League of Legends LEC DFS Playbook - Jan 23

Christopher Troeh - LEC DFS Playbook - 1/22/2021

Twitter.com/PrussianLoL

 

The LEC enters day 2 on Saturday. Highlights include MAD Lions versus the weak Astralis, and titans colliding in FNC vs RGE. G2 look to take down SK, while the mid tables in VIT and MSF, and S04 and XL face off. Let’s get into the picks.

 

Humanoid was the singular player of MAD Lions who looked competitive and competent at the World Championships last year. While on Friday, the G2 warmachine absolutely stomped the Lions back into the dirt, that shouldn’t discount them from your picks on Saturday: it’s unlikely anyone will compete against the powered up G2, but there’s better ways to get points other than dumping cash on the expensive players: just bet against Astralis! Thankfully, the Lions have a perfectly timed pick-me-up after getting eviscerated by G2, and that’s getting to face off against the weakest team in the league, with Humanoid in particular getting to farm some points against Nukeduck. If you intend to go with a different pick, I’d look to recommend fellow mid laner Larssen, due to the fact that FNC hasn’t had enough time to gel together yet.

Alternatives to consider: Larssen ($10,200)

 

Armut had one of the better performances against G2 on the Lions, showing off some solid Renekton gameplay that appears in line with his great performances at worlds; his competition in Whiteknight has been in-and-out of the LCS throughout his career, and doesn’t appear to be any better equipped to compete against the competition than in years past. Armut hits all of the right points for a player worth considering: he’s had a solid track record, he’s on the cheap side, and his match-up is fantastic on the day. The other name well worth considering is Wunder, while I don’t like to cash out on G2 players, SK’s weaker point is likely Jenax, who the more experienced top laner is capable of thoroughly exploiting.

Alternatives to consider: Wunder ($7,000)

 

Betting against Selfmade? Am I out of my mind? Maybe a little; but facts are facts: FNC didn’t look so great against Misfits, Bwipo and Selfmade in particular looked lost, and while Nisqy was fine, I think Rogue have really got their situation figured out with the addition of their new top laner Odoamne, who is another solid pick for top lane. Inspired has had continuous upward movement throughout his career, and while Selfmade may occasionally have skipped a few steps and had brief tumbles, Inspired over all has followed closely in the superstar’s footsteps. I think this split may just be Rogue’s chance to really snatch the crown from FNC as Europe’s runner up, and Inspired looks primed to do just that. Otherwise, I’d recommend picking up Gilius, who’s continued his upward momentum as he’s returned to the LEC.

Alternatives to consider: Gilius ($7,000)

 

Larssen absolutely curbstomped young prodigy Czekolad in the first day of LEC, and while Nisqy has more experience over all, Larssen is a wunderkind in his own right. While Nisqy is most of the time relegated to playing for his jungler, Larssen is consistently dominating his opponents, and is likely the 2nd best overall in the LEC, just behind Caps. The era of Caps single handedly dominating the European mid lane may be coming to a halt as Larssen progresses through his career; G2 looked vulnerable in 2020, and while I absolutely think they’ll win, I think Rekkles may have to shoulder a larger burden than expected against a team like Rogue.

Alternatives to consider: Abbedagge ($7,800)

 

ADC:

This is well worth the big bucks: G2 Rekkles came out with a fantastic performance against MAD’s bottom lane, racking up an 18 KDA with 0 deaths, and the highest farm in the game. Versus SK, Jezu looked solid in their match against Astralis and Treatz was very pleasant too, but it’s like comparing a toddler to a special operations soldier: Rekkles is absolutely insane, and the best ADC Europe has to offer. Do not miss out on this guy, but if you are absolutely looking elsewhere for an ADC, I’d choose Hans Sama, who played great against fellow superstar Patrik on Friday.

Alternatives to consider: Hans Sama ($7,000)

 

Is Kaiser a sack pick? Ehh. I mean, Trymbi may have latent potential, but he didn’t exactly inspire greatness in his play versus XL; I’m really not looking to spend big on a support like Mikyx, and Kaiser is awarded with an easy going game against Astralis, and in particular, Promisq who is one of their weakest links. He looked fine against G2, and I think MAD is a team to watch out for as the split goes on. Otherwise; if you want in on a secret, I’d really try for Vander. He had a 20 KDA on Friday versus FNC and is a hidden X-Factor for any team he’s on. I think MSF vs VIT may be a bit more competitive, but Vander is extremely undervalued and may let you pick up an extra G2 player if you play your cards right.

Alternatives to consider: Vander ($4,600)

 

Misfits likely take my pick for the most “underrated team” this split in the LEC. Vetheo may not be “quite there” yet, but Vander in support provides any team he’s on with well needed leadership, alongside the raw mechanical talent of Razork. Kobbe looks solid, and HiRit is surprisingly serviceable so far too. VIT look alright, but I think Misfits take this game pretty easily since Milica looked off his game on Friday. If you have the money to throw, G2 is always safe; but I couldn’t be happier choosing Misfits on the cheap.

Alternatives to consider: G2 Esports ($5,800)

 

I’ll probably never make an LEC slate without having these two on a stack: the reign of G2 is likely the longest (at least, that I can remember) out of any major region. They haven’t been beaten in grand finals since 2018, and there’s no way it’s going to stop short of catastrophe. They had a brief stumble in 2020 summer, when Perkz returned to mid, but now they have Rekkles and what’s done is done: it’s too free. SK don’t stand a chance; likely no one stands a chance unless Rogue can power up fast.

 

Feels weird to do a 180 from yesterday, but in my opinion Nisqy was either going to click right away, or it was unlikely to happen. I’m beginning to think that what Selfmade needs in a mid laner isn’t necessarily just a “jungle slave” who permanently plays for priority, like DoinB. Ironically, I think the dynamic of Larssen and Inspired, the “two hit” style of aggression would be more in line with what Selfmade would prefer; not to mention, mid laner Pirean already showed that sort of jungle slave style was lukewarm at best with Selfmade. I think Rogue’s 2v2 has a considerable advantage over FNC.

 

Despite in my opinion these two not really displaying any particular synergy, there is a good reason to pick them up together: they target massive weaknesses on Astralis, Promisq and Nukeduck. There’s nothing really else to say, they’re good in their positions, likely top 3 for Humanoid and top 5 for Kaiser, but the people they’re playing against are pretty much 10th uncontested.

 

Top Picks: Rekkles, Humanoid, Caps

Big names: Rekkles and Caps needs no introduction, they’re the superstars of Europe and while it feels bad to see Perkz gone, I can’t be sad for long since Rekkles and Caps’ reunification while shedding the relatively mediocre parts of their former team (Broxah, SoAZ/Bwipo) is nice to see. Even Selfmade may have posed a challenging dynamic. Humanoid is a great pick since he’s around top 3 mid laners currently in the LEC, and he gets to play against the worst: economics at their finest.

 

Top Value: Odoamne, Vander, Larssen

Usually when I say “value” I usually put the 3rd or 4th pick, but not today: these guys are, in their truest words, underrated. Odoamne was excellent on S04 last year, and has continued to look good after joining Rogue. Vander was extremely underrated on Rogue last year too, and he is the face of the “tempered aggression” or maybe even possessing a more peel based style of the supportive role, sporting some of the lowest death counts across the position consistently. Larssen needs no introduction either, his growth has been remarkable and is shaping up into LEC’s next legendary mid laner, perhaps even capable of surpassing Caps when he inevitably must retire.