This article was originally published on GameSpot's sister site onGamers.com, which was dedicated to esports coverage.

　　With the Season 4 World Championship group stage reveal show set to be aired at lolesports.com on Monday the 8th, there's still time to theory-craft possible groups that could come out. In this piece, Kelsey Moser and I took the three pools of teams and, according to the criteria of the rules, set about making up some fun or otherwise interesting groups, choosing our own match-ups and themes as we went.

　　

Pool	Teams
1	ALL (EU), SSB (KR), EDG (CN), TSM (NA)
2	FNC (EU), SSW (KR), NJWS (KR), SHRC (CN), OMG (CN), C9 (NA), TPA (SEA), ahq (SEA)
3	SK (EU), LMQ (NA), DP (WC), KBM (WC)

Smartest guys in the room

　　SSB (KR)

　　OMG (CN)

　　C9 (NA)

　　SK (EU)

　　I was looking for the most intelligent and cerebral teams in the competition and this is the foursome I arrived at. Samsung Blue are practically geniuses of figuring out how to get a game to the late-game and then dominate through flawless team-fighting, out-positioning their opponents over and over. If Blue doesn't want you to engage on them or be able to get a pick on them, then beyond a certain point on the clock you simply can't.

　　To compliment Blue in the brains department, I had to go with Cloud9 and SK Gaming, the two teams who have defined themselves within their regions as the thinkers. Both lack for raw skill, when compared to the other line-ups representing their regions, but make up for that deficit by out-thinking and out-manoeuvring their opponents. Both of those teams would know and understand Blue's win conditions, making the game a battle to pressure the Samsung team early on, not allowing them to waltz to the late-game untested.

　　Finally, I had to pick OMG as my fourth team, as none of the other teams in pool 2 really screamed intelligence, so I'll give OMG credit that, for a Chinese team, they can be intelligent in their decisions and adaptations within a match. Being able to make that botlane work in a region filled with monster ADCs, you know that OMG are thinkers as well as fighters.

　　Lane or die

　　TSM (NA)

　　SSW (KR)

　　OMG (CN)

　　SK (EU)

　　TSM's strength is in laning well enough to be able to snowball the late-game and take the pressure off Bjergsen to make game-decising shot-calls. In this group, they'd be put under extreme pressure to have a very strong laning phase, else they'd be in a lot of trouble come the late-game. White can murder you at any point in the game, but they will also bully you around through the early-to-mid game. OMG are going to create fights, no matter the circumstances. Finally, SK know they won't win against stronger teams in straight-up late-game wars, so they're looking for creative lane picks and ganks early, to create an advantage for themselves.

　　This group would be a true test of TSM's laning prowess.

　　TSM's dream

　　TSM (NA)

　　fnc (EU)

　　ahq (SEA)

　　DP (WC)

　　This would be the dream group for TSM and those hoping to see them moving on to the playoffs. ahq are by far the weakest team in pool 2, so that leaves us needing to take fnatic for the second weakest, since we can't have two teams from SEA. Finally, Dark Passage ensures that TSM would have at least two sets of wins in the bag come the end of the group, moving them on.

　　ALL's nightmare

　　ALL (EU)

　　SSW (KR)

　　SHRC (CN)

　　LMQ (NA)

　　From TSM's dream to Alliance's nightmare. Froggen and company could find themselves facing Samsung White, a team many have picked to win this tournament. Then there's Royal Club, who gave OMG and EDG problems in the recent LPL playoffs and Chinese Regional, showing how dangerous they can be for top teams. Finally, we bring in the fiesty and bloodthirsty LMQ, who are only too happy to force the action early and then offer up big team-fights late, where ALL sometimes show hesitancy to want to get involved in chaotic fights.

　　Put in a group like this, Alliance would be in danger in every match they played, with no room to breathe.

　　The Group of Death - Part 1

　　SSB (KR)

　　SHRC (CN)

　　C9 (NA)

　　SK (EU)

　　Simply put, this is the hardest group possible according to the rules of the draw and recent form. Blue are the best team in the world, OGN Summer finals be damned, and a favourite to win over everyone in the tournament. Royal Club have been in strong form recently, so they have to be the second pick, as our Korean slot is already used up. Cloud9 were a single team-fight away from winning the NA LCS and monstered Curse in the semi-final, so they are to be considered the strongest among the rest of the teams in pool 2. Finally, we have the SK Gaming team who were painfully close to beating Alliance and reaching a second consecutive EU LCS final.

　　Predicting the second placed team in a group like this is an incredibly tough task.

