With KeSPA’s group stage drawing to an end, we have a relatively clear picture of who’s performing in group B: HLE’s value from having a consistent roster is skyrocketing, whereas KT, despite splitting their players, have their own clear strengths.

Captain

Chovy ($11,100)

A common theme you’ll catch onto throughout this list isn’t that it’s important to choose the “best” player; rather it’s important to select the most “consistent” player as the actual players on the team are swapping rapidly. As far as consistency goes, Chovy is a solid option. He’s not bank-breaking expensive, and he is guaranteed to start games for HLE unless situations change; although that’s unlikely. For captain, it’s important to choose a player who will start both games on the day, which limits options severely. Chovy’s experience against high-tier, world-class competition puts him head-and-shoulders above his opponents in KeSPA. Despite falling to Lava (in an admittedly coin-flippy match-up) Chovy is likely to pick himself up and dominate the rest of the group bracket. If you’re looking for a different option, we would recommend his teammate, Deft, although be careful, since ADC competition is pretty steep in group B.

Alternatives to consider: Deft ($12,000)    

Top Lane

Hoya ($6,600)

While Hoya’s last appearance in LCK under “rags to riches, to rags again” organization Griffin was unremarkable at best, he’s already out of the forest for KeSPA after playing against HLE and KT, looking pretty solid while doing so. Hoya’s comfort pool of Ornn-Renekton-Aatrox being meta right now is a massive boon, and the opponents he’s yet to face in T1 Roach and Gen.G Lonely aren’t tough to take down; furthermore, he doesn’t share a spot with any other top laner, so while KT Castle (or even Doran) may seem like a good take, if they have a single bad game, your top lane spot is gone for good. Meanwhile, with Hoya you’re guaranteed two full games of play.

Alternatives to consider: Castle ($5,400)

Jungle

YeongJae ($6,600)

To be truthful, I was not extremely high on YeongJae coming into this event; but all of that changed after he appeared competent both against T1 Mowgli and KT Gideon despite being in poor matchups both times: he has a clear grasp of the strongest jungler on the patch on Taliyah, and relatively strong mid laner like Karis really enables him to show his strength. There’s only one issue: he has to face down HLE Arthur. For that reason, you may want to tank your support pick later on in order to get enough funds to pick up Arthur, who is the other consistently good jungle starter. This one is a complete toss up, and while I think Arthur will get the better of YeongJae, I also think that YeongJae’s tenacity against KT and T1 despite being in poor matchups lends him a tremendous advantage; if Gen.G can secure a winning mid-jungle, Karis and YeongJae may be capable of out muscling their opponents.

Alternatives to consider: Arthur ($7,000)

Mid Lane:

Lava ($7,800)

Similar to Hoya, I think both of the KT mid laners are better on average than Lava, but BRO’s favorable matchups across the day, combined with his veterancy and performances on the 22nd lends Lava a tremendous advantage over his opponents. Furthermore, Lava has clearly swapped up his champion pool relative to the last time we saw him in LCK: his Yone versus Chovy’s Syndra was actually very impressive, and if he’s capable of continuing that performance, BRO should be capable of closing out their group stage matches against Gen.G and T1. Otherwise, I’d take Chovy here if you took someone else for captain: Karis is good, but Gen.G is facing stark competition.

Alternatives to consider: Chovy ($7,400)

ADC:

Deft ($8,000)

Without a doubt, the weakness of BRO is their mediocre bottom lane: it’s not that Hena is bad, it’s more so that Crescent is relatively underwhelming as a support. Meanwhile, Deft is the strongest ADC in the group based on pedigree alone, and while Vsta isn’t anything special, he doesn’t really need to be. Which is observable alone when the #1 team in the group so far has Zzus and Rebel as support options. The only issue Deft has to face is the aforementioned ADC competition: even T1’s adc, Berserker, is above average in the group. Noah and HyBriD are no slouches either, Hena has shown up nicely also. In spite of this, you literally cannot argue against Deft: he’s been on top since he stepped on the scene over half a decade ago, and he’s still going strong. KT are sort of impostors in this group, and once Deft gets his bearings, him alongside Chovy and Arthur should be more than enough to crush this relatively weak group.

