(-150) Team Solomid v 100 Thieves (-115)

(-210) Team Liquid v Team Dignitas (+165)

(-110) Evil Geniuses v Immortals (-120)

(+130) Golden Guardians v Counter Logic Gaming ((-170)

(+250) Flyquest v Cloud9 (-350)

The first week of the LCS provided about as much parody as 15 games could provide. Team Liquid and Cloud9 are floundering while Immortals and Team Solomid look like the top of their class. Players like Raes and Dardoch lead the league in kill production while staples like IgNar and Santorin can’t seem to stay alive. What does this amount to? Another wild slate of games for you to capitalize on and pull home some green lobbies! Let’s dive in!

Game #1: Team Solomid v 100 Thieves

Cann’s Pick: Team Solomid

Game #2: Team Liquid v Team Dignitas

Cann’s Pick: Team Liquid

Game #3: Evil Geniuses v Immortals

Cann’s Pick: Immortals

Game #4: Golden Guardians v Counter Logic Gaming

Cann’s Pick: Counter Logic Gaming

Game #5: Flyquest v Cloud9

Cann’s Pick: Cloud9

 

Captain

Favorite: K1ng (C9: $12,000) While many people (including myself) raised eyebrows at the idea of benching Zven, we have seen K1ng really step into this role. K1ng has the sixth most kills (14) in the league and is just a touch under 5 KDA. He is playing Johnsun who is just a touch under him, but the difference is the consistency of the points. Johnsun (and Flyquest) gained most of their stats from one breakout game where K1ng has pulled down decent numbers in each of his game. K1ng and Vulcan only really only struggled against Tactical and CoreJJ in terms of the 2v2 which are probably the best duo in the league. The bot gap will be huge in this matchup. 

Value Pick: PowerOfEvil (TSM: $10,800)

Top Lane

Favorite: Huni (TSM: $6,400) Huni has been a really pleasant surprise. I have been a fan of his from his SKT T1 days to his immigration to NA to Immortals and Echo Fix and then back to SKT. He has bounced around the LCS for a few years and people have built up this narrative that he is a liability on teams. In reality, he is a legitimate win condition for TSM and I expect him to be a key part of the plan against 100 Thieves. Ssumday is forgettable this year for 100 Thieves and I expect Huni to have a pretty good day. Look for a Gnar pick and Huni to be on teleport duty to make huge game winning flanks in the late game.   

Value Pick: Solo (GG: $5,400) 

Jungle

Favorite: Xerxe (IMT: $6,400) If I told you a jungler in the LCS had a KDA of 40, you would probably guess Blaber or Santorin. Actually it is the newly imported Xerxe with a 12 kill, 1 death, and 28 assist stat line in week one. I love the new look Immortals and the step Xerxe has taken in the right direction. Xerxe is third among junglers in kills and has been central to the IMT team fight with 75% team kill participation rate. The EG jungler (Svenskeren) has had one of his slowest starts with a 2.3 KDA and averaging 4 deaths a game. EG is struggling with macro team plays and right now, that is IMT’s biggest strength.

Value Pick: Dardoch (GG: $5,800) 

Mid Lane

Favorite: Jensen (TL: $7,600) Of all the 10+ kill mid laners (11), Jensen has the fewest deaths by far with 3. He is a consistent source of damage in the Team Liquid team fights. He has a team kill participation rate if 79% and only has a death rate of 7,7%. I love his flexibility and with the possibility of Alphari still not playing, TL is going to have to continue to rely on Jensen and Tactical to carry in team fights. Look for the aggressive picks like Sylas or Syndra out of Jensen which ill translate into huge numbers for your slate. 

Value Pick: Abbadagge (100: $6,600)   

ADC

Favorite: Tactical (TL: $7,600) I’ll say it. Tactical is back baby. The Tactical that NA fell in love with last summer and during TL’s World Championships run looks to be back. He is able to play his staple Ezreal and he is outputting the damage on it. He has a 4.0 KDA with 13 kills and 15 assists. He is putting up these big numbers with TL playing with a substitute for a majority of the weekend. He is averaging a lead in gold (+131) at 10 minutes and carrying almost 40% of his team’s damage. I think He and CoreJJ will have their hands full with Neo and aphromoo, but their ability to take smart trades should prove to be the difference. 

Value Pick: Raes (IMT: $7,000) 

Support

Favorite: Vulcan (C9: $5,800) I think Vulcan is due for a big performance. He and Zven were some of the highlights to C9’s run at MSI and he has struggled to reach form in spring. C9 is playing Flyquest today and their botlane (Johnsun and Dreams) have performed well if you use all of the data from week one but relatively pedestrian if you look at it holistically. They are a win condition for the team and that means that C9 should be moving Blaber and Perkz to the bottom lane to put them behind. I like this matchup today. 

Value Pick: huhi (100: $4,600) 

Team

Favorite: Team Solomid ($4,800)  TSM is operating on another level right now. Huge questions surround teams like Cloud9, Team Liquid, and 100 Thieves. There is a huge gap in mid to late game rating between TSM and their opponent 100 Thieves (70 versus 8.6) and their baron (100%) and Elder dragon (100%) control is the best in the league. You will most likely not get the win in under 30 minutes points but you’ll exchange that for Spica and TSM picking up every other objective along the way. Love this pick here.  

Value Pick: 100 Thieves ($4,400) 

 

Cann’s Example Lineup

Captain (x1.5): Raes ($10,500)

     Alternate: PowerOfEvil ($10,800)

Top: Huni ($6,400)

Jungle: Xerxe ($6,400)

     Alternate: Dardoch ($6,000)
Mid: Jensen ($7,600)

ADC: K1ng ($8,000)

     Alternate: Tactical ($7,600)

Support: CoreJJ ($5,400)

Team: Team Solomid ($4,800)