• (-250) Nongshim RedForce v Hanwha Life Esports (+185)
  • (0) Oh My God v LGD Gaming (-130)
  • (-475) Damwon KIA v KT Rolster (+315)
  • (+130) Invictus Gaming v Team WE (-170)

Sunday’s LPL and LCK slate contains numerous close matches: LGD and OMG fight for one of the last LPL play-off spots, while a surging IG with a reintegrated TheShy looks to take down a Team WE that is similarly striking a hot streak. Damwon KIA is likely to beat a weak KT Rolster, but Hanwha Life Esport’s new jungler in Willer could potentially pose a challenge to the #1 placed team in the LCK in Nongshim.

Captain

Showmaker ($11,400)

KT Rolster is on the slow, reliable decline towards irrelevance. The once promising line-up’s embers have been dimming, and while Noah and Dove still have talent, they’re unlikely to pick up any significant wins to close out the season. Showmaker is still a solid mid laner despite DK’s routine underperformances, and his price point is still reasonable. Your other option is Beishang, who gets to face off against a weak XUN in the jungle.

Alternatives to consider: Beishang ($10,800)

Top Lane

Breathe ($6,800)

Breathe has slowly improved from a mediocre top laner to a premier LPL talent. While IG’s TheShy is a strong opponent, Breathe typically benefits from enemies sending excessive resources towards his side, and his jungler Beishang prefers to make the game volatile, a state in which Team WE thrives in. Khan is another option for a small price cut, and Doran isn’t a massive threat across the rift, but Khan isn’t known for his consistency as of late.

Alternatives to consider: Khan ($6,600)

Jungle

Peanut ($6,800)

The Nongshim jungler’s resurgence has been massive this split, despite the fact Nongshim dropped a set to the surging Liiv Sandbox. Peanut’s form is more than enough to obliterate the inexperienced Willer, who has had a safe time against the bottom two teams in the LCK. Beishang is another strong option though, as mentioned with Breathe.

Alternatives to consider: Beishang ($7,200)

Mid Lane

Gori ($6,800)

Between Gori and Shanks for middle lane, it’s hard to pin down an option- Chovy is a dangerous opponent, although Gori is neck-and-neck in contention for MVP alongside the HLE mid laner. Gori comes in as satisfyingly cheap, and while Chovy is strong, he suffers from the same inconsistency that plagues many of the top LCK players, whereas Gori is relatively consistent. My other preferred option is WE’s Shanks, who has a relatively safe match-up against Rookie, who is having a horrendous split.

Alternatives to consider: Shanks ($7,000)

ADC

Deokdam ($7,400)

Deft and Vsta are not a threatening bottom lane, above the lower tier players. Deokdam alongside Gori has stood out as a seriously powerful carry this split, with a strong killer instinct in teamfights, which is essential for a strong ADC. This quality, in my mind, is imperative to picking up big points against low tier teams like HLE, which likewise, is why I favor WE’s Elk into IG, as Elk is an ADC with a similar quality.

Alternatives to consider: Elk ($7,800)

Support

Beryl ($5,400)

Between Beryl, Missing, and Kellin- amongst other strong supports, I prefer the Damwon support in his match-up against Harp, who is likely the weakest or second weakest support playing on Sunday, and OMG’s Cold- who gets a good shot against LGD’s weak bottom lane with Kramer and Mark, whereas Cold has a strong Able to play with.

Alternatives to consider: Cold ($5,200)

Team

Team WE ($5,400)

IG hit a brief spark for a few games earlier in the split with the return of TheShy, but after their loss to Bilibili, I don’t see IG making the miracle run to play-offs. Team WE has been looking great with Shanks subbing in, and Rookie will likely crack under the pressure. Nongshim, furthermore, has an easy match-up against one of the bottom teams in the LCK in Hanwha Life.

Alternatives to consider: Nongshim RedForce ($5,600)

Stacks

Peanut & Gori

Nongshim’s 2v2 is a big piece in how they are capable to push for victory, or even create a strong carry in Deokdam. Peanut finally looks returned to form after an underwhelming worlds appearance on LGD, whereas HLE suffers from weaknesses across the map, particularly in any place that isn’t in the middle lane.

Khan & Showmaker

However, KT Rolster is similarly weak. Doran is an underwhelming top laner, and Dove is a mid table mid laner at best, whereas Khan and Showmaker are amongst the strongest in their roles, even on their more unimpressive days.

Breathe & Shanks

Similarly, the solos for Team WE aren’t to be underestimated either, especially since Rookie is having such a terrible split, with TheShy being the only significant win condition for the squad, which will easily be countered by WE and their own strong top laner with Breathe.

Top Picks: Breathe, Shanks, Deokdam

WE and Nongshim have the most convincing match-ups, with DK shortly behind them. Breathe is a strong top laner that can match TheShy well, and Shanks can exploit Rookie. Deokdam is against a strong ADC historically in Deft, but he’s been having a mediocre split lately, alongside having an underwhelming support.

Top Value: Cold, Gori, Deokdam

Gori against Chovy isn’t a clear call, but Chovy doesn’t often look to aggress early in the game, which can allow Gori to hit on HLE’s weak lanes with his jungler Peanut. OMG’s Cold may be the difference maker between LGD and OMG, as Mark and Kramer will likely leave him uncontested across the map.