Alternatives to consider: Hena ($7,800)

Support:

Rebel ($5,400)

There are two factors going into Rebel’s placement for support: the first is the obvious; he showed up great against Gen.G. The second one, is that he’s more likely to start against T1 while Zzus starts against HLE. KT vs HLE is likely a contested match that I’d lean in the favor of HLE for, however, T1’s third (fourth?) team that’s playing in KeSPA is one of the weakest in the tournament, and by picking up Rebel, you’re sniping a cheap support that gets his game in against the weakest team in the group. Crescent isn’t worth the money, and Khael is a starter who’s likely to go 0-2 on the day. If you’re looking for a different option, I’d probably just pick up Crescent despite the fact he’s bad: he may look better against the much weaker T1 and Gen.G, but he looked very unimpressive in the two previous games against KT and HLE.

Alternatives to consider: Crescent ($5,400)

Team:

Hanwha Life Esports ($5,400)

You have three options for teams, and two realistic ones: HLE or BRO? While I think both teams have a good chance of going 2-0, I’d recommend HLE for a few reasons: 1. They are, beyond a doubt, the more experienced team relative to BRO, and that will naturally lend them to easier, and quicker wins: more points for you. Furthermore, HLE is likely the stronger team in general, which just adds a layer of safety in the option. On the other hand, BRO have the easier schedule against two weak teams in Gen.G and T1, although Karis and YeongJae may allow them to eek out a win against Arthur and Chovy if they demonstrate a higher level of cohesion. Decisions, decisions. KT isn’t great enough to consider in my opinion; but they’re the third option on the table if you do choose them.

Alternatives to consider: Fredit Blade ($5,000)

Top Stacks:

Deft & Chovy

The funny thing is, these are the only two players that were at the 2020 Worlds Championship in this entire group except for Doran who I think you should be capable of debating if he was really “there” if he was invisible most games. Deft and Chovy are trademark Korean powerhouses, so pairing these together is a no-brainer. They’re world class players at the top of their roles, and the players they’re playing against are mostly not even LCK starters.

Lava & Hoya

The solo laners for BRO are their apparent superstars, which is surprising considering Hoya’s past performances. It should be noted, however, that the meta is quite spectacular for Hoya considering his comfortable pool of mostly bruisers. Adding into this, the team dynamic for BRO is pretty simple, since Lava fills the role of a veteran (surprisingly). Their schedule is easy, and these two are great choices for your solo lane slots.

YeongJae & Karis

While Lonely and Gen.G’s bottom lane is mostly uninspiring, their mid-jungle has impressed in the past in LCK Academy. These two are the economic option for their respective roles, and while I’d argue strongly against picking up an “economic mid laner”, particularly in Korea, I can’t argue against the fact that Karis would be a good option if his side laners sported a degree of firepower. These two are good, and YeongJae is a great pick up to save up for later picks, but I don’t think their chance of success is particularly high.

Top Picks: Lava, Hoya, Chovy

Deft hardly misses out on the top picks due to the strong ADCs in the group: Hena, Berserker, and KT’s two stars in Noah and HyBriD. Otherwise, Lava and Hoya are up against weak competition in Roach, Lonely, and Mireu. Lava should be more than capable of matching up against Karis while Hena and Crescent out-muscle their bottom lane, and Hoya shatters Lonely. Finally, Chovy is one of the best mid laners in LCK, and one of the only ones capable of matching up well against current World Champion Showmaker: it’s in your best interest to take both of these on your roster.

Top Value: YeongJae, Karis, Rebel

YoungJae, YeongJae? Potato, potato. Either way, the jungler is one of the best value picks on the day. Arthur is good, but likely not that worth it at his high price point. Mowgli is dead in the water, and KT is split between two junglers. If Jae had strong side laners, he’d be a dominant pick-up for jungle. Karis similarly is a diamond in the rough, but his competition is stark. Rebel likely gets a free game versus T1, so he’s a great choice if you expect HLE to triumph over KT like I do.