League of Legends Championship Series

Lock In Finals

January 30th, 2022

(+156) Team Liquid v Evil Geniuses (-200)

Cann’s Pick: Evil Geniuses (3-2)

We have finally made it to the finals for the Lock In Finals! Each team has a very different story entering this final series before the regular season. Team Liquid has been juggling different lineups because of their issues getting their World Champion support player, CoreJJ, the green card needed to make him qualify for the resident status. They have had flashes with their alternate lineups but you can clearly see that this team is still waiting for their final form. Alternatively, Evil Geniuses was one of the few teams who walked into the tournament with their entire lineup ready for the beginning of the Spring Split. Most pundits are guessing TL has no shot in this matchup but I think this series will be much closer because Evil Geniuses haven’t been tested for the majority of this tournament. The only match they struggled early? It was against Team Liquid. Buckle up for a wild series this afternoon! Let’s dive in!
 

Fantasy Value Breakdown

Captain

Favorite: Danny (EG: $16,500) Highest kill total on the slate with 31 and has the highest average kill per game total with over 5. Danny is the carry on this team at this point. He is aggressive and doesn’t fear anyone he plays against. EG finds ways to draft him into great situations and throughout the whole tournament, he hasn’t been challenged too much by any bot lane he has seen. Jump on the Danny hype train now because once the season starts, he will be harder and harder to fit into your lineups as his price skyrockets. 

Value Pick: Inspired (EG: $14,100) 

Captain

Favorite: Hans Sama (TL: $15,900) What makes me believe that this matchup between these two teams may end up differently is the fact that the European superstar did not play in the first meeting. Hans sama is averaging 60 FPPG which is insane and he is sitting at a 10.3 kDA. He just doesn’t die (averaging 1 per game) and he averages just under 4 kills a game and averages nearly 7 assists in that same time. He is a game changer for Team Liquid and while EG may may be the odds on favorite today, I fully expect that once Core and Hans sama are playing alongside each other that will flip. 

Value Pick: Bjergsen (TL: $15,000)

Flex:

Favorite: jojopyun (EG: $10,200) There is a lot to be said for the production of this 17 year old rookie. I debated putting him as the captain pick to maximize the dollar amount for your lineup (I would suggest if you make multiple lineups, throw a jojopyun captain one in the mix) but I hesitate because he is facing the king of the LCS Bjergsen. In their earlier matchup jojopyun was kept in check early but was able to pick up 4 kills and 7 assists in the late game which would be great points for your lineup for the finals matchup.

Value Pick: Impact (EG: $8,400)

Flex:

Favorite: Santorin (TL: $9,000) Santorin is the glue for this team. He doesn’t play the flashiest champions in the jungle role but he does consistently show up where he needs to throughout the game. He is a safe player (11.2 KDA) but that isn’t at the cost of sacrifice of team participation (64% team kill participation rate). I don’t expect Bwipo to be able to gap as hard as he did against DIG so Santorin feels like his floor is just higher than his top laner teammate. 

Value Pick: Bwipo (TL: $8,000) 

 

Cann’s Example Lineup

DraftKings Classic 

$50,000 Salary Cap

 

Captain (x1.5): Danny (EG: $16,500)

Alternate: jojopyun (EG: $15,300)

Captain (x1.5): Hans sama (TL: $15,900)

Alternate: Bjergsen (TL: $15,000)

Flex:  Inspired (EG: $9,400)

Flex:  Bwipo (TL: $8,000)