(-310) Team Liquid v Golden Guardians (+225)
(-325) Evil Geniuses v Counter Logic Gaming (+230)
(-110) Team Solomid v Cloud9 (-120)
(+210) Immortals v 100 Thieves (-285)
(-140) Flyquest v Team Dignitas (+110)
The LCS was not short on upsets for Saturday with both Team Liquid and Evil Geniuses dropping games as the favorite. Cloud9 continue their climb to the top in terms of overall performance while 100 Thieves and Team Solomid continue to flounder but find ways to win game in and game out. Golden Guardians, Flyquest, and Counter Logic Gaming all are vying for the final playoff spot with only 4 games to play. Let’s dive in!
Game #1: Team Liquid v Golden Guardians
Cann’s Pick: Team Liquid
Game #2: Evil Geniuses v Counter Logic Gaming
Cann’s Pick: Evil Geniuses
Game #3: Team Solomid v Cloud9
Cann’s Pick: Cloud9
Game #4: Immortals v 100 Thieves
Cann’s Pick: 100 Thieves
Game #5: Flyquest v Team Dignitas
Cann’s Pick: Team Dignitas
Captain
Favorite: Tactical (TL: $11,400) With the unpredictable nature of the top teams in the LCS, it is starting to be more apparent that finding a lower dollar amount for your captain is a better and better idea. Tactical hits a pretty nice sweet spot between dollar value and production. TL are facing Golden Guardians who have had better moments since their roster swap but still have issues rising consistently to meet better opposition. Their bot lane (Stixxay/Chime) don’t really put a ton of pressure on enemy bot lanes during the early parts of the game so Tactical and CoreJJ should be able to hit item spikes without risk of dying too much. If TL has a game more like they had Friday, Tactical’s numbers will be more than enough to justify his captain spot in your lineup.
Value Pick: Closer (100: $10,800)
Top Lane
Favorite: Impact (EG: $7,200) Impact has had some quieter performances in the last week so it would be easy to sleep on him but let me remind you how good he is. Impact has no weak style in his play. He can play the more tank/front line champions like Shen and Gragas to help enable his team just as well as he can play aggressive carry style champions like Akali and Sylas where he can output the damage and lead his team to victory. His versatility is what leads to his excellent stats. Among top lakers he is second in kills (78), first in assists (157), second in team kill participation (66.8%) and averages the highest gold differential at 10 minutes (+434).
Value Pick: Fudge (C9: $6,600)
Jungle
Favorite: Nxi (FLY: $6,600) I think it is time to give some love to the young jungler from Flyquest. I think it is hard because for the old FQ lineup, I never thought the jungler (Josedeodo) was the issue but now they have an issue on their hands for next year. Nxi is ready to jungle at a professional level. He has some flaws with setting up and executing at big neutral objectives but his skirmishing power and ability to identify where on the map he needs to be is really strong. He has a 4.8 KDA and is averaging 3.6 kills and 5.8 assists per game. Even in losses he usually has a decent scoreline and remains a threat throughout the game. Flyquest v Team Dignitas will be a very scrappy game and I could easily see Flyquest building a large lead in a lane and it slipping away from Dig. Very cheap price here for a relatively close matchup.
Value Pick: Spica (TSM: $6,200)
Mid Lane
Favorite: Perkz (C9: $7,200) Continuing my theme of value picks here we look at Perkz in the mid lane. He is heavily discounted because Cloud9 are squaring up against Team Solomid today. I think the TSM record is a little misleading when setting these lines because in reality, of their 15 wins in Summer there were about 5 that were extremely shaky at best. Perkz is playing at a much higher level in the past two weeks and C9 seem to have rediscovered some of his strengths playing in the mid lane. They are giving him priority and counter pick far more often and C9 as a team are working to get him on aggressive/playmaking picks that con influence the game. PowerOfEvil (TSM mid) is more often than not looking to just scale into the very late game and win off of a team fight. C9 and Perkz will work to not let them get there through aggressive invades, forcing fights at objectives, and constant lane pressure.
Value Pick: Yusui (DIG: $6,600)
ADC
Favorite: FBI (100: $7,800) Let’s be clear, I am not wild about this price but I do think there is some value in picking up FBI for Sunday’s slate. 100 Thieves are facing Immortals who have struggled a lot against the top teams this split. Immortals are 1-3 against 100 Thieves this year and the only winning record they have against a top 5 team is Evil Geniuses (3-2). The Immortals bot lane is their weakest part of the map and this will be a place of safety for 100 Thieves. FBI and huhi won’t require much attention from their jungler Closer and they do a respectable job when they get dove. Solid points (I would guess mainly assists) coming from FBI today.
Value Pick: Zven (C9: $7,200)
Support
Favorite: IgNar (EG: $6,200) I hate this price but it is so hard to push against the productivity of IgNar. He is tied for the highest KDA among supports (4.9) and is top three in terms of total assists (207). He and Danny continue to get better and better each week and it is showing in their productivity. There is a lot of experience in the CLG botlane of WildTurtle and Smoothie but are usually pretty passive as a duo. In late game teamfights, I heavily favor the team fighting of EG which will translate into points for IgNar and Danny.
Value Pick: Aphromoo (DIG: $5,000)
Team
Favorite: Evil Geniuses ($5,800) This is really the only matchup on paper that I think there should be a pretty heavy favorite. CLG has snuck a couple of wins in the last few weeks but none of their wins look like they are in the driver’s seat. Instead they usually get out to a lead and then just slowly move through mid/late game. Into a team like Evil Geniuses who will fight their way out of a deficit, CLG have a tendency to have games ripped from their hand. EG will force objective fights and stretch CLG across the map and eventually hit that game breaking teamfight.
Value Pick: Team Dignitas ($4,400)
Cann’s Example Lineup
Captain (x1.5): Zven ($10,800)
Alternate: Nxi ($9,900)
Top: Impact ($7,200)
Jungle: Closer ($7,200)
Alternate: Spica ($6,200)
Mid: Yusui ($6,600)
ADC: Danny ($8,000)
Alternate: Tactical ($7,600)
Support: Vulcan ($5,600)
Team: Team Dignitas ($4,400)