The EU-NA rivalry continues at Worlds 2023: G2 and NRG will face in the Swiss Stage round 4. Winner goes to knockout stage, and the loser will have one last chance in the last round. Who is favored in this match? Let’s break it down.

Photo Credit: Colin Young-Wolff/Riot Games

Worlds 2023 Swiss Stage – NRG vs G2 – October 28, 09:00 CET

Being the two #1 seeds from the LCS and LEC, NRG and G2 are meeting the expectations, having both won two games in the first three rounds of the Worlds Swiss Stage.

Both teams were able to dodge all the eastern teams in this decisive Bo3 series, giving more hope to both teams at making it into the top 8. Most importantly, whoever wins this series will also be able to dodge the powerhouses Gen.G and JDG (the two undefeated teams in the Swiss round).

Going into the series, however, there are going to be a few question marks on both sides. On one hand, NRG got quite lucky with the draws, having faced WBG, TL, and MAD. G2, on the other hand, got demolished by Gen.G in Round 3, revealing some potential issues the EU team must fix if they want a chance in the top 4 and for the title. Let’s go through everything.

Read more: LoL Worlds 2023 Power Rankings

All eyes on the jungle and top lane matchups

NRG, compared to other western teams, are better at playing the teamfight and finding ways to get back into the games through that. While it’s not as good as what eastern teams can pull off, they were able to crawl back their way into many games in this way throughout the season. And Worlds is no different.

Even if they fall behind early on, their playstyle matches well with the meta, putting a lot of focus on neutral objectives and extended teamfighting. This strength will likely allow them to fight against G2, especially if Contractz shows up and finds ways to neutralize Yike.

On G2’s end, though, we’re seeing more of a traditional two-carry setup, with Caps and Hans Sama being given the resources to take over games. Yike and Mikyx act as enablers with BrokenBlade being the flexible within the team. The matchup against Dhokla will be interesting, especially if both teams are willing to put them onto carry champions.

Overall, the series is still probably in G2’s favor. The team is a bit stronger and they will likely triumph. I don’t see them dropping a game in this series, even though NRG can pull one off if they are on the blue side (which they have succeded a lot with). Side selection will swing the momentum but it shouldn’t be enough to make G2 fall at NRG’s hands.

Prediction: NRG 0 – 2 G2

Read more: T1 vs BLG – Worlds 2023 Swiss Stage: Match Preview