League of Legends CBLOL Preview & Odds: Pain +150 Favorites

• The CBLOL Summer Split begins January 25
• Is Brazil’s new power team the right pick to win it all in Sao Paulo?
• Other threats to take home the year’s first split in Brazil include INTZ, Prodigy and Furia

With the New Year upon us, that can mean only one thing; a new season for professional League of Legends. Each region has their own domestic league, but here we will be taking a look at the Brazilian league and who the best bet is to come out as the champion in the first split of the CBLOL.

Last year’s representatives from Brazil at Worlds, Flamengo, have had their team dismantled with their players being scattered across the rest of the league, so the door is wide open for another team to claim the top spot in the region. There are a few teams that are in a pretty prime position to do just that, so let’s take a look at the teams that stand the best chance to come out on top of the first CBLOL Split of 2020.

CBLOL Summer Split

Odds taken on Jan. 8

INTZ Ready to Claim Another Title?

INTZ was undoubtedly a top-3 team in the CBLOL last season, consistently seated among the top teams in the table with their worst finish coming in the Second Split of the year where they placed third. They were even able to take one of the two titles last year when they beat Flamengo, in the Summer Split Final in a thrilling five-game series where they booked their ticket to MSI.

Though they were able to take the title in the first split in 2019, they fell just short in the second split when Flamengo got their revenge in yet another five-game banger series. With that win, Flamengo, managed to edge out INTZ and book their trip to Worlds.

Since their rival, Flamengo, lost all but two players from their Worlds roster in 2019, INTZ are in a very good position to claim the spot as the top in Brazil if they are able to replicate their play from last season. I would say they are one of three teams that could end up taking the title in the first split of the CBLOL, but out of the three, I would put them in the third spot most likely spot.

Can They Continue Their Preseason Success?

Prodigy Esports are a team that I think could come in and turn some heads in the first split of the CBLOL. They’ve recently rebranded from ProGaming Esports following their promotion from BRCC, and in the preseason tournament held in November heading into December, they managed to place second to Pain Gaming, the favorite heading into the CBLOL first split.

Though they didn’t take the W, they managed to push Pain to their limits, taking it to the final game in both the Winners Final and Grand Final. They have great potential and even though they’ve just made the jump to the CBLOL this split, I think that it’s pretty likely we see Prodigy at least reach the final when all is said and done. If you are looking for more value in this prop, I would urge you to take a serious look at Prodigy Esports.

Favorites and Rightfully So?

I don’t think it would be an exaggeration to say that Pain Gaming may have assembled one of, if not the strongest team on paper to ever play in the CBLOL. They brought in three major pieces to their roster in the offseason with two of them being Korean imports from the LCK.

SeongHwan, will be the new Jungler for Pain after coming over from Gen.G, and, Key, will be taking the spot of starting Support after a year and a half with Hanwha Life. The third addition Pain made in the offseason may have been the biggest in the CBLOL, when they brought back fan-favorite ADC from Flamengo, brTT.

Você esteve aqui desde o início. Venceu, saiu, voltou e venceu de novo.
Olhando pra trás, tem muita coisa que faríamos diferente.
Mas nós não somos de olhar para trás.
E você também não.
A gente olha pra frente.

Bem vindo de volta, @brttOficial#oPaiVoltou #GOpaiN pic.twitter.com/CK2EKQSu5v

— paiN Gaming (@paiNGamingBR) December 9, 2019

They certainly have the right pieces to get things done in the first split of the CBLOL, and I would say they are fully deserving of the favorite spot on the top of the odds table. They managed to take home the title at Superliga ABCDE 2019, the preseason tournament held in late 2019, but that was before they made the roster moves bringing in the three new pieces.

With upgrades coming in at three of the five positions after they already managed to beat all the major contenders in the preseason tournament, I would say it’s all but a sure thing they at least make it to the final of the first split of 2020 in the CBLOL. Though they don’t offer the greatest value as they are coming in as the favorites, I would say that Pain Gaming is still the right pick to win it all in Brazil.

Pick: Pain Gaming (+150)