LPL Monday

(+1100) Rogue Warriors v FunPlus Phoenix (-2800)

(-210) Suning Gaming v Invictus Gaming (+165)

LPL finally follows LCS in their commencement of the summer season on Sunday. FPX looks to start strong against a bottom tier Rogue Warriors line-up, whereas two spring play-off contenders in Suning and Invictus Gaming battle it out for the first relatively competitive match of the season.

Captain

SofM ($10,200)

Vietnamese jungler SofM’s most exemplary quality is his ability to dominate inexperienced and underwhelming junglers with his fast paced, aggressive style of jungling. Across the rift stands XUN, who contrary to initial speculation, was actually relatively competent despite his noviceness. However, I still have SofM’s superior mechanics relative to XUN winning out- it was jungler SofM and ADC Huanfeng (alongside top laner Bin) who delivered Suning a 2nd place finish at Worlds 2021, putting up a respectable fight against champions Damwon Gaming. It should come as no surprise, therefore, that my secondary option for captain is Suning’s Huanfeng.

Alternatives to consider: Huanfeng ($11,400)

Top Lane

Nuguri ($6,600)

Speaking of Damwon Gaming, their top laner for their Worlds victory is my favored top laner on Monday. While any option for FPX is a great one since they’re against a literal last placed team in spring, I especially favor their top side due to how good the bottom lane option is from SN. Furthermore, IG’s top side is actually relatively powerful from their solo laners; while TheShy hasn’t looked great in form, he can still randomly completely steamroll the occasional game and run away with it to the end goal. It’s this volatility that makes me want to avoid Bin and take the stable option; although if you think it’s worth the wager, you may be able to bargain with Bin.

Alternatives to consider: Bin ($6,200)

Jungle

Tian ($7,200)

The return of Tian marked a great turning point for FPX. While they never lost a game with Bo, his competitive ruling caused Tian’s return to nearly secure a domestic championship before narrowly losing to RNG. Tian is a solid jungler, although he is a weakness on FPX. Fortunately, though, with SofM as captain we do enjoy the best of both worlds: junglers are a high priced commodity in the LPL, and if FPX were pitted against a bit of a higher caliber team with a star jungler like LNG, I wouldn’t favor him as much- however, Rogue Warriors is dead in the water, so Tian is definitely a player worth considering. If SofM isn’t your captain, he’s a great option here, too.

Alternatives to consider: SofM ($6,800)

Mid Lane

Doinb ($7,600)

There’s only one correct option for middle lane. Angel is a weak point on SN and his laning is abysmal, especially compared to IG’s star player: Rookie. I have SN beating IG due to the relative unimportance of mid lane as a role in the current meta game, but I still want to avoid taking either, since Angel is likely to get outmatched and Rookie just can’t be favored due to the nature of DFS; losing players will always miss out on scoring well. Doinb is the only option that makes sense in the middle lane; unless you have some sort of crazy plan that involves Angel.

Alternatives to consider: Angel ($7,200)

ADC

Huanfeng ($7,600)

Picking between Huanfeng and LWX is difficult, and is the hardest selection you have to make on the day. I favor Huanfeng for two reasons: one, the match between IG and SN will actually be closer, which will cause the gaps in their team to have to “work harder” relative to the happy game FPX will be having. Therefore, Huanfeng will have to carry harder, and therefore will generate more points. This falls into the second point; LWX has a stacked team filled with players who will outshine their opponents, causing the game to end relatively quickly without much ADC “power” needed, as the role favors mid to late game team fights for point generation.

Alternatives to consider: LWX ($7,800)

Support

ON ($5,400)

Support ON has come a really, really long way from his start in mediocrity. While I hesitate to call him “not a liability” I still think he’s a worthy sac; especially since he’s on a winning squad in Suning. Support will nearly always be a sac, so I favor ON relative to Crisp. There is little to no meaningful point differential between either of them, so I favor the cheaper option. IG’s supports aren’t as strong either, and it’s not immediately obvious which one they’ll start, whereas ON is consistently “good enough” for the spot.

Alternatives to consider: Crisp ($5,800)

Team

FunPlus Phoenix ($5,400)

FPX is capable of winning another championship. They’ve shown they have the talent, they just need that certain something to put them over the end, and I fully believe that when Bo is unbanned, the upgrade in the jungle is what they require to secure an LPL dynasty that they’ve always sought after. RNG may hold the crown for now, but I predict the Phoenix will rise again, and it starts on Monday, with FPX stomping the last placed team in the LPL.

Alternatives to consider: Suning ($5,000)

Stacks:

Doinb & Nuguri

The solo laners for FPX are star studded: 2019 champion Doinb and 2020 champion Nuguri is a solid combination, while Nuguri hasn’t found the same success he has in Korea, he is still a fantastic player and deserving for a spot on your squad against nearly any non-RNG opponent.

SofM & Huanfeng

These two players allowed Suning a chance at the 2020 world championship in the grand finals, and are consistently the strongest points on SN despite an underwhelming mid laner and a rookie support. SofM and Huanfeng share a killer instinct that allows SN to compete with upper tier rosters.

Tian & Crisp

While I don’t encourage taking this pairing for the reasons described above, I still think it could be worth swapping the team choice and support choice to get this pick-up; Crisp is a great part of FPX’s bottom lane, and while he occasionally has some screw-ups, people that are cold on ON will find Crisp’s veterancy very welcoming.

Top Picks: Huanfeng, Doinb, SofM

The big point bringers for the squads. I love the SofM+Huanfeng pairing for the reasons above; the closer game between IG and SN allows their best players to shine brighter, especially as they target the weaknesses of IG. Doinb similarly allows you to move away from the strengths and weaknesses of the SN vs IG match and play into FPX’s own strengths.

Top Value: Huanfeng, ON, SofM

Suning’s players come in cheap relative to FPX, averaging $400 less per player. Their best players are obvious, but ON is a slept on comer-up and allows you to hit on IG’s weak support role. Definitely something worth considering.