6 reasons SK could still progress from Group B of the S4 World Championship, even despite Svenskeren's suspension

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With SK Gaming's Jungler, Dennis 'Svenskeren' Johnsen, being suspended for the first three games of the team's Season 4 World Championship group stage campaign, it would be easy to imagine the European team's chances to progress from the group are non-existent. In fact, there are reasons to be considered which still provide hope for fredy122 and the gang. Here are six such reasons.

1. They will still be able to play half of their group stage games with Svenskeren

Many experts were previously divided on whether SK would make it out of the group in second or whether that spot would go to TSM. Losing Svenkeren for half of the games does hamstring the European team, but they will still have their Jungle star for half of the games, meaning they still have a solid shot at winning each of those three games. Even if one imagines SK will lose all three of the other games, which is not absolutely certain, though likely, it's still not entirely unlikely to be able to pick-up two out of the three they'll play with Svenkseren.

Against SHRC, SK are probably only a 35-40% underdog. Against TSM, it's pretty 50:50 and against TPA, many would probably give SK the edge 60:40 or higher, depending on your opinion of the SEA region. That makes SK coming away with two of their last three games as wins actually a decent possibility. If they can win even one of their three games without Svenskeren, either with cheese or a team like TPA underperforming, then they're still very much in contention for a playoff spot.

2. A 3:3 record might be enough to get out of the group, possibly with a tie-breaker

If SK can win all of their games with Svenskeren, that would leave them with a 3:3 record. Thanks to the parity of their group, there are a number of scenarios in which that would still allow the Europeans a chance of progressing. Firstly, if SHRC turns out to be dominant, then they can potentially had TSM two losses which puts the North American-based team one loss from being tied with SK. Secondly, TPA have been repeatedly mentioned as potentially being stronger than many expect, leaving them open to taking a win here or there, as opposed to simply rolling over in all six games.

Finally, even if SHRC turns out to be weaker than previously though, perhaps as a result of the over-hyped Uzi drama, then them dropping games also opens up tie-breaker scenarios. If the previous Worlds is anything to go by, where there was a tie-breaker in Group B, then the tie-breaker would literally be a match between the two teams, allowing SK to use Svenskeren for it.

3. The surprise factor

While it will hurt SK Gaming that they won't have Svenskeren for the first half of group play, it will also impact their opponents' research. Those teams who have spent time looking at the picks and approach of SK will now find that background work less useful, as Svenskeren was arguably the most skilled player in the line-up and a primary strength they had. The replacement is not going to simply slide into all of the same plays, so opponents will be unsure of how he will change SK's play.

Ultimately, it's still a detriment to SK's potential, but it does open some strange opportunities from which teams may be caught off-guard or underprepared.

4. The power of cheese

As nRated explained in his Summoning Insight appearance, when facing superior teams, it's not advisable to simply play the game out, allowing the superior team to accrue advantage. In SK's LCS play over the last two splits, spectators have seen the team consistently bring interesting lane match-ups, picks and approaches to overcoming the advantages better teams had against them. Playing without Svenskeren, it would not surprise me if nRated and company brought out some cheese in at least one of those three games, attempting to gamble on snowballing an early advantage.

5. nRated's brain

Following on from the previous point, I think the strategical approach of nRated is a huge boon for SK in light of their difficult circumstances. In a situation where you may have to scrap some of your prepared strategies and come up with something new, nRated is exactly the kind of thinker you want in your corner coming up with something that can work in the short-term and potentially be effective, even if it's a one-off.

6. Svenskeren's positional match-up

In the games Svenskeren does play I had already thought he had serious potential to surprise and out-class his opposing Junglers. Group B is a Jungler-heavy group, but each has their own weakness. inSec is mechanically incredible, but often overly aggressive. Amazing is strong on his small champion pool but fades as soon as he leaves it. Finally, Winds has little experience playing against top teams in official competition, stuck as a big fish in the small pond of SEA.

Svenskeren is a strong mechanical jungler who both loves one-vs.-one battles with the opposing jungler and coming in for pre-meditated ganks, aligned with his laners. His versatility makes him arguably the best jungler in the group, so when he does play for SK he can provide the team an advantage at one position. That he is not in the spotlight as a Shook is or playing for a high profile team like TSM, means that a number of the other junglers are not as familiar with his style of play. Amazing should be, having faced him numerous times in Europe, but Svenskeren has been the better Jungler over their times together in Europe.

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