(-550) Evil Geniuses v Team Dignitas (+350)

(-150) Cloud9 v Team LIquid (+115)

The first weekend of the LCS playoffs are here! These four teams are fighting to stay in the upper part of the playoff bracket and we have some serious matches on our hands! With a heavy favorite in EG, could Dignitas play spoiler? And in the epic battle between Cloud9 and Team Liquid, who will come out on top in their third B05 series this year? Let’s dive in! 

Game #1: Evil Geniuses v Team Dignitas 

Cann’s Pick: Evil Geniuses (3-1)

Game #2: Cloud9 v Team LIquid 

Cann’s Pick: Team LIquid (3-2)

 

Captain

Favorite: Danny (EG: $11,400) This is your LCS kill leader (111) and that will continue against DIG on Saturday. The bot lane of Danny and IgNar have so clearly outperformed the DIG bot lane of Neo and Aphromoo. Danny plays so conservatively in the early game but will explode in the late game. Look for Svenskeren to visit a few times in the early game in most matches, but Danny and IgNar to push their aggression in the mid to late game. I love this pick and love the price even more. EG is a heavy favorite and I expect Danny to have at least one stand out game on Saturday. 

Value Pick: Tactical (TL: $10,500)

Top Lane 

Favorite: Impact (EG: $6,800) I have been hyping up Impact all split and now it is time for Impact to really influence the outcome of Evil Geniuses matches. Impact had the most assists among top laners (176) and has one of the highest team kill participation rate of almost 66%. Impact may not be the flashiest player in the 1v1 but his ability to teamfight is probably better than any other top laner this weekend. FakeGod (DIG) will really struggle to match Impact’s ability to find creative ways to keep lane pressure and also join his team in fights around objectives. I expect Impact to be a huge factor for EG winning this series comfortably.  

Value Pick: Fudge (C9: $6,600) 

Jungle

Favorite: Blaber (C9: $7,000) Blaber has the highest ceiling of all the junglers on this slate. His opponent (Santorin) fits best into the team playstyle but isn’t a win condition for TL. Blaber has shown over and over for the last three years that he can simply win games on his own. I will add the note that in games where Blaber plays poorly, he plays very poorly so there is a level of risk in this pickup in the evenly matched Team Liquid that he will be playing on Sunday.  

Value Pick: Santorin (TL: $6,200) 

Mid Lane

Favorite: Jizuke (EG: $7,400) The solo lanes are where EG will win this series. If the mid laner (Yasui) cannot keep Jizuke in check, this will be one of the fastest 3-0 series of all time. Jizuke creates tons of pressure by playing high skill champions like Ekko, Ryze, and LeBlanc and forcing enemy teams to deal with him, allowing his team to secure objectives. In many games you see him get solo kill after solo kill until he has to become the main target for the enemy team. I don’t see anyone being able to match the individual skill of Jizuke on the DIG lineup which should mean Jizuke picks up a lot of kills. 

Value Pick: Jensen (TL: $7,000)   

ADC

Favorite: Zven (C9: $7,400) This is just the safest possible pick. Zven has the highest KDA among the ADCs on the slate (7.8) and by far the fewest deaths (24). Even in Cloud9’s losses, you can normally expect Zven to have a positive KDA. That being said, it isn’t always knocking the doors off in terms of points. If Cloud9 has a good showing on Sunday, Zven should put up big numbers. 

Value Pick: Neo (DIG: $7,200) 

Support

Favorite: IgNar (EG: $5,800) IgNar is into a more favorable matchup than either Vulcan or CoreJJ, which is why he gets my nod here. He has the third most assists in the LCS in the support role (235) and the second best KDA in the same role (4.7). While the DIG bot lane has been performing better as of late, there is something to be said about the productivity of the EG bot lane. Pair this support with Danny in the captain role and maximize your points. 

Value Pick: CoreJJ (TL: $5,400) 

Team

Favorite: Evil Geniuses ($5,200) This is the heavy favorite of weekend and there is a pretty sound reason for that. They are 14-3 in their last 17 games and have finished the season beating 100 Thieves, Cloud9, and Team Solomid. Team Dignitas on the other hand has had some streaky runs but also have gone on just as many really dry spells. I love the aggression of EG into the slower approach of DIG, especially when EG run their 1-3-1 comps. When they spread the map, they pick up so many towers and dragons that you’ll be able to rack up huge points.  

Value Pick: Team Liquid ($4,800) 

 

Cann’s Example Lineup

Captain (x1.5): Danny ($11,400)

Alternate: Tactical ($10,500)

Top: Fudge ($6,600)

Jungle: Santorin ($6,200)

Alternate: Blaber ($7,000)
Mid: Jensen ($7,000)

ADC: Tactical ($7,000)

Alternate: Neo ($7,200)

Support: IgNar ($5,800)

Team: Evil Geniuses ($5,200)