• (-300) Damwon KIA v Liiv Sandbox (+220)
  • (+165) KT Rolster v Afreeca Freecs (-210)

The LCK enters its penultimate day of regular season on Saturday, with Afreeca Freecs looking to secure one final win against KT Rolster to bolster their play-off seeding, and Damwon KIA and Liiv Sandbox who are both technically still in contention for first place, try to get as high of a ranking as possible before play-offs.

Captain

Leo ($11,100)

Afreeca Freecs only made one substitution and it dramatically changed their entire team: world champion Bang out, and Leo, formerly from Sandbox and T1 fame, in for the ADC role. Leo has been an absolute star for Afreeca Freecs, and has granted the team the critical carry power they have been missing in the past, alongside reviving the power of Lehends in the support role. AFS is likely the last seed for play-offs, but they can still be a powerful force in the postseason due to their strong ADC. For a different option, I’d grab Dread, who has an easy match-up against Blank in the jungle.

Alternatives to consider: Dread ($10,500)

Top Lane

Kiin ($6,400)

Alongside his ADC, Kiin has finally applied himself this season. The top laner was a latent prodigy throughout his career, and even attended an international event with a previous iteration of the Afreeca squad back in 2018, however, following a rough patch in the team’s time in the LCK, Kiin has returned at last to form and has been one of the standout top laners this split. I’d consider him the strongest option on Saturday; seeing as Khan has been having an off split.

Alternatives to consider: Khan ($6,600)

Jungle

Dread ($7,000)

AFs jungle is up and down: Dread can either look amazing, or clueless. Usually, he is competent enough (although his mid laner, unfortunately, is not). Dread is a good jungle overall, and is actually a great match-up into Blank, who only delivers good performances rarely, and only against the weakest junglers in the league. Dread can perform against play-off caliber junglers, while still crushing the weaker ones across the rift.

Alternatives to consider: Canyon ($6,800)

Mid Lane

ShowMaker ($7,400)

The reason I don’t want ShowMaker as captain: please, do not give me Fly. Fly is the only reason AFs is as far down as they are in the standings, he is one of the worst mid laners in the league. AFs with Chovy instead of Fly could likely win the entire LCK, but they are unfortunately gated by their mid laner. Furthermore, KT’s Dove is one of the better players on the squad- all of this coalesces into one thing: pick ShowMaker, and avoid Fly at all costs, he is rarely useful in DFS.

Alternatives to consider: Fly ($7,200)

ADC

Ghost ($7,600)

On the other hand, despite the fact that both Fly and Ghost are objectively “not good players” there is one obvious advantage to Ghost: he does not die. Ghost is one of the most conservative ADCs in the LCK as far as playstyle is concerned, and he is actually worth his money unlike Fly since he can play teamfights decently enough and picks up kills with relative ease since Khan isn’t a real carry top laner at this point. Besides Ghost and Leo, my other pick for ADC is Prince- LSB’s bottom lane is pretty strong, although I don’t foresee a lot of action happening down there in DK vs LSB.

Alternatives to consider: Prince ($6,800)

Support

Effort ($5,000)

Yes, this is a sac pick. However, support is a favorable role to sac on, and Effort is a good player to do it on: Beryl and Ghost aren’t particularly aggressive in lane, allowing Effort to relax with his ADC Prince and to support his team. Effort is a solid support, and LSB’s bottom lane is a star of the show. Prince and Effort parallel Leo and Lehends on their squad, so it comes as no surprise that they’re my favored supports on Saturday.

Alternatives to consider: Lehends ($6,000)

Team

Afreeca Freecs ($5,200)

As previously mentioned, despite the fact that AFS will likely arrive into the postseason as play-offs last seed, I still think they are capable of making a run despite their weak mid laner, and they should easily be able to crush KT Rolster on Saturday. AFs’ side lanes possess tremendous power, and should be capable of carrying the squad far.

Alternatives to consider: Damwon KIA ($5,400)

Stacks

ShowMaker & Ghost

Unlikely combination: Ghost isn’t a great ADC, but he keeps his KDA absurdly high which is great for points. ShowMaker is an all around fantastic force in the middle lane, and typically a solid choice no matter his match-up, and against FATE, it’s not a particularly difficult one.

Kiin & Leo

ADC and top, how further apart can you be? Despite being geographically separate, these two players are the stars of AFs. Leo is a fantastic ADC who has bolstered the squad significantly, whereas Kiin has been a prodigy his entire career but unable to find significant success, perhaps until this year with his new ADC.

Prince & Effort

LSB’s bottom lane shouldn’t be underestimated, especially against a relatively weak force like Ghost and Beryl. Prince and Effort have rejuvenated an otherwise underwhelming Sandbox into a strong team from the bottom lane, and they can still show greatness against a powerful opponent like Damwon KIA.

Top Picks: Leo, ShowMaker, Kiin

Leo and Kiin are the two hardest carries on AFs, and they’re supported by their strong jungler in Dread and capable support in Lehends. ShowMaker is the star of Damwon KIA and is the most notable player who still makes them relevant after their fall from grace after winning the 2020 world championship.

Top Value: Kiin, Prince, Effort

Kiin being lower in price relative to Khan is absurd, he’s the best performing top laner in the league and has an easy match-up against Doran, whereas Khan has been having a poor split and has to match-up against Summit, a fantastic top laner. Prince and Effort is the bottom lane that has shown up insanely well this split, and they may be worth a glance if you think lowly of Ghost and Beryl.