Two high tier teams clash in China between FPX and EDG, whilst V5 look for an easy win against LGD. In Korea, middle of the pack squads DRX and HLE compete while lower tier LSB and KT figure out who will be contending with AFS for the bottom-most spots in the league.

Captain

Weiwei ($9,900)

V5’s jungler was a massive factor in bringing the squad from 17th to play-off caliber from 2020 spring to summer, he got off to a rough start against WE’s Beishang, but to be fair, Beishang is easily a top tier jungler. LGD’s junglers are both untested, and unremarkable. Weiwei’s low cost combined with the meta of high farming, resource intensive junglers creates a great advantage: particularly in the regard that he’ll let you pick up an extra jungler without breaking the bank. If you’re looking for a more “premium” pick up, I’d recommend Mole from V5, he’s way more expensive, but he’s well worth having on your team.

Alternatives to consider: Mole ($11,400)

Top Lane

LangX ($6,200)

Flandre vs Nuguri is a match-up worth dodging, although I’d give a slight edge to Nuguri due to jungle match-up. In my opinion, LangX is the absolute best decision for top lane unless you want to spend big on Nuguri: every other top laner has shown remarkable inconsistency (Summit) or is just in a plain bad match-up (Morgan vs Kingen). LangX gets a free ride versus Cult, and I really don’t want to recommend anyone else. V5 spots are valuable today, but top lane is one worth investing a precious V5 player in.

Alternatives to consider: Nuguri ($6,400)

Jungle

Pyosik ($6,000)

Arthur actually looked pretty solid vs T1, but Pyosik’s performance at worlds and against AFs gave me a good impression of his career trajectory: there’s clear, marked growth in his play from 2020 to now, and he should have a big advantage over Arthur in the jungle. DRX still has a lot of ground to cover, but I think Pyosik has a big stylistic edge over Arthur; but to be blunt: this is a really big risk. Chovy and Deft are hard nuts to crack, and DRX is a roster of rookies. It’s really going to be up to Pyosik and Kingen to step up against HLE, but Pyosik has the potential to rack up major points on the day. If you’re a little more sheepish, I’d try to swap out my captain and pick up Weiwei; but if you must, I’d choose the coin-flippy Tian over Jiejie and Clearlove.

Alternatives to consider: Tian ($7,000)

Mid Lane:

Mole ($7,600)

My 3rd V5 member is mid laner Mole; he had a great 2020 season and was an absolute pubstomper, crushing mid laners below him with perfect KDAs while putting up a solid fight against the higher tiers. LGD’s Uniboy is definitely no scrub, judging from 2020 worlds, but V5 has a massive advantage in top, support, and jungle. I love Uniboy, but Mole will probably crush the mid lane match-up due to the tremendous burden facing the Taiwanese import. For a different mid laner, you have to choose favorites between Scout, or Doinb, or trying to bet on Chovy versus the rookie Solca. Personally, I’d pick up Doinb: he was great throughout the last year despite his team playing like dogwater, and with a revitalized roster, I think he can continue to excel.

Alternatives to consider: Doinb ($7,800)

ADC:

y4 ($7,800)

Kramer looked like one of the worst players on LGD at worlds, they only narrowly escaped the play-ins, and were a disaster at the event overall, even with a solid roster. Y4’s career has been pretty on again-off again, but I’d argue that support PPGod has really allowed him to hit his stride, and fellow ADC Samd may have actually been inferior throughout the 2020 summer season relative to y4. He had a great Demacia cup, and gave Jiumeng a run for his money in V5’s hard fought match against WE. Kramer is, to be blunt, looking pretty washed up at this point. I firmly give this one to y4. Otherwise, I’d try out Route against KT’s weaker bottom lane. I like Effort, and think LSB’s biggest advantage in the match-up is their superior bottom lane.

Alternatives to consider: Route ($7,400)

Support:

Effort ($5,200)

Speaking of which. While I understand why T1 dropped Effort, I think he’s a very underrated support; not in the regard he’s a top pick for the position, but he’s grown a lot from 2018 and he was very serviceable on T1, although extremely inconsistent. Effort is not what T1 wants if they want to restore their dynasty, but he still is very promising, and has shown in the past that he’s more than capable of winning domestic championships. He’s a choker, but a solid regular season performer. I like Effort, and think he matches up well against KT’s Zzus. If you have another spot, cash out on PPGod, he’s the best support playing on the day. Otherwise, I’m more than happy with Effort.

Alternatives to consider: PPGod ($5,800)

Team

FunPlus Phoenix ($5,200)

I don’t really have a reason for this, other than the fact that the overall level of FPX excels that of EDG. I like Viper, but he’s not in his 2018 or 2019 form. Meiko just isn’t the same support either. Scout is great, but Doinb has shown he can be the best mid laner in the world (or maybe the worst. Depends on who you ask, haha.) Jiejie has shown promise, but when Tian hits, he hits hard. He’s proven that he’s not just another Ning, and Nuguri needs no introduction: Flandre is a top tier top laner, but Nuguri is literally a world champion. I think EDG will have individual high performers, I just don’t know who they’ll be on the day. FPX is a more “complete” team. If you have an extra spot, V5 is a no-brainer.

Alternatives to consider: Victory 5 ($5,600)

Stacks:

Route & Effort

I like these two for the “budget” option for LSB. KT have the advantage in the middle lane, but if Summit is capable of playing like a normal human being, he’s still capable of being world class. Route and Effort can be an underrated bottom lane capable of contending with the best of LCK, and Hybrid and Zzus should be an easy first hurdle to conquer.

Mole & y4

The carries for V5 are great choices for a carry-core. I like the flexibility they offer in regards to their pools, and while Uniboy and Kramer should be better parts of their respective squads; it just doesn’t matter. “Better” doesn’t mean much when you’re still bad; although I do sympathize with mid laner Uniboy. If LGD Kongyue came through, and they had a different ADC to circumvent import rules, LGD could be an underrated classic. Instead, I think the reign of V5 will continue over the bottom tier LPL squads.

Doinb & Nuguri

FPX solo laners look solid. I don’t want to even think about FPX’s bottom lane or jungle due to how insanely inconsistent they are; but Nuguri has a wealth of history to validate his world champion status. Doinb, to me, seems like the one player on FPX that still feels like a “world champion” whereas LWX and Tian have fell off. Perhaps Crisp is also worthy of the title, but when he’s saddled with an ADC that looks geriatric at points, it can be difficult to tell.

Top Picks: LangX, y4, Weiwei

V5 players are the most valuable on the day. Pick up as many as you can, they’re expensive, so I think Weiwei as captain is a solid pick-up. The other match-ups are much too volatile for my taste. Weiwei may not be the most insane jungler, but he’s playing up against a nobody on a team of nobodies; if LGD happens to be a smash hit, I’ll eat my words, but even their “known” players in Cult and Kramer look extremely underwhelming.

Top Value: Effort, Route, Pyosik

Sandbox is underrated, although they have to contend with a Summit who looked mentally checked out in 2020, and FATE’s entire career of being underwhelming. Onfleek has had periods of being solid, and I have no idea what to think of Croco other than “bottom tier”. LSB’s bottom lane appears solid with an extremely high ceiling. Pyosik is a different matter entirely, and has had one of the biggest glow-ups of 2020, which has continued into this year. HLE’s carries in Chovy and Deft are massive names, but they look extremely mortal with a weak supporting cast.