LCS begins on Friday with some of the closest matchups that the league has faced yet: Cloud 9 vs Team Liquid and FlyQuest vs Counter Logic Gaming. Between these teams however, there are individual players that are primed for success.

Captain

MasH ($11,400)

One would have had their eyes trained on the academy scene in order to anticipate MasH’s explosive re-entry into the LCS. MasH held the highest KDA in academy despite being paired with a mediocre support, and MasH’s new support, in IgNar, is among the top of the league. MasH is a fantastic pick for captain by virtue of his fantastic positioning and relatively safe play style, with a high KP% throughout both LCS and academy. If you’re not sold by MasH, consider picking up Solo, who faces off against a very weak Ruin in the top lane.

Alternatives to consider: Solo ($9,900)

Top Lane

Licorice ($6,400)

Hands down, Solo is worth the extra $200 over Licorice for the price of playing against Ruin as opposed to Impact. However, we need all the money we can get, and Solo’s $6,600 price tag for a top laner is not worth compromising in more promising positions such as mid and ADC. We love Solo, but we need the Licorice. It helps that Licorice is the best top laner in the LCS too, and while his opponent in Impact certainly seems much more competent than Ruin, we can expect Licorice to win against Impact’s weakened form. If you want to pick up Solo, be my guest, but we are building a super team and we need to scrounge for those dollars.

Alternatives to consider: Solo ($6,600)

Jungle

Broxah ($6,000)

Broxah is not a choice we are comfortable recommending, but considering what we need to make our team successful, Broxah is the lesser of two evils. He’s calm, collected, and while Blaber is the best jungler in the entire league hands down, we can depend on Broxah to hold his own against the young superstar by account of his veteran status. We don’t think Broxah will win big, but we do expect him to be the “best worst” piece we can get. He’s absurdly cheap at only $6,000 and is a crucial option in order for us to spend big in carry positions. If you can grab Blaber, go for it, but Jungle is a position not worth spending big in.

Alternatives to consider: Blaber ($7,200)

Mid Lane

Power of Evil ($7,200)

We’ve talked before about FlyQuest’s mid laner, the primary carry on the team. Nothing has changed, Power of Evil has been an unrivaled threat in how he controls the game. It’s extremely hard for “one carry” teams to end up at the top of the league, but FlyQuest has managed it nicely. It helps that MasH appears to be a much more proficient secondary carry than WildTurtle. His opponent in Pobelter isn’t bad, but we favor Power of Evil due to his easy going, scaling based play style. He’s a Froggen that works. If you can afford the $200, Nisqy is another fantastic choice, but they’re expected to do similar things, and there’s no point spending that $200 somewhere you don’t need it.

Alternatives to consider: Nisqy ($7,600)

ADC

Zven ($7,800)

Zven is the best ADC in the league and had the highest KDA in spring, that’s it. No more needs to be said. However, if you didn’t pick MasH here, you definitely want to pick him up, as he is facing a far weaker lane in Stixxay & Smoothie. Tactical & CoreJJ are certainly a fantastic lane, but Tactical’s lack of experience and secondary carry style really puts him on the back burner, while both FlyQuest and Cloud 9 have teammates better equipped to enable their ADCs. So over all, make sure you fit both Zven and MasH on your team, but we prefer MasH as captain due to the favorable match-up, and Zven as ADC because he’s a big earner.

Alternatives to consider: MasH ($7,600)

Support

Vulcan ($5,600)

No way you didn’t see this coming. Vulcan is the best support in the league, and the only person that comes close is IgNar. CoreJJ is fantastic too, but Vulcan is on an unchallenged throne after Cloud 9’s spring performance, where they only dropped two games throughout the entire season. IgNar isn’t a bad option, but you’re paying for something special with Vulcan, and IgNar’s engage heavy style can result in him dying in situations where he doesn’t need to. Vulcan is the correct choice here.

Alternatives to consider: IgNar ($5,400)

Team

FlyQuest ($5,400)

Betting against CLG has harmed many people before, but surely this time they will lose. CLG earn their 3-1 standing by virtue of felling teams that have collapsed and sit at the very bottom of the standings: Golden Guardians, Immortals, Dignitas. When people describe those latter two teams as “trainwrecks” it’s quite apparent how CLG, the last placed team last split, sit at a tie for 2nd place at this point. Meanwhile, FlyQuest has faced off against Cloud 9, Dignitas, Immortals, and TSM. While their loss to Cloud 9 was expected, they were not the favorites going into their match against TSM and it was none other than MasH with an excellent performance that lended them the victory. Cloud 9 is projected to win against Team Liquid too, but Team Liquid look like a relative threat relative to CLG, who is a sheep in a wolf’s clothing.

Alternatives to consider: Cloud 9 ($5,600)

Top Stacks

Zven & Vulcan

They are the best bottom lane in the LCS, and that is a certified fact. No one could match them in spring and they’re undefeated in summer for a reason. Sure, their teammates are also world class at their roles, but Zven and Vulcan are like butter and bread, it’d be insane to not pair these two superstars together.

Power of Evil & Solo

The solo laners on FlyQuest, they both are slow and steady players, each sporting low deaths. They’re reliable, and top class in their positions. Sure, individually the players on Cloud 9 may be better, but these two offer something a little different, they’re more reliable, they die less. The Cloud 9 solo laners are like luxury BMWs, but Power of Evil & Solo are more like dependable, underrated Japanese cars which will last decades without a single problem.

CoreJJ & Tactical

These two are a wildcard, and they are not expected to do well against Zven and Vulcan, but honestly, they’re a massive win condition for Liquid, and when Broxah and Jensen were far behind Closer and Damonte, these two swooped in to save the day. Putting them as a stack isn’t an overwhelming recommendation, but these two are worth watching. If they do well, it’d dramatically change your upcoming drafts.

Top Picks

Zven, MasH, Vulcan

Each of these players are fantastic. Vulcan is the only support I’d ever consider spending big on by virtue of his synergy with each member on his team and his play style with makes him dodge death like none other. While supports are known for racking up deaths, Vulcan keeps it low and steady. MasH was a surprise to those who neglected to watch academy, but he’s a stable ADC and will likely do well against CLG’s relatively weak bottom lane.

Top Value

Broxah, CoreJJ, Pobelter

Each of these are absurdly cheap for one reason: they are going to lose. Among these, only Broxah is likely worth spending your cash on. Junglers are relatively floppy, and while Blaber is assuredly going to rack up points like no other, Broxah may be able to brick wall his aggression by virtue of his veterancy in the jungle. Pobelter is a stable pick, but with much weaker pieces relative to Power of Evil, defeat comes with consequences to his KDA. CoreJJ is absurdly cheap at only $4,600, but against players like Zven & Vulcan, it makes sense that you’re basically getting paid to take him. From world champion to food for young NA talent, such is the life of a League of Legends professional.