NRG vs WBG – Worlds 2023 Quarterfinals Preview & Analysis

With the Worlds 2023 Swiss Stage ending, the top 8 teams will head to the quarterfinals. NRG is the only western team left in the competition and they will face WBG on the second day, with the winner going to the semifinals and clash against the winner of GEN and BLG. Will NRG make the upset happen or will WBG get into the top 4?

Let’s break the two teams down and see what we can expect going into this match.

Worlds 2023 – NRG vs WBG Quarterfinals – November 3, 09:00 CET

NRG – truly counter logic

NRG made the impressive feat of reaching the top 8 at Worlds, becoming the only Western hope left in the tournament. From joining the LCS to winning the Summer title to qualifying for the quarterfinals at Worlds: it’s a truly counter logic move. What impressed me the most was NRG’s ability to improve and play more proactively as the tournament progressed.

Their draft read is also on point and a lot closer to the top teams. One thing worth noting is that NRG played different team comps during the Swiss stage, with the top, jungle, and mid playing 5 unique champions so far. Additionally, NRG are one of the teams that can pull off the Senna-Tahm Kench combo, a bot lane duo that is getting increasing recognition and for me, one of the best scaling options.

Playing against WBG will be a different matter, though. The team already lost once against them during the Swiss stage, and it was quite the stomp. We’ll see whether they can adjust for this crucial Bo5.

WBG – TheShy pulling up weights

Speaking of WBG, the team continues to be one of the most volatile squads in the tournament, something we predicted in our Power Rankings. Even when things you feel like might go right or wrong, WBG is able to turn it for the better or worse. It happened against FNC in the last Swiss round, and it might happen against NRG again.

WBG’s main issues continue to be around mid lane. Xiaohu has been targeted quite heavily throughout the tournament so far and sometimes he made some mistakes. There are those few matches where he really shines, though, which kind of allows you to forget the underperforming matches.

Having said that, WBG’s shining star continues to be TheShy. The player looks more and more back to Season 8 form when he was dominating everyone up in the top lane. With teams not focusing on him anymore, he’s able to take advantage of his individual talent to get leads in almost every matchup.

While it’s a positive thing for them, the problems around the mid lane will inevitably bite WBG in the back as they continue their journey at Worlds. This will be the key to their run going forward.

NRG vs WBG Predictions

Overall, WBG are definitely the favored in this matchup. They already beat NRG once and LPL teams are known to be much better at teamfighting, so even if NRG manage to get an early lead, it might not always translate to a victory.

What we need to see from the LCS team is keeping up their proactivity and trying to force the enemy team to fight under their conditions. If they go for the waiting game, WBG will eventually find the crucial winning fight. NRG will have side selection in Game 1, which will definitely be a great bonus.

A 3-1 score is probably the reasonable score for this match, even though it might also be a stomp if WBG step up huge. On the other hand, NRG should be happy regardless of the score, as long as they can keep on showing up with great proactivity.