(+110) Team Solomid v 100 Thieves (-140)

(EVEN) Evil Geniuses v Cloud9 (-130)

(EVEN) Flyquest v Golden Guardians (-130)

(-185) Team Liquid v Immortals (+145)

(-155) Team Dignitas v Counter Logic Gaming (+120)

In terms of entertainment, you couldn’t ask more from the first day from the last weekend in the LCS Summer Split. There is no team eliminated from the playoffs yet and there are plenty of opportunities for teams to lock up the top spot in the LCS and earn a bye in the playoffs. The first match of TSM and 100 Thieves will most likely determine the winner of the regular season for the Summer Split. So with everything to lose, let’s dive in!

Game #1: Team Solomid v 100 Thieves 

Cann’s Pick: Team Solomid

Game #2: Evil Geniuses v Cloud9

Cann’s Pick: Cloud9

Game #3: Flyquest v Golden Guardians

Cann’s Pick: Golden Guardians

Game #4: Team Liquid v Immortals

Cann’s Pick: Team Liquid

Game #5: Team Dignitas v Counter Logic Gaming

Cann’s Pick: Team Dignitas

 

Fantasy Value Breakdown

Captain

Favorite: Ablazeolive (GG: $11,100) I am not sure who is setting the lines today for DraftKings. The top of the table are entirely too expensive for their matchups. Ablazeolive has the third most kills in the league (94) and over 110 assists as well. With his 67% team kill participation rate we see him get involved early and often in GG’s wins and both GG and FLY like to play through mid lane which should bring a lot of fighting Ablazeolive’s way. Great value and price for a favorable matchup.  

Value Pick: Tactical (TL: $10,800)

Top Lane

Favorite: Fudge (C9: $6,600) I have said this in previous write ups but I think it deserves to be restated. Fudge is the only reason that C9 are as high as they are in the standings right now. While Zven was benched, Cloud9 had to work so incredibly hard to pick up wins and most of those wins came from how hard Fudge gapped the enemy top laner. Fudge leads LCS top lakers in kills (91) and KDA (5.1). In their matchup against EG on Friday, Cloud9 will need Fudge to put a lot of pressure on Impact and not allow him to effect the rest of the map and I think Fudge is up to the task. 

Value Pick: Huni (TSM: $5,400)

Jungle

Favorite: Akaadian (DIG: $7,200) There is risk in paying more of a premium for a jungler in this meta. You can have junglers put on champion picks with agency like Diana or Olaf and it is safer to expect that they will get a larger kill count that will translate into points for you. You also can have junglers put onto tankier champions who facilitate the teamfight by engaging the enemy and trying to disrupt their ability to fight effectively. I like Akaadian here because he can play both styles. DIG are getting into a rhythm and that is translating into results and playing into a struggling CLG also helps your chances of locking up big points today.  

Value Pick: Spica (TSM: $5,400)

Mid Lane

Favorite: Jensen (TL: $7,800) Now I am putting Jensen down as my pick because all of the other top mid lakers are facing top 5 opponents today. His lane opponent (IMT’s mid Insanity) has had periods where he shines and other times where he is so clearly trying to do too much. Jensen has had a decent year with 86 kills and a 4.4 KDA. Jensen will need to be aware of the pressure that the IMT jungler (Xerxe) will be trying to impose on the TL mid during the early game. If Jensen can navigate this period and allow Armao to get TL into the late game, Jensen should be able to benefit off of the fact that TL has three legitimate win conditions in himself, Alphari, and Tactical.  

Value Pick: Abbedagge (100T: $6,800)   

ADC

Favorite: Neo (DIG: $8,000) I think the love that DK has given DIG on this slate is well deserved. I think this team would be much higher in the standings if they had pulled the trigger earlier on moving Dardoch out of the starting lineup. There were pretty evident communication/personnel issues on the team, especially  when you broke down the DIG drafts and playstyle. Now with the growing pains out of the way, DIG has really begun to step into their own. Neo is a proven ADC in this league and is playing alongside of the the most storied supports in Aphromoo. CLG’s WildTurtle/Smoothie struggle to pressure opponents even when they get substantial early game leads. So I see Neo and Aphromoo moving seamlessly into the later stages of the game untouched and able to pick up more kills, especially since CLG is one of the worst late game teams in the league. 

Value Pick: Danny (EG: $6,600) 

Support

Favorite: CoreJJ (TL: $5,600) I am curious why this bot lane isn’t valued higher. CoreJJ is a former world champion who is the most knowledgeable player in the LCS right now. The IMT bot lane of Raes and Destiny are gimmicky and I don’t really see them as a legitimate threat in the LCS. I want TL to pick him his Thresh or Leona picks to allow him to determine when TL fights start. When CoreJJ is the initiation, he becomes the most dangerous person on TL.  

Value Pick: huhi (100: $5,000) 

Team

Favorite: Team Liquid ($5,800) Immortals are due for a loss. They are on a four game winning streak and outside of stealing a game from Cloud9, I haven’t seen any performance out of that team that gives me reason to be excited. Team Liquid still has probably the highest ceiling among the teams at the top of the table versus where they are currently performing. They have the third highest gold differential at 15 min (+518) and put a huge emphasis on the early game.   

Value Pick: Team Solomid ($4,000) 

Cann’s Example Lineup

DraftKings Classic 

$50,000 Salary Cap

Captain (x1.5): Tactical ($10,800)

Alternate: Caps ($11,400)

Top: Alphari ($7,000)

Jungle: Spica ($5,400)

Alternate: Armao ($7,000)
Mid: Ablazeolive ($7,400)

ADC: Zven ($7,600)

Alternate: Stixxay ($7,400)

Support: CoreJJ ($5,600)

Team: Golden Guardians ($5,200)