The third week of this LCK split begins with a rematch of Hanwha Life Esports and Nongshim RedForce. These teams faced off last week in a best of three, with Hanwha Life Esports sweeping 2-0.
More of the same is expected this week as Hanwha Life Esports are favored heavily. They are -1400 on the moneyline, while Nongshim RedForce are +600 on DraftKings Sportsbook. The spread is set at 1.5 with HLE favored at -205. The game total is over/under 2.5.
Here’s my prediction and pick for Wednesday’s Hanwha Life Esports vs. Nongshim RedForce matchup.
Hanwha Life Esports vs. Nongshim RedForce prediction
Nongshim RedForce have had a rough start to this split, losing all four series without winning one game. They’re 0-8 to start the split and remain at the bottom of the Legend Group. To be fair, this pool is extremely difficult with Gen.G, HLE and T1 being in it.
Those three aren’t just the best teams in the group or the LCK, they’re some of the best teams in the world. It won’t be easy to navigate the split, but Nongshim RedForce can still win some games.
They were 10-8 in series and 24-21 in games in the previous split, so it’s possible for some improvement going forward.
HLE will be a difficult matchup, but it’s the second time they’ll play each other in three series. Perhaps HLE falters as it can be difficult to sweep opponents in such quick succession.
Hanwha Life Esports vs. Nongshim RedForce pick, best bet
The lines are a bit steep for any bettor to profit much off of HLE winning. The moneyline is at -1400 and the -1.5 spread is at -205. Even the under 2.5 games is set at -245, implying another HLE sweep.
That’s certainly a possibility, but this also creates value for Nongshim RedForce bettors. It’s a bit extreme to expect them to win the series at +600, but stealing one game is very doable.
There are two options for this bet: Nongshim RedForce +1.5 (+150) or over 2.5 games (+180). Nongshim RedForce need to win just one game for the spread to clear, but the over requires Nongshim RedForce and HLE to each win a game.
Of course, this means the +150 is a safer outcome because a Nongshim RedForce sweep would still cash this bet. However, the likelihood that HLE is swept a week after sweeping Nongshim RedForce is slim.
Take the extra juice at +180 and hope Nongshim RedForce can steal one game.