Thursday 8/12

(-170) Immortals v Team Dignitas (+130)

Friday 8/13

(-385) Rogue v MIsfits Gaming (+265)

(+375) Golden Guardians v Cloud9 (-600)

The playoffs have proven to be electric thus far in the LCS and the LEC should be just as exciting. With Rogue looking to cement their hold on the top of the LEC against the new European force in Misfits, the LEC is going to be a must watch on Friday. The North American league will provide four days of high stakes matchups including the two losers brackets matches on this slate. With a chance to represent their region at the World Championships on the line, the performances from these players can cement themselves as superstars for years to come.  

Game #1: Immortals v Team Dignitas 

Cann’s Pick: Immortals (3-1)

Game #2: Rogue v MIsfits Gaming

Cann’s Pick: Rogue (3-0)

Game #3: Golden Guardians v Cloud9

Cann’s Pick: Cloud9 (3-2)

 

Captain

Favorite: Hans sama (RGE: $11,700) Of all the teams on this slate, I trust Rogue more than any other. Of all the players on Rogue, I trust Hans sama to consistently output solid points from the captain role. He has the highest team KDA (5.9) and the most kills (71). MSF’s bottom lane (Kobbe/Vander) have not been the driving force for their team’s success but instead have been liabilities at times. Look for Hans sama and his support (Trymbi) to play it slow out of lane and scale that into impactful late game team fights.  

Value Pick: Insanity (IMT: $10,800)

Top Lane

Favorite: Revenge (IMT: $6,200) I am not a huge fan of Revenge but looking at the different matchups, this makes the most sense. In the case of RGE/MSF, Odoamne and HiRit are too closely matched to make me feel comfortable and Cloud9 is so unpredictable that I don’t feel super comfortable picking any player from that team. Revenge is facing FakeGod so I suspect both of these players will get the bulk of their points in the later stages of the match through team fights rather than in the laning phase. Save some cash in your lineup and invest elsewhere by picking up higher price tag players elsewhere.   

Value Pick: Licorice (GG: $5,400) 

Jungle

Favorite: Inspired (RGE: $7,000) I think a case could be made for Blaber from Cloud9, but after their performance against Team Liquid, I worry about his overall productivity. Instead I would rather pick up the less flashy (and cheaper) jungler from Rogue. He gets the vast majority of his KP from assists and seems to always know where to be on the map at any given point. He also has the added value of not having the very questionable deaths that his opponent (Razork) is all too prone to having. He has over 65% team kill participation with sub 40 deaths in their 18 Summer Split matches. Safe pick up and not at the top of the price range. 

Value Pick: Xerxe ($6,800) 

Mid Lane

Favorite: Vetheo (MSF: $7,000) This is my hot pick of the slate and you may be questioning why I would suggest someone from a losing team. My explanation is simple, Vetheo is just built different. His aggressive nature and willingness to push his own capabilities result in matches like his 10-1-5 game against Team Vitality or his 11-2-4 match against Fnatic. Larssen is very good but Rogue can be a low kill team which makes his price tag a little more of a risk. You can save some salary cap and pick up a higher end captain while still picking a legitimate threat in the mid lane. This should be a lower ownership pick as well which could have big payoffs if Misfits make a series of this match against Rogue.  

Value Pick: Ablazeolive (GG: $6,600)   

ADC

Favorite: Zven (C9: $8,000) I don’t love this number, but in terms of how Cloud9 is going to beat GG, Zven seems like the best bet. The mid/jungle pairing of Blaber and Perkz just don’t seem like they are on the same page (as was seen in the thrashing that TL gave C9 on Sunday) which leaves Zven as their hope to carry in the late game. He had 10 kills in his last series against TL with a 6 kill game in their one win. Even more impressive is that he only averaged just over one death per game in a series where Cloud9 as a team died 52 times in 4 games. I think Zven and Vulcan should make fairly easy work (or at least not be challenged too much) by the GG bot lane of Stixxay/Chime.  

Value Pick: Neo (DIG: $7,200) 

Support

Favorite: Destiny (IMT: $5,200) When Immortals are on, it really seems like it is because their bottom lane are pulling their weight and then some. Destiny and his ADC Raes have had some of the highest highs in performances in the Summer Split but need good matchups to consistently output the production. I chose to highlight Destiny and not Raes because Destiny does do a better job working into the larger teamfight even when he is behind, which is not always the case with Raes. Destiny had the second most assists of all supports in Summer (247) and I think he and Xerxe will be able to set up team fights well and force Team Dignitas into bad fights, thus leading to good points at a great value.  

Value Pick: Vander (MSF: $4,800) 

Team

Favorite: Rogue ($5,200) This is the best team on the slate, there is no need to fade them. They are 2-0 over Misfits in Summer and 4-0 against them all year. I think they may drop a game against the feisty squad, but Rogue’s collected playstye and ability to choke you out of gold and objectives is very reminiscent of the LCK kings of DWG and SKT of old.   

Value Pick: Immortals ($5,000) 


Cann’s Example Lineup

Captain (x1.5): Hans sama ($11,700)

Alternate: Larssen ($11,400)

Top: Licorice ($5,400)

Jungle: Inspired ($7,000)

Alternate: Akaadian ($6,400)
Mid: Insantiy ($7,200)

ADC: Zven ($8,000)

Alternate: Neo ($7,200)

Support: Destiny ($5,200)

Team:Immortals ($5,000)