League of Legends Champions Korea & Pro League

February 11th, 2022 (Starts @ 2 AM ET)

 

(-130) DRX v Hanwha Life Esports (EVEN)

Fredit BRION v Nongshim RedForce

(-325) Ultra Prime v Anyone’s Legend (+235)

(-2500) Bilibili Gaming v Thunder Talk Gaming (+1000)

(+132) Oh My God v Victory Five (-174)


 

There is no feeling like sitting down on a Thursday and beginning to cover the weekend slates. Top-tier matches are being played across all regions and, for the LCK and LPL, returning from holiday on the right foot. In the LCK, both DRX and Nongshim RedForce are situated in the middle of the pack. Both teams would make the LCK Spring Playoffs if they started today and both are facing squads just on the outside of that sixth place cut-off. 

For the LPL, we have a more lopsided set of matches. The LPL is heavier on the top-end of the table and that is where we find BLG, sitting at fifth in the standings as they face the 16th-place team in TT. The second LPL matchup is closer with the 10th place team, Ultra Prime, facing the 1-5 Anyone’s Legend. Both teams have good individual players, which makes for some large fantasy points being picked up across both squads. So let’s start the weekend off hot and dive in! 

 

Series #1: DRX v Hanwha Life Esports

Cann’s Pick:  DRX (2-1) 
 

Series #2: Fredit BRION v Nongshim RedForce

Cann’s Pick: Nongshim RedForce (2-0)
 

Series #3: Ultra Prime v Anyone’s Legend

Cann’s Pick: Ultra Prime (2-0)
 

Series #4: Bilibili Gaming v Thunder Talk Gaming

Cann’s Pick: Bilibili Gaming (2-0) 
 

Series #5 Oh My God v Victory Five

Cann’s Pick: Victory Five (2-1)

 

Fantasy Value Breakdown

 

Captain

Favorite: Doggo (BLG: $12,000) I was one of many people who had a lot of questions for Bilibili Gaming as the split got underway. They brought in LPL legend Uzi and had decided to go with the younger rising star instead. BLG did not start as hot as people expected them too and the doubt crept in. We are starting to see why they put their faith in Doggo. He has a great FPPG average (87.9) and has a pretty even distribution of kills (55) and assists (56). At the end of  first half of the Spring Split, we saw BLG putting more resources into their bottom lane – which could lead to a much higher point output for a player who is already making big ripples in the LPL.  

Value Pick: Rookie (V5: $11,100) 

 

Top 

Favorite: Canna (NS: $6,800) Nongshim started out hot when the LCK started in January. They allowed Canna to play with agency coupled with Dread pathing up to the top lane to utilize Canna’s individual skill. They seemed to have stepped away from that approach and have struggled more. Coming off the break, I fully expect NS to go back to the well that was working for them. Get Canna on a pick that has agency and allow him to put pressure in the sidelines. He has 58 kills and 70 assists in their 16 games played, which is best on the slate. To steal a phrase from Seahawks fans, “let the man cook.”  

Value Pick: Shanji (OMG: $5,800) 

 

Jungle

Favorite: Karsa (V5: $7,000) When Karsa left TES, many LPL analysts thought he was the problem on that squad and that they would get better. This Spring Split has shown us a different reality though. TOP Esports is sitting outside of the playoff cutoff at 2-3 while Karsa’s new team is sitting at 3-1 in sixth place. Karsa isn’t exceptionally flashy, but he knows where he needs to be at any given time – which is why his FPPG average so good (77.9). He has the highest team kill participation rate for LPL junglers on the slate (70%) and his awareness of how to use the map is significantly better than aKI. V5 will look to slow down the match and cool off the wild aggression of OMG. 

Value Pick: Dread (NS: $6,800) 

 

Mid

Favorite: FoFo (BLG: $7,800) For FoFo’s career, we have seen him paired with a mediocre supporting cast. The original BLG and then the RA squad both had low ceilings compared to the rest of the league. FoFo now has the chance to be part of a functional team rather than having to carry it to success. FoFo has a 6.6 KDA and is just a touch over one death per game. He is a low-risk pick and does really well in the control mage meta that is the standard across the world right now.  

Value Pick: Bdd (NS: $7,200) 

 

ADC

Favorite: Photic (V5: $7,600) You cannot sleep on V5 as a dark horse to get to the World Championship this fall. They are sitting at three wins and one loss so far in the LPL with a lineup that is littered with individual talent. I think they are most talented in the bottom lane with Photic and Ppgod. The duo has done a great job getting early leads in lane, then transitioning that lead to keep the enemy bot lane out of the game. Opposing ADCs and supports end up becoming irrelevant in late game team fights which adds to the possible points that Photic can pick up. 

Value Pick: Ghost (NS: $7,400) 

 

Support

Favorite: Ppgod (V5: $5,600) Only cold has more assists on the slate in the support position (145 v 121). The trade off? Ppgod has 20 fewer deaths. Supports are almost given a pass when it comes to deaths but you can lose a lot of points in certain matchups because the support is too reckless. Ppgod has the touch to toe that line of being willing to exchange his life for a team-fight win,5 but not carelessly throw it away whenever possible. V5 success runs through the bottom lane and I am here to ride the picks to the top of the lobby.  

Value Pick: Vsta (HLE: $5,000) 

 

Team

Favorite: Bilibili Gaming ($6,000) Out of all the possible teams on the slate you can choose from, BLG has the highest ceiling by far. They have shown a lack of workable strategies but the ones they have, they them down well. Work across the map, secure objectives, and use the leads you have to take advantage in late game team-fights. They like moving around dragons, which is a major metric for the team role to measure. They get out to early leads with a 73% first blood rate which is the best in the LPL and a great indicator on how the early laning is going to go. 

Value Pick: DRX ($5,000) 


 

Cann’s Example Lineup

DraftKings Classic – $50,000 Salary Cap

 

Captain (x1.5): Rookie (V5: $11,100)

  • Alternate: Weiwei (BLG: $11,100)

Top: Shanji (OMG: $5,800)

Jungle: Dread (NS: $6,800)

Mid: Cryin (UP: $7,600)

ADC: Photic (V5: $7,600)

  • Alternate: Ghost (NS: $7,400)

Support: Ppgod (V5: $5,600)

  • Alternate: BeryL (DRX: $5,200)

Team:  Nongshim RedForce ($5,400)