LPL, LCK Wednesday
(+165) Fredit BRION v Liiv Sandbox (-210)
(-2500) FunPlus Phoenix v Ultra Prime (+1000)
(-210) T1 v Hanwha Life Esports (+165)
-350) LNG Esports v Victory 5 (+250)
LCK makes its summer debut on Wednesday, alongside the 3rd day of LPL; LCK returns with two lower ranking teams with Fredit BRION facing off against Liiv Sandbox, who made some substitutions in the bottom lane. T1 and Hanwha, both play-off representatives and semi-finalists battle in the 3rd place match which never occurred. In China, FunPlus faces off against the low tier Ultra Prime, a rebranded Estar. LNG makes their return and tries to make another upset run into play-offs beginning with V5, a team which fell apart during the off season.
Captain
Tarzan ($10,200)
Without a doubt, one of the best players relative to the average level of their teammates in the entire world, is LNG’s jungler Tarzan. Hailing from the Griffin roster that produced so much world class talent such as EDG’s Viper, and HLE’s Chovy, Tarzan is absolutely elo helled on a mediocre roster without much upside beyond himself. The fact that LNG was capable of hitting play-offs last split was a testament to how he is still capable of delivering success unto players who truthfully likely don’t deserve it. Chovy is the classic example of “great player, terrible team” but Tarzan, I’d argue, is a better example. LNG are likely to beat the downgraded V5, and I think the greatest mechanism behind this victory will be Tarzan himself. For a cheap alternative on a superior team, I’d pick Nuguri for my captain spot; he’s a great top laner and more than capable of racking up points while saving you some money for other players.
Alternatives to consider: Nuguri ($10,200)
Top Lane
Summit ($6,400)
Sandbox has perplexed me; they’re a team that I think should be capable of succeeding, at least to a degree. But, I also understand why they don’t; while their rosters do hold a degree of talent, it’s extremely rare that each player is on top of their form at any given time, and their lows are simply too low. A perfect example of this is top laner Summit, who was once considered one of the best top laners in Korea. Unfortunately, in recent times, his form has been underwhelming to say the least. This split, Summit gets a running start against a very weak Hoya across the rift playing on Brion; if Summit is capable of starting strong, he may be able to triumphantly make a return to the top of the power rankings. Summit is cheap, but for a more consistent, excellent player, I’d select FPX’s Nuguri.
Alternatives to consider: Nuguri ($6,800)
Jungle
Tian ($7,400)
Jungler Tian made his return on Monday, where he and the rest of FPX kicked in Rogue Warrior’s teeth in. On Wednesday, they have another easy match-up against Ultra Prime, and just like on Monday, I strongly favor the FPX 2v2 due to their strong, interconnected style. Despite interpersonal differences out of game, Tian and Doinb do function capably within the rift, and I like pairing these two together; however, if you have not yet selected a jungler, I’d prefer Tarzan due to his lower cost and similar effectiveness relative to Tian.
Alternatives to consider: Tarzan ($6,800)
Mid Lane
Doinb ($8,000)
On Wednesday, Doinb is the only mid laner worth considering. T1 v Hanwha is a complete toss-up, with Chovy being better than either T1 mid laner currently. Neither FATE nor Lava is outstanding; Lava has his moments, but his team is inferior across the board. Finally, you have icon, someone who similarly fills the “washed prodigy” category similar to someone like Kiin or Summit. Unrealized potential at its greatest. Doinb is a world champion, and doesn’t get the respect he deserves amongst the LPL greats like Rookie, Scout, or Knight. Icon is fine, if you want to save the $600.
Alternatives to consider: Icon ($7,400)
ADC
Prince ($7,400)
Prince joining Sandbox actually pulled them out of a relatively deep hole: they claimed 4 of their 6 total match wins with Prince, took a game off of play-off contenders Hanwha Life, and took an entire match 2-0 from Gen.G. All the while, Prince demonstrated some solid performances the entire way, clearly learning from his time under LWX on FunPlus Phoenix, and winning on Awesome Spear in the Challenger’s Korean league. His opponent in Hena is, in my opinion, relatively underwhelming with a few pop-off games, with a low average skill level. For a different option, I suppose you could consider Light; since he’s one of the stronger members on LNG, but I consider him too expensive for what you’re getting most of the time. He’s not a bad option though, and does typically perform very well against lower tier opponents which is what he will face against V5.
Alternatives to consider: Light ($8,000)
Support
Keria ($5,200)
The only guaranteed player to start on T1 is support Keria, and I think he’s worth looking at for your spot. I think T1 will defeat HLE considering the latter’s poor form near the end of the split, and in particular, their very poor bottom lane performances from Vsta and Deft. Keria is a strong support, and whether T1 start Gamayusi or Teddy, both ADCs look stronger than a Deft who appears to be in the twilight of his career. Vsta is no help to the HLE ADC either, and I expect T1 to take the win over HLE despite their disadvantage in the middle lane, not because Faker is bad, but simply because Chovy is outstanding. For a secondary option, I’d pair Sandbox support Effort with his ADC, Prince.
Alternatives to consider: Effort ($5,000)
Team
Liiv Sandbox ($5,400)
I really want Sandbox to be good, and them playing against the dead last team in spring makes them an easy team to cheer for on Wednesday. Summit, Prince can both be good players, as we’ve seen in the past. Effort has had high highs, but their mid jungle is a question mark for me. They should take the win over Brion, but I don’t know if they are ready to hit play-offs yet. For a different option, I’d pick up LNG for team pick, since V5 doesn’t look that promising to me.
Alternatives to consider: LNG Esports ($5,600)
Stacks
Tian & Doinb
FPX is by far the strongest team, with the best match-up on Wednesday. Their mid-jungle properly eclipses both irma and h4cker, as I’ve stated before, taking these two together is a good idea since they’ve operated well together since 2019.
Summit & Prince
Old meets new? Prince has been around for a bit, but he’s the newest edition to Sandbox and rejuvenated their Spring split, although not by much. Summit has had potential in the past, but was never realized until he met a slow, unfortunate decline in talent. Brion has looked like the worst team in the LCK in the past, and I favor Sandbox on Wednesday- it could be the beginning of a Sandbox resurgence.
Tarzan & Light
Beyond Tarzan, the best player on LNG in my opinion is their ADC Light, who is the other decent player on the lineup, and made his return in the LPL after a rough on again-off again relationship with the league. Light found his stride in Spring alongside Tarzan, and I want to see more from these two going into Summer, and a start against V5 is a good set-up for success.
Top Picks: LWX, Tian, Doinb
All FPX hits top picks: they’re the best team playing on the day, and they’re playing against one of the worst: Ultra Prime may be better than Brion and maybe V5(?) but they don’t get much further than that. FPX is still in contention for the best (or maybe, 2nd best) team in the LPL, and each of their players are worth the cash.
Top Value: Tarzan, Prince, Summit
I definitely think Sandbox comes in as “underrated” this split, whereas LNG is just decent with the players that have their notoriety, aside from a slightly underrated Light. While I don’t expect Sandbox to land quite in play-offs, I think being above Brion, Afreeca, and maybe Nongshim and/or KT is a solid start. LNG I expect to just fall outside of play-offs, but Tarzan will surely have some impressive performances on the roster.