League of Legends European Championship
January 14th, 2022
(-185) Team Vitality v MAD Lions (+141)
(+200) SK Gaming v Rogue (-280)
(-325) G2 Esports v Excel Esports (+230)
(-210) Misfits v Astralis (+160)
(+350) BDS Esport v Fnatic (-550)
To call the offseason for the LEC dramatic would be an enormous understatement. You had raging feuds between former teammates (Adam v Upset), sneaky contract clauses (G2 blocking Perkz from being picked up by Fnatic), and even a new organization stepping up to the gauntlet in Team BDS. Many of the LEC teams opted to go cheaper and unproven talent, leaving a lot of players left with the task to prove their worth. Will European League of Legends rise to the power levels of years past? Or will we find their continued fall from grace? It all begins with day one games! Let’s dive in!
Game #1:Team Vitality v MAD Lions
Cann’s Pick: Team Vitality
Game #2: SK Gaming v Rogue
Cann’s Pick: Rogue
Game #3: G2 Esports v Excel Esports
Cann’s Pick: G2 Esports
Game #4: Misfits v Astralis
Cann’s Pick: Astralis
Game #5: BDS Esport v Fnatic
Cann’s Pick: Fnatic
Fantasy Value Breakdown
Captain
Favorite: Upset (FNC: $12.300) This pick is not just for the drama (Upset is one of the best ADCs that the LEC has ever seen) but it definitely helps. Team BDS’ top laner (Adam) was previously on Fnatic and when Upset had to leave FNC at the 2021 World Championships to address some personal matters, Adam did not take it kindly. Adam has spent the entire offseason attacking Upset and Upset’s girlfriend and I think Upset (and a superior FNC roster…) are going to put the young top laner firmly back in his place. This is going to be a can't miss League of Legends on Friday.
Value Pick: Larssen (RGE: $11,100)
Top
Favorite: Alphari (VIT: $6,000) For the life of me I cannot figure out why Vitality is valued so low, especially the king of the top lane. When Alphari went to the LCS to play with TL, everyone knew who owned the top lane. Then when TL went to the World Championships, we got to see Alphari style on some of the best laners in the entire world. MAD Lions’ top laner (Armut) has a few strong pocket picks (champions that he specifically is good at, not necessarily the best picks possible). That being said, we have seen that when Armut is pushed off of those picks, he struggles. I think the return to LEC starts with a bang for Alphari and I am all for the amazing price on this pick.
Value Pick: WhiteKnight (AST: $5,400)
Jungle
Favorite: Jankos (G2: $7,200) G2 has filled the missing spots in their roster with academy players. We see Jankos and his mid laner Caps as the only returning players to the squad. Why wouldn’t G2 let Jankos walk? He is the most consistent and dominant jungler that the LEC has possibly ever seen. Last year they slipped but I cite issues in the side lanes (shocking that those were also the lanes G2 replaced…) so I think that as long as the young bloods coming in can hold up their own, Jankos and Caps have a big bounce back season.
Value Pick: Malrang (RGE: $7,000)
Mid
Favorite: Caps (G2: $7,600) Same reasoning behind Caps as I had for his jungler Jankos. I will add that I think the matchup between Caps and SK’s mid laner (Sertuss) feels like an absolute ocean. Sertuss was in the LEC academy system for about 3 years before he had earned this opportunity. In that same time? Caps had been winning European Championships and getting second at the 2019 World Championships. This laning phase could get ugly fast.
Value Pick: Perkz (VIT: $7,200)
ADC
Favorite: Carzzy (VIT: $7,600) Another grudge storyline here. Carzzy had been a part of the MAD Lions since their inception in 2019. It was so clear he had great chemistry with the team and he fit well into their playstyle. He allowed Kaiser to roam the map and create plays elsewhere. Then in the late game (usually behind on gold and XP because of the heavy roams from his support) he would use his mechanical skill to gain advantages in teamfights. Interal personnel at the MAD Lions had publicly called out Carzzy and blamed him for the team not reaching their true potential. He is playing into Jezu and Treatz who both are not the strongest laners and normally need help from the jungler and mid laner to get out of lane. This is another matchup that I could easily get out of hand quickly with the aggression that his support (Labrov) brings to the table. This price is also really fair for an ADC who has more pop off games than he has duds.
Value Pick: Kobbe (AST: $6,800)
Support
Favorite: Hylissang (FNC: $6,000) Pair your supports and your ADCs together when there are huge mismatches in skill. Fnatic should run Team BDS out of the building barring some shocking result on Friday. I would suggest having Upset as your ADC which means that the aggressive Hylissang (who loves to fight and pick up stats of his own) should rack up enough points to justify the high price.
Value Pick: Targamas (G2: $5,600)
Team
Favorite: Fnatic ($5,600) I instantly jumped on Fnatic when I looked over the slate and saw the roster that they are playing into. FNC may have struggles into teams with more technically skilled players but that isn’t BDS. Players like NUCLEARINT and LIMIT have really struggled in their tenure in the LEC and they have two rookies in the lineup to boot. FNC should have a great first showing for 2022.
Value Pick: Astralis ($4,400)
Cann’s Example Lineup
DraftKings Classic
$50,000 Salary Cap
Captain (x1.5): Upset (FNC: $12,300)
Alternate: Crazzy (VIT: $11,400)
Top: WhiteKNight (AST: $5,400)
Jungle: SelfMade (VIT: $6,800)
Mid: Perkz (VIT: $7,200)
Alternate: Vetheo (MSF: $7,000)
ADC: Kobbe (AST: $6,800)
Support: Hylissang (FNC: $6,000)
Alternate: Trymbi (RGE: $5,800)
Team: G2 Esports ($5,400)