LEC FRIDAY

(+125) FC Schalke 04 v MAD Lions (-165)

(-210) Misfits Gaming v Astralis (+165)

(-165) G2 Esports v Rogue (+125)

(+175) Team Vitality v SK Gaming (-230)

(-350) Fnatic v Excel Esports (+250)

LEC picks back up on Friday with some exciting prospects to look forward to: Misfits has shown a strong upswing in the back half of the season with a 3-0 week prior and get to face off against Astralis. Schalke has entered terminal velocity free fall and faces against MAD Lions, G2 and Rogue finally get their rematch for 1st place, SK gets free money versus Vitality, and XL tries to keep their play-off dreams alive against FNC. Let’s look towards the picks.

Captain

Razork ($11,100)

Misfits has been hit or miss over the season, and I’ve been on record as saying that “they’re a team with individual talent that can’t put it together”. However, with Misfits’ new 2v2 mid-jungle style, they’ve really reinvented themselves and they took a 2-0 week to close out February. Razork is on a higher price tag than most junglers, but he gets a good opportunity to play against Zanzarah in what is, in my opinion, one of the most pronounced mechanical gaps we’ve seen so far: Razork is a jungler with really insane micro who has a great opportunity to style on his opponent on Friday. For a different pick, I’d either pick up his mid laner Vetheo or I’d mix it up and grab Elyoya or Selfmade. Either is a fantastic option.

Alternatives to consider: Selfmade ($11,400)

Top Lane

HiRit ($6,200)

I will not lie, HiRit has not impressed me throughout his time in the LEC. Thankfully, though, I actually do see improvement in his play from his entrance until today. His recent games against Schalke, XL, and SK have all appeared solid. Across the rift, his opponent Whiteknight has been “alright” at best but I wouldn’t consider him anywhere near “good”. HiRit should have a free time against Whiteknight relative to Broken Blade, Jenax, or Kryze. If you want a top laner of a higher pedigree, I’d definitely recommend selecting Jenax versus Szygenda, who has shown some dominant performances recently.

Alternatives to consider: Jenax ($6,800)

Jungle

Elyoya ($6,800)

I think Elyoya has been a pleasant surprise for MAD Lions; while Humanoid may have preferred the more aggressive Shad0w, Elyoya’s control style has benefited the squad in other ways: they’re more capable of choking out their opponents once they get leads. S04’s Gilius has likely been the 3rd worst jungler in the league in my opinion (behind Dan and Skeanz) and Elyoya should get his way with whatever MAD’s plan is: he can cycle camps fast and farm, or play to win mid 2v2. If Razork is your captain and you have some extra money, you can consider upgrading to Selfmade who gets to play against the real worst jungler in the league: Dan himself.

Alternatives to consider: Selfmade ($7,600)

Mid Lane

Vetheo ($7,400)

As stated in the captains section, rookie mid laner Vetheo has became the chief carry for Misfits alongside jungler Razork, relieving Kobbe from the responsibility and opening Vander up to playing the map more actively. This has tremendous benefits for Misfits; Vander is now capable of exercising his macro and vision control expertise in the early game, allowing Misfits to pick up early advantages without having to win through bottom lane, playing away from Vander’s solid, but less than exemplary mechanics. Astralis’ Magifelix has been solid, but their mid-jungle 2v2 is relatively inert. Otherwise, I’d recommend either Nisqy or Blue, who both get to dumpster the worst mid laners in the league.

Alternatives to consider: Nisqy ($8,000)

ADC

Carzzy ($7,000)

Carzzy has not lived up to his hype this split. He is a bottom tier ADC, but he does have a major redeeming quality: Kaiser has occasionally shown the same highs he’s had in the past; Carzzy looks like he’s getting back on track lately; and S04’s bottom lane has basically threw the early lead S04 had over other teams (most notably: G2 and RGE). Neon in particular looks absolutely lost, although that’s not saying much since Gilius and Broken Blade have also appeared crushed. If you want an ADC with value behind him past circumstance, I’d definitely recommend SK’s Jezu, who has been a breakout superstar alongside his support Treatz.

Alternatives to consider: Jezu ($7,600)

Support

Kaiser ($5,800)

Kaiser coinflip has been real this split, but MAD has certainly had their highs throughout their split: they’re the 3rd placed team currently for a reason, although I don’t think their play so far has awarded them distinction. Kaiser’s inconsistency has been a big factor in that, but against a team like S04 with their underwhelming bottom lane, even a bad day for Kaiser would still generally make him a solid choice. That being said, Mikyx and Treatz are still on the table, alongside Hylissang. The former two supports are well known for their strength and consistency.

Alternatives to consider: Treatz ($6,400)

Team

SK Gaming ($5,400)

I think fans were certainly sleeping on rookie squad SK coming into the split: while I admit, I overrated Blue significantly, SK has shown that the next generation of EU talent is a bright class indeed. Bottom laners Treatz and Jezu in particular look like stars in the making, Tynx is a great jungler with a good career ahead of him, and Blue has shown that he has the makings of a good mid laner within him. Jenax has swapped nicely to top lane and fulfills his role. For a cheaper option, I’d recommend Misfits who can crush Astralis on Friday.

Alternatives to consider: Misfits ($5,200)

Stacks

Vetheo & Razork

MSF’s mid jungle 2v2 has reinvented the squad, and has made them competitive with middle tier LEC. Most importantly, they have a degree of versatility due to their mutual mechanical talent, in contrast to 2v2s like Schalke and Astralis, whose mid laners are always the dominant carry. This versatility is invaluable, and allows them to put either player in the carry slot.

Elyoya & Kaiser

MAD’s jungle-support has revealed a more restraint and controlled playstyle relative to how MAD played in 2020. Elyoya has actually been a pretty solid upper-middle tier jungler, and he has a good match-up against Gilius. Similarly, S04’s bottom lane will be exploited by Kaiser, and he will be allowed to move around the map to exploit S04’s other lanes also.

Jezu & Treatz

SK’s bottom lane has been absolutely insane, likely the 3rd best in the league barely behind Rogue and G2, their opponents in Crownshot and Labrov makes me a bit hesitant in their recommendation due to VIT’s propensity to pour resources into their bottom lane, but I am confident that SK can stand strong and crush their competition.

Top Picks: Treatz, Razork, Elyoya

Jungle is definitely a stacked position on the day: Misfits’ Razork has been a big flipper for a while, but finally looks like he’s been hitting his stride as of late alongside his mid laner Vetheo. Elyoya’s entrance has impressed me, and I’ve noticed his relative consistency against the backdrop of MAD Lions’... well, inconsistency. Finally, Treatz may be in the early running of MVP on SK, leading the rookie squad all the way to 3rd place.

Top Value: TynX, HiRit, Selfmade

TynX versus Skeanz, HiRit versus Whiteknight, and Selfmade versus Dan are insane match-ups all worth exploiting if you get the opportunity. HiRit in particular has a good chance to rack up points on the cheap alongside Misfit’s superior mid jungle 2v2.