Another enthralling season of League of Legends is coming to a close. Topping it all off, the 2021 World Championship is also racing to its much-awaited conclusion. The Worlds finals match unfolds this weekend, pitting reigning champions Damwon Gaming (DWG) against first-time finalists EDward Gaming (EDG). To get a sense of what's at stake, here's a recap of both teams' Worlds campaigns leading up to their finals berth and our predictions for the series ahead.

League of Legends Worlds 2021 Finals Predictions

Prediction: DWG 3-1 EDG

Damwon's mid lane prodigy Heo “ShowMaker” Su hopes—and believes—they can hold EDG down to a “boring 3-0 finals”. I'm going to be a bit more generous and say that the LPL side can at least take one game off the Korean giants. DWG admittedly look near invincible, with only T1 managing to take games off them. EDG have had a shakier ride to the Worlds finals, though they've also shown that individually their stars can come up big in key moments.

Both DWG and EDG took home the title within their respective regions, coming to Worlds as the top seed of the LCK and LPL, respectively. Both sides are clearly at the top of their game, but their background and journey through the tournament could not be more different. With Damwon's status as the defending champions, fans already put them as the favorites to take the title even from the get-go.

In contrast, EDG—no matter all their local glory—have fallen short time and again on the global stage. They'd been dominant in the Chinese League scene years back, but also went through several struggles in recent times, returning to form only just this season. It took seven long years for EDG to ever make it to any international tournament's finals. Support Tian “Meiko” Ye has witnessed all these ups and downs, having been with the team since 2015.

On the other side of the matchup, DWG top laner Kim “Khan” Dong-ha is another veteran player who's hovered around the scene for a long time. This World Championship may just be his last chance at getting a trophy under his belt. For his swan song, Khan has showed nothing short of dominance. He has no doubt played a huge part in Damwon's 10-0 start to their Worlds campaign.

The LCK powerhouse just styled on everyone early on, going 6-0 in the so-called group of death. While not all the games turned out to be stomps, the Korean giants never really looked too threatened by the competition. This was further affirmed in the quarterfinals, as DWG destroyed EU's MAD Lions, 3-0 to extend their undefeated streak. Even when Khan and co fell behind as much as 7k gold, they still found the engages and the objective control to keep the series firmly in their grasp.

EDG also started out strong, topping their group's standings at the end of week 1. However, the LPL team fell to NA's 100 Thieves and Korea's T1, ending with a 4-2 record. Pit against fellow Chinese squad Royal Never Give Up (RNG) in the quarterfinals, EDG had their backs against the wall as they eventually edged RNG, 3-2, to advance to the semifinals.

It proved to be another nervy and close-fought round for EDG. They jumped out ahead against Gen.G only to concede the next two games, playing at match point for games four and five. While the LPL team pulled through in the end, it made me think that should EDG get their lanes ahead, there's still a big chance for DWG to find game-changing fights mid and late.

The losses the Chinese side suffered came mainly when Gen.G turned on the engine and went proactive, pushing the tempo of the game. Of course, EDG also had to play up-to-par to capitalize, but their wins had also come in part due to Gen.G slipping to old, passive habits.

In the finals, DWG AD Carry Jang “Ghost” Yong-jun will only need to hold his own against one of the best bot laners at Worlds in Park “Viper” Do-hyeon, who definitely played well against another star ADC in Gen.G's Park “Ruler” Jae-hyuk. But Ghost already showed that he was capable of stabilizing and even winning lane with the right resources, effectively neutralizing T1's Lee “Gumayusi” Min-hyeong in the semis.

EDG will have to be wary of Khan's Kennen and ShowMaker's LeBlanc in particular, as well as any early game, aggressive jungler for Kim “Canyon” Geon-bu. These were key to Damwon outclassing legendary mid laner Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok and his teammates in a breathtaking 3-2 semifinals series.

Not to underestimate EDG, though, but I don't see how they can overcome DWG players' individual skill, more coordinated teamfighting, and overall better macro.

T1 handed DWG their first two losses at Worlds 2021, emerging as the only team to push the titleholders to the brink of defeat. It's significant because Damwon had barely lost in their own region as well, with T1 really the only team to ever hold a candle to their supremacy.

Now, Damwon have the chance to join T1 as the only orgs ever to win Worlds multiple times—and back-to-back at that. Only one best-of-five stands in their way. Meanwhile, EDG have the chance to do what T1 couldn't: take three games off DWG and dethrone the reigning World Champions. But the question stands: can EDG make the infallible Damwon bleed?

You can soon see whether the exciting conclusion to Worlds 2021 lives up to these predictions, as the finals between DWG and EDG unfold on Saturday, November 6. It all boils down to this, with the winner earning the right to lift the coveted Summoner's Cup.