(+220) Counter Logic Gaming v 100 Thieves (-300)
(-120) Team Solomid v Team Dignitas (-110)
(-155) Evil Geniuses v Cloud9 (+120)
(+143) Golden Guardians v FlyQuest (-190)
(+335) Immortals v Team Liquid (-525)
The first day of the LCS did not disappoint the NA faithful as we got five thrilling games. We saw standout performances by newcomers like Cloud9’s top laner Summit and Dignitas’ mid laner Blue. With everyone trying to make guesses how the season will play out after the first day, it is going to be important for you to look at the pedigree of these veterans and how they perform against different playstyles. We have seen that each of these teams are coming in with their own view of the game so finding the more resilient teams/players will help ensure you can make the most points possible in your lineup. With plenty of players to choose from, let’s dive in!
Game #1: Counter Logic Gaming v 100 Thieves
Cann’s Pick: 100 Thieves
Game #2: Team Solomid v Team Dignitas
Cann’s Pick: Team Dignitas
Game #3: Evil Geniuses v Cloud9
Cann’s Pick: Cloud9
Game #4: Golden Guardians v FlyQuest
Cann’s Pick: FlyQuest
Game #5: Immortals v Team Liquid
Cann’s Pick: Team Liquid
Captain
Favorite: FBI (100T: $11,700) FBI put on a clinic in the 100 Thieves victory over Team Liquid in the Spring Split opener. 100 Thieves made their blueprint even more clear on Saturday (in addition to their drafts from the Lock In Tournament) that FBI is there proximate win condition. They will play through him and that is perfect with the emphasis on the ADC role right now in the game. He most likely will pick up the bulk of his points in the late game because CLG’s bottom lane is pretty safe, but we saw that CLG loves for the 5v5 team fight in the late game.
Value Pick: Inspired (EG: $10,500)
Top
Favorite: Bwipo (TL: $6,800) Team Liquid learned a very valuable lesson on Friday. You cannot win with this lineup and not put Bwipo on a pick that he cannot influence the map with. The safe Renekton pick into a tank on Friday ensured that Bwipo could not influence the map, and TL lost because of it. TL will not repeat this mistake and I fully expect them to lean into Bwipo as a win condition.
Value Pick: Summit (C9: $5,800)
Jungle
Favorite: Closer (100T: $7,400) Closer is in the top three of most successful NA junglers and we saw on Friday how much of an influence he could make. He had a deathless game and 5 assists to his name. CLG’s jungler (Contractz) was out maneuvered in their loss to FlyQuest on Friday which is a product of weak lanes. The lane disparity only gets worse for CLG on Saturday and Closer should have all the agency he could need. He has spent most of his time focusing on getting FBI and huhi ahead in the bottom lane through a lot of early ganks. If they connect on these ganks, we could see a windfall of points for the 100 Thieves jungler.
Value Pick: River (DIG: $6,600)
Mid
Favorite: Bjergsen (TL: $7,800) Team Liquid was outdrafted on Friday but not outplayed. If you watched the actual game, you would have noticed Bjergsen establishing a strong state in the mid lane and had an opportunity to outproduce Abbedagge in the mid game. This matchup will be easier for TL to draft around and that should suit Bjerg in terms of his total production on the day.
Value Pick: jojopyun (EG: $7,400)
ADC
Favorite: Johnsun (FLY: $7,400) Johnsun is going to be the recipient of total attention by his team this year. In matches where FlyQuest is not facing a top tier team, it is reasonable to expect him to drop serious numbers. FLY flexed a strategy on Friday in which almost all resources are funneled into the ADC role to carry in the late game. While I seriously doubt they have the same wild draft today, their view of the game will be the same. Winning will go through Johnsun and he has the skill set to deliver.
Value Pick: Berserker (C9: $6,600)
Support
Favorite: Vulcan (EG: $5,800) The stats of Berserker and Winsome (C9’s bottom lane duo) were overinflated based on the lackluster competition they faced on Friday. They didn’t do much in lane and Cloud9 only really hit their stride once Blaber started leading mid game teamfights. Vulcan and Danny have a serious opportunity here to gain an early lead in the bottom lane. Blaber is not known for his bottom lane pathing and that could give windows for this duo to get aggressive in the 2v2 matchup. Vulcan also prioritizes roaming with Inspired to gain advantages in the middle and top lanes. At this moment, there may not be a stronger support/jungler duo and the production ceiling is very high.
Value Pick: aphromoo (FLY: $5,600)
Team
Favorite: Team Liquid ($5,600) Social media was on fire last night after the Team Liquid loss to 100 Thieves. Fans were calling the team frauds and how their success in the preseason tournament wasn’t legitimate. This team is still lacking it’s core piece (CoreJJ, their support and captain is having green card issues) and they still have excellent game sense. 100 Thieves did not blow the game wide open and much of the game on Friday was led by Team Liquid. You have everything you could want with this team. They have a strong core of veterans, high mechanical ceilings, and some sort of track record of success.
Value Pick: Team Dignitas ($4,600)
DraftKings Example Lineup
Captain (x1.5): jojopyun (EG: $11,100)
Alternate: Closer (100: $11,100)
Top: Summit (C9: $5,800)
Alternate: Huni (TSM: $6,000)
Jungle: Inspired (EG: $7,000)
Mid: Bjergsen (TL: $7,800)
ADC: Danny (EG: $7,600)
Alternate: Johnsun (FLY: $7,400)
Support: aphromoo (FLY: $5,600)
Alternate: Eyla (TL: $5,800)
Team: Team Dignitas ($4,600)