The LPL rolls onto the week with two matches with upset potential: V5 versus BLG creates an interesting bottom lane to watch in Aiming versus y4, while eStar look to show they’re more than a bunch of no-names versus an otherwise bottom tier OMG.

Captain

Mole ($10,800)

Mole is, in my mind, V5’s underrated gem. LPL mid laners are generally high grade, and Mole is no exception to the rule. While he sits just shy of the top-5 in the league, he’s still notable in his own right and a consistent positive throughout their solid Demacia cup showing, and strong early season appearances. BLG’s Zeka is a comparatively weaker name on the roster, making mid lane firmly in the favor of V5. Otherwise, I think jungler Weiwei would be an interesting pick for captain, as he’s also coming in on the cheap side, but you’re taking a massive risk betting against a great jungler like Meteor. Pick your poison.

Alternatives to consider: Weiwei ($10,200)

Top Lane

LangX ($6,000)

Despite LGD’s poor worlds run, I was actually pleasantly surprised by LangX for the most part. I thought he was a massive liability on RNG 2019, but he certainly carried his weight as 2020 closed out. His opponent in Biubiu is no push over, although he’s horrendously feast-or-famine and hasn’t shown good gameplay into the meta top laners during Demacia cup and the early Spring matches so far. LangX had a fantastic Demacia cup, and I’m willing to keep faith in him. If LangX doesn’t suit you, I’d pick up zs here. OMG’s top laners are so-so, and zs is inexperienced. I only recommend him since no other top laners are worth it from the limited pool we have to choose from.

Alternatives to consider: zs ($6,400)

Jungle

H4cker ($7,200)

H4cker throughout his career has been a middle-of-the-pack, albeit extremely underrated jungler. He’s had to fight his way on absurdly underwhelming and weak rosters, such as early Suning, and lately OMG. eStar isn’t an overly remarkable organisation, but “mid-tier” is a massive step up for this uncut gem of a jungler. He’s already dumpstered Haro and went toe-to-toe with Meteor, so OMG’s new face in Aki shouldn’t be anything new. I think Aki has a good chance to reach a high ceiling, but Monday will be H4cker’s due to his experience. Otherwise, I don’t want to bet against Meteor, but Weiwei is another name that’s been impressing me recently on V5, so I’d prefer him to the otherwise underwhelming BLG.

Alternatives to consider: Weiwei ($6,800)

Mid Lane:

irma ($7,600)

I had no idea who irma was until he played against what was likely the 4nd best performing mid laner at Demacia cup in Rogue Warrior’s Forge. Irma’s great performance has lent me faith that he could shape up into a promising mid laner, and Bright and Wuming is a relatively short foothill in the way of that compared to Forge. I’ll be looking forward to watching eStar playing against the bottom tier squad, with special attention to irma. If he’s not your captain, I’d choose Mole here, who’s already shown his greatness as opposed to irma’s raw potential.

Alternatives to consider: Mole ($7,200)

ADC:

rat ($7,800)

Speaking of “unknown and underrated”, eStar ADC rat recent obliterated Rogue Warrior’s Betty, who’s been a solid ADC throughout his career. Obviously, rat has the benefit of high tier support ShiauC, but Rat is another solid eStar name to watch out for on top of ShiauC and irma, alongside H4cker’s solid leadership. OMG ADC Eric had a few pop-offs in Demacia cup, but he’s already been slapped hard by Viper and LWX in the regular season. Rat versus Eric is another match-up to watch, but everything rat has shown so far has revealed that he should be capable of securing the win over OMG. The other ADC worth considering on the day is y4, but I definitely wouldn’t choose him since Aiming is the ace of BLG.

Alternatives to consider: y4 ($7,400)

Support:

PPGod ($5,400)

Best support of all time baby, the god, the PPGod. Just kidding. Mark was pretty okay on LGD, but was definitely a weak point on the squad alongside ADC Kramer, and nothing he’s shown on BLG so far has changed my opinion. PPGod is still riding the hotstreak he began in 2020 Summer as a rookie on V5, matching veteran high tier supports like Crisp and SwordArt. While Aiming and Mark may be pretty formidable relative to y4, I think PPGod is the tipping point in the favor of V5 over all. If you want to save up on V5 slots, you can also go for ShiauC here, as he’s another fantastic support against the here-or-there Cold.

Alternatives to consider: ShiauC ($5,800)

Team

eStar ($5,200)

Betting against OMG is like playing roulette and betting that the ball will land on “something”. OMG has been unremarkable for the last few years, and their new roster is still pretty uninspiring although Cold and Wuming may possess latent potential in the same way H4cker did. In any case though, eStar as a “rookie squad” with irma, rat, and Zs still look superior to OMG, so they’re an easy take. BLG vs V5 is actually extremely difficult to bet on, but I’d still give it to V5 due to their jungle/support synergy.

Alternatives to consider: Victory 5 ($5,000)

Stacks:

rat & ShiauC

eStar’s bottom lane has been an underrated hit for me, ShiauC has great play-making ability, while rat is a clean-up ADC that has interestingly preferred the underutilized Xayah in this meta dominated by Kai’sa and Samira. I slightly prefer PPGod due to his lower price tag, but this is a fantastic bottom lane to pursue if you have the pockets and the spots.

LangX & Mole

The solo laners for V5 are way more experienced relative to their opponents on BLG, and they’re the biggest advantage they have over the opposing squad. Aiming is a fantastic ADC, but with a weaker support in Mark it seems unlikely for him to get off the ground. Mole faces spot competition in irma, but it’s not like you can stack your team with expensive eStar players anyway, give them a go.

Aiming & Meteor

BLG is a team with 2 superstars and 3 “whatever” players. If you want to bet on BLG, these are the two you absolutely need on your squad: Meteor has been an upper tier jungler throughout his LPL tenure, around the same level as Beishang before Beishang started making a run for the crown this year alongside Team WE. Aiming was one of, if not the best ADC domestically in the LCK during the 2020 season with an extremely underpowered KT Rolster. Don’t overlook these two if you want to gamble on BLG.

Top Picks: irma, rat, LangX

Hit them where it hurts; the biggest advantage these 3 have is a combination of their own individual strengths alongside the relative weakness of their opponents. Eric and Wuming are alright players, but with an underpowered roster, rat and irma look primed to smash OMG. LangX against Biubiu is another match-up firmly in the favor of LangX from his history as a solid, upper tier domestic top laner.

Top Value: Aiming, Meteor, Mole

I don’t hate BLG, but I do hate rosters like this: Meteor and Aiming have a tremendous burden to shoulder as the big names on the roster, with a relatively weak mid, top, and support. I.e.; everything an ADC and jungler need to get rolling. These guys do come in cheap, and they are fantastic players though; but money isn’t a massive issue on the day. Mole is just straight underrated, and has demonstrated his strength as a player on V5 against some of the best mid laners the LPL had to offer.