(-170) G2 Esports v Fnatic (+130)

(+160) Team Solomid v Cloud9 (-200)

What a pair of games we have on this Sunday docket! We have two matches that will decide the final spot for both the LEC and the LCS and the four competitors are all foundation organizations to western League of Legends. With a ticket to World’s as the prize, who will rise and who will fall? Let’s dive in and find out!

Game #1: G2 Esports v Fnatic 

Cann’s Pick: G2 Esports (3-1)

Game #2: Team Solomid v Cloud9

Cann’s Pick: Cloud9 (3-1)

 

Captain

Favorite: Perkz (C9: $11,100) There is no reason to doubt the Perkz playoff buff now. I think a lot of people questioned Cloud9 after their TL loss in the first round of playoffs but it has been made more apparent that it is more a reflection of TL rather than C9 at this point. Perkz absolutely demolished both Golden Guardians and Evil Geniuses in the C9 playoff series. He has 24 kills in 6 games and has begun to look like the carry that Cloud9 expected him to be when they brought him on. 

Value Pick: Upset (FNC: $10,800)


Top Lane

Favorite: Adam (FNC: $6,200) During the Summer split there was no LCS top laner who was more of a kill threat than Adam. In FNC’s Vitality series they played away from him and even with that, we see him still averaging 2.4 kills per game. With their match against G2 I can see a strategy where FNC look to throw a ton of pressure in the top lane and taking the G2 top laner (Wunder) out of the game. G2 usually put him on weak side and leave him on an island which means that Adam should have an opportunity to exert pressure in lane as he pleases without too much fear of Jankos joining the lane. 

Value Pick: Huni (TSM: $5,800) 


Jungle

Favorite: Jankos (G2: $6,800) With all of the uncertainty with this G2 roster and what types of performances we will get out of them in any given series, one player who has kept up a high level of play is Jankos. Even in a four game series loss to MAD Lions, Jankos still had a 3.8 KDA and dies only 8 times. In the Summer split he had a 4.6 KDA and a 65% team kill participation. Bwipo is a tough opponent for Jankos btu where Bwipo loves to scrap and fight, Jankos will find the right fights to take to also pick up major objectives for G2 and that will be the difference in this matchup. 

Value Pick: Spica (TSM: $6,200) 


Mid Lane

Favorite: Caps (G2: $7,200) If you look at the two rosters side by side, on paper this is the most skilled player. Caps has seen some of the highest highs in terms of LEC mid laners and we have started to see him get back to a form that we recognize. In G2’s series loss to MAD Caps picked up 15 kills and 18 assists which for how that series played out, is pretty impressive. Caps will skill check Nisqy today and I can see G2 focusing some bans in the mid lane to not allow him to get on comfortable scaling champions. 

Value Pick: PowerOfEvil (TSM: $6,600)   


ADC

Favorite: Zven (C9: $7,400) Loading up on Cloud9 bot laners will be key here. Team Solomid’s bot lane look so soft in their series against Team Liquid and weren’t overly impressive against the Immortals bot lane. The skill and production gap between Zven/Vulcan and Lost/SwordArt is an entire ocean. In playoffs Zven is averaging almost 2 kills more per game than Lost and has 5% higher team kill participation rate than the TSM bot laner (67% v 62%). I don’t think either team will put resources into the bot lane and in the 2v2, I give the heavy nod to C9. 

Value Pick: Upset (FNC: $7,200) 

 

Support

Favorite: Vulcan (C9: $6,000) Double up your points here. To be fair, I think SwordArt and Vulcan are fairly similar in skill and their ability to start fights. The difference between the two is their supporting cast and more specifically comparing the two bot laners. Vulcan has an aggressive champion pool and when Cloud9 looks to fight around objectives, Vulcan usually takes the responsibility of initiating that fight. He is averaging 8 assists per game in these playoffs and has a 68% team kill participation rate now. I see Cloud9 trying to push the pace of this matchup and turn this into a fight heavy series, which will lead to Vulcan picking up more points. 

Value Pick: Hylissang (FNC: $5,400) 


Team

Favorite: G2 Esports ($5,200)  This is just the better team on the day in Europe. It is hard to see it any other way. FNATIC has a pretty high ceiling with some younger players like Adam, but even in their win against Vitality we saw some glaring issues in how they approach the game. They fight at really poor times and can lose track of their important targets in teamfights. G2 may get pushed to 4 or 5 games due to the volatility of FNC< but should be able to use their fundamental approach to the game to win the series. 

Value Pick: Fnatic ($4,800) 


Cann’s Example Lineup

Captain (x1.5): Perkz ($11,100)

Alternate: Zven ($11,100)

Top: Wunder ($6,200)

Jungle: Spica ($6,200)

Alternate: Blaber ($7,000)
Mid: Caps ($7,200)

ADC: Rekkles ($7,600)

Alternate: Upset ($7,200)

Support: Mikyx ($5,600)

Team: G2 Esports ($5,200)