• (-170) Nongshim RedForce v Afreeca Freecs (+130)
  • (-165) T1 v Liiv Sandbox (+125)
  • (-275) Royal Never Give Up v LNG Esports (+200)

Play-offs are in full force on Wednesday and Thursday. LCK Play-offs begin on Wednesday where a seemingly dominant NRF take on an underwhelming AFs. Afterwards, a hotly contested match-up is pitted against with T1 taking on Liiv Sandbox. Finally, in China, Royal Never Give Up looks to stomp down LNG Esports.

Captain

Gori ($10,800)

Gori has an insane match-up against the worst mid laner in play-offs in Fly. The “player of the split” will be making his play-off debut, Nongshim has the best play-off match-up of the bunch, and Gori in particular is likely to dominate alongside his jungler Peanut. Deokdam is a well worth option too; he’s an extremely strong ADC, and the biggest overall carry on the Nongshim squad.

Alternatives to consider: Deokdam ($11,400)

Top Lane

Summit ($6,000)

T1 versus Liiv Sandbox is likely to be a highly contested match-up, but honestly, I narrowly favor Sandbox: while T1 may narrowly have the stronger bottom lane, I think Croco has been impressive alongside Summit dominating top lane against the weakest player in T1 in Canna. Summit has been a force in the top lane, whereas Canna has been the Achilles’ heel of T1. Otherwise, I’d grab Xiaohu versus Ale- but I prefer Summit; he’s way cheaper.

Alternatives to consider: Xiaohu ($7,000)

Jungle

Peanut ($7,000)

The MVP of the summer LCK split joins the “player of the split” to complete the mid-jungle for the squad. Peanut has fully come around to being back in form, and he’s the best overall jungler in the LCK, only contested by DK’s Canyon. For a different option, I’d grab Wei, although he has a powerful opponent in Tarzan and he comes with a massive price tag.

Alternatives to consider: Wei ($7,200)

Mid Lane

Cryin ($7,600)

Icon is by far the weakest player on LNG, and Cryin’s claim to fame is his solid laning phase, despite being below average relative to the top-top LPL mid laners in other aspects. Cryin and Wei should be able to control Tarzan and Icon, while RNG’s sides obliterate LNG’s (with some contest in Xiaohu vs Ale). If you haven’t grabbed Gori by now though, you can pick him up now.

Alternatives to consider: Gori ($7,200)

ADC

Gala ($8,000)

Likewise- I enjoy watching LNG’s bottom lane, but I can’t deny that RNG has the better pair. Iwandy and Light are great teamfighters, but Gala and Ming cut the malarky and choose to attack early, and often. Gala is one of the better overall ADCs in play-offs, whereas even Light often has to rely on Tarzan to gain objectives. Otherwise, I’d really enjoy Deokdam here- he’s a fantastic ADC and while Leo and Lehends are good, the pair of Deokdam and Kellin are overall better.

Alternatives to consider: Deokdam ($7,600)

Support

Kellin ($5,600)

Likewise, what’s the use of going over on cash in support? Kellin is a great option for support, despite the fact that Ming is a capable alternative. Kellin will likely find it easy to rotate across the map with ease to dominate Fly alongside Peanut. Dread is a decent enough jungler, but will likely choke under the pressure Nongshim is capable of leveraging towards fights, due to AFs’ weak mid laner.

Alternatives to consider: Ming ($6,000)

Team

Nongshim RedForce ($5,000)

Not much more to say past that: I’m sorry Kiin, but it’s likely your season ends here. Please replace Fly, there are so many good mid laners to choose from (Clozer, Zeka from BLG… Hell, we can grab Bay, even.) and all of them are better than Fly. Otherwise, you can go safe and just spend $200 for a surefire with RNG versus LNG.

Alternatives to consider: Royal Never Give Up ($5,200)

Stacks

Peanut & Gori

The mid-jungle for Nongshim is a great pairing and the primary engine for their advantages, which they then in turn spread to Deokdam in the bottom lane. Gori is a strong mid laner, and Peanut is a historically fantastic jungler. I really want to see this squad get to worlds, because Gori has serious international potential if he can maintain his top form.

Gala & Cryin

The carries for RNG are instrumental in defeating LNG. Tarzan does too much for RNG, but a jungler can’t do anything without space provided by lane (i.e.: not getting smashed immediately). Unfortunately for LNG, RNG’s lanes are notoriously exemplary, with these two in particular controlling their counterparts across from the rift.

Summit & Croco

While Oner has been a welcomed change for T1, I can’t deny that Croco hasn’t improved greatly over the course of the split, and since Gori is disqualified, he’s handedly the rookie of the split. LSB is a variable team, swapping between top and bottom play styles, and will likely prefer to play towards Summit against T1’s weak Canna.

Top Picks: Gala, Deokdam, Cryin

RNG is one of the strongest all around team in LPL play-offs, and by extension, the world. Gala is a solid ADC that matches up great into Light, while Cryin is likely to dominate Icon’s notoriously weak laning phase, being a laning specialist himself. Deokdam on Nongshim caps off the top picks, as he’s well within the top players in his role, which is stacked in Korea.

Top Value: Summit, Peanut, Gori

Underrated: Gori has unlocked Peanut this split, despite Nongshim slightly falling towards the tail end of the split. Peanut returning to form also has been instrumental in Nongshim’s climb towards the top of the standings. Summit is a star on LSB, and him returning back to being one of the best top laners in the LCK is a welcomed return.