　　The Group of Death - Part 2

　　EDG (CN)

　　SSW (KR)

　　C9 (NA)

　　SK (EU)

　　I decided there was another route I could go in creating a monster group. EDG have looked very strong in the big games in China, convincingly smashing LPL finals and only really being put to the test in the number one seed decider match. This team looks incredibly strong when you let them get to the late-game, leaving teams scrambling to put the pressure on early. By taking EDG as my pool 1 team, I'm able to take Samsung White out of pool 2, arguably the second best team in the world right now. C9 and SK are added for the same reasons as the previous group. Admittedly, many would predict this group as being EDG and SSW taking the top spots, but C9 and SK are the teams with the brains to potentially defuse the ticking bombs that those Asians represent.

　　Beat up on Blue

　　SSB (KR)

　　fnc (EU)

　　OMG (CN)

　　LMQ (NA)

　　Samsung Blue are the best team in the world, but which teams would be best suited to defeat them in the group stage? We need teams who are willing to put the pressure on early in the match and create skirmishes wherever possible, not letting Blue passively farm up or go without facing threats. fnatic and OMG definitely fit the bill, teams who love a fight and chaining up multiple small skirmishes. Finally, LMQ are down to scrap whenever and wherever. If there's a kill to be gotten in lane, they're there to dive and gamble a death for it.

　　Late game limbo

　　EDG (CN)

　　NJWS (KR)

　　C9 (NA)

　　SK (EU)

　　EDG and NJWS are two of the scariest late-game teams in the entire world, they not only know how to reach that stage a ridiculous amount of the time, but are killers once they get there. If we're going to stop them stomping this group, we need the brains of C9 and SK to figure out a way to stop those trains before they get up to peak speed.

　　

Kelsey Moser's thoughts

A	B	C	D
TSM (NA)	ALL (EU)	EDG (CN)	SSB (KR)
TPA (SEA)	SSW (KR)	C9 (NA)	SHRC (CN)
NJWS (KR)	OMG (CN)	ahq (SEA)	FNC (EU)
SK (EU)	KaBuM! (WC)	DP (WC)	LMQ (NA)

The first seed North American and European teams, Team SoloMid and Alliance, are in groups with challenging opponents, but with an opportunity to make their mark. Pitting Alliance against the second seed Korean and third seed Chinese team will create a great deal of interest early on in the tournament. It’s unlikely Alliance can put a dent in Samsung White, but many fans will want to see them test their mettle. The Alliance vs OMG matchup will be highly anticipated.

　　The Taipei Assassins have a chance to show the world if they’ve improved since AllStars, and Team SoloMid’s performance against NaJin White Shield should give fans a pretty solid indication as to whether TSM has a shot of ending their winless streak against Korean teams. Group D is unlikely to go in favor of Fnatic or LMQ iBuyPower, but “Europe vs Samsung” has an interesting enough ring to it. In addition, the Samsung Blue and StarHorn matchup should be interesting because their gameplay styles are opposed, I foresee an exciting swing game before a Blue victory.

　　More or less, this first selection will spell doom for North America and Europe if the first seeds don’t perform well. Western fans will have their most burning question answered right out of the gate: how far ahead is Korea?

　　

A	B	C	D
TSM (NA)	SSB (KR)	EDG (CN)	ALL (EU)
TPA (SEA)	SHRC (CN)	SSW (KR)	NJWS (KR)
OMG (CN)	C9 (NA)	FNC (EU)	ahq (SEA)
KaBuM! (WC)	SK (EU)	LMQ (NA)	DP (WC)

I’ve intentionally stacked Group B and Group C for the sake of an interesting bracket. It’s fair to say the best of Group C and Group B will have an advantage in not facing one another in quarterfinals, so the best of these two groups have a solid chance of advancing. The quarterfinal Samsung team kill will be avoided, and the next best thing to two Korean teams in one group to block out the advancement of poorly performing opposition is a group stacked with Edward Gaming and Samsung White.

　　The opportunity for interesting quarterfinal games are still maintained. Edward Gaming vs Alliance could be very anticipated, and if Korean teams must face off in the quarters, it’s better for White to take out Shield early.

　　As for Group A, Team SoloMid, Taipei Assassins, and OMG all have a chance of advancement. Then, in group B, determining whether we see StarHorn or Cloud9 make it out alongside Blue has sweeping implications for the rest of the tournament. If Cloud9 can triumph over the fast, brute-force playstyle StarHorn Royal Club brings to the table, they have a chance of advancing to the semifinals, though the odds may be against them.

　　I believe this draw would make for one of the most exciting bracket possibilities, and I hope fortune favors it, and we see something like it (perhaps even with Alliance in TSM’s place and FNC in C9’s) come out on tomorrow.

　　Photo credit: lolesports