read on nV really so no idea how that game will go against KDP. nV don't seem to have a single style so far, more of a mix of stuff so I'm not really sure at all there.

Seems unlikely that KDP will be able to win against L-H in a final though with L-H's newfound style, even though KDP play more aggressively with both their excellent DPS players which works better into the Sombra. I'm not sure how you stylistically crack the L-H style though other than perhaps going full aggro triple DPS and banking on winning against rjh and tobi. Or playing a load of Sombra yourself to lock off healthkits and have the EMP.

Sideshow [#38]

Yeah far better, I think they would have won. KDP's backline is squishy, they don't have a way to punish L-H's tanks, and I don't think their dive would have won out.

I can't get a read on nV really so no idea how that game will go against KDP. nV don't seem to have a single style so far, more of a mix of stuff so I'm not really sure at all there.

Seems unlikely that KDP will be able to win against L-H in a final though with L-H's newfound style, even though KDP play more aggressively with both their excellent DPS players which works better into the Sombra. I'm not sure how you stylistically crack the L-H style though other than perhaps going full aggro triple DPS and banking on winning against rjh and tobi. Or playing a load of Sombra yourself to lock off healthkits and have the EMP.

I think KDP will make it to the finals but I absolutely hope I'm utterly wrong and that we get to see how nV measures up against what I'd arguably call the best team in the world right now.

Somehow LH once again managed to turn unexpected roster swaps into success. Their coach is something else, not to take anything away from their skill as a team.

Miro showed complete dominance as the better Winston and why he should've been on the Korean World Cup roster seagEZ Especially after the trashtalk from AFB before the match.

LH look untouchable right now with their newfound Sombra-Tankbuster-Meta.

Hopefully NV or KDP find a way to react to the new LH-playstyle. If not, the finals gonna be 4-0 as well.