(+230) DRX v Gen.G (-325)
(+230) Liiv SANDBOX v NS RedForce (-350)
(+500) TT Gaming v FunPlus Phoenix (-900)
(-170) Bilibili Gaming v JD Gaming (+135)
(-120) LNG Esports v Victory Five (-110)
The highlight of Sunday will be the two LPL matchups that feature four playoff bound teams. The most defining match has to be that between Victory Five and LNG Esports who sit at 2nd and 3rd in the LPL standings. On the final day of matches in week 6, LPL and LCK teams will only have three more weeks to strengthen their place in the standings. The next time any of these playoff teams will face each other would have to be in the Spring Split playoffs so no only do they want to win but these teams are looking to gain an edge in case they meet again. What new picks will we see? What stories are being written? Only Sunday will tell! Let’s dive in!
Series #1: DRX v Gen.G
Cann’s Pick: Gen.G (2-0)
Series #2: Liiv SANDBOX v NS RedForce
Cann’s Pick: NS RedForce (2-0
Series #3: TT Gaming v FunPlus Phoenix
Cann’s Pick: FunPlus Phoenix (2-0
Series #4: Bilibili Gaming v JD Gaming
Cann’s Pick: Bilibili Gaming (2-1)
Series #5: LNG Esports v Victory Five
Cann’s Pick: Victory Five (2-0)
Captain
Favorite: Chovy (GEN: $11,700) There are a lot of places you can cut money in your lineup (especially if you go all in on one side of the LNG/V5 match) which means you can cough up more money in this spot. Chovy is among the top players in the LCK in kills (101), assists (147) and KDA (8.3). They face a scrappy DRX side who performs well in really random moments by making the gamestate really messy. This becomes more difficult for DRX because GEN have such a strong sense of how they play the game and they begin most map rotations on their terms.
Value Pick: Photic (V5: $10,500)
Top
Favorite: xiaolaohu (FPX: $6,800) Behind Breathe, there isn’t a more influential top laner in the LPL. The FPX top laner can be volatile (almost a 1 to 1 kill and death ratio) but he is so active around the map. FPX will go top to get him an advantage amd then he will rotate to bottom of the map and participatie in fights to continue spreading that advantage to the rest of his team. FPX is playing the worst team in the LPL (TT) and xiaolaohu should be able to produce one of his more exciting performances into a much weaker laner in Wayward/Zoom.
Value Pick: Doran (GEN: $6,200)
Jungle
Favorite: Weiwei (BLG: $6,800) This will be a hard matchup for BLG. I think this will be a full 3 game series as well as being a series packed with fighting. Why I am giving the advantage to Weiwei and BLG is the mid lane consistency. FoFo has pretty constant performances comparatively to Yagao (which is why the KDA comparison is 6.7 to 4.7). We will see Weiwei hover mid and continue to play through FoFo and then rotate down to the bottom lane to either Doggo or Uzi. It will be messy across the board but Weiwei’s presence throughout the map will be the reason he pulls in good points.
Value Pick: Karsa (V5: $6,000)
Mid
Favorite: Rookie (V5: $7,000) Rookie has a 4+ kill per game average which makes him a legitimate option for your captain slot or mid laner slot. Due to the odds set for the match, you can get a steal for this pick and grab him at $7k. He continues to float around the sweet spot of 70%+ team kill participation rate which has added value seeing as Victory Five has one of the highest team kill totals in the LPL.
Value Pick: Yagao (JDG: $6,600)
ADC
Favorite: Lwx (FPX: $8,200) With the struggles this year for FPX, people have forgotten the raw skill Lwx has. Last season Lwx was constantly in the conversation for LPL MVP and in the top three for kills by a player. His 3.4 KDA isn’t as flashy this season but he remains a core carry position for FPX with his 70% team kill participation rate. The FPX matchup against TT boosts the value of this pick, with TT being the worst team in the LPL right now. I feel pretty comfortable expecting a 2-0 out of FPX on Sunday.
Value Pick: Hope (JDG: $6,800)
Support
Favorite: Lehends (GEN: $5,800) Gen.G is aggressive and likes to hunt for kills in the mid game. The head of this death ball? Lehends. He is aggressive with his vision and smart with his pathing into fights. I would expect for Gen.G to have Lehends and Peanut be aggressive in the DRX jungle looking for picks and getting ahead.
Value Pick: Ppgod (V5: $5,200)
Team
Favorite: FunPlus Phoenix ($5,800) This is just a pick against the worst team on the slate. TT has no identity and no real carry. This team could realistically win less than 5 series throughout the entirety of 2022.
Value Pick: Victory Five ($4,600)
DraftKings Example Lineup
Captain (x1.5): Photic (V5: $10,500)
Alternate: Hope (JDG: $10,200)
Top: xiaolaohu (FPX: $6,800)
Jungle: Karsa (V5: $6,000)
Alternate: Dread (NS: $6,400)
Mid: Rookie (V5: $7,000)
ADC: Ruler (GEN: $7,600)
Alternate: Light (LNG: $7,400)
Support: Lehends (GEN: $5,800)
Team: Victory Five ($4,600)
Alternate: JD Gaming ($4,400)