Going into the first weekend of competitions between the League of Legends Championship, many teams want to start their 18-game campaign out on the right foot. For Saturday, there are some must see matches and other games that should be pretty one sided. The matchup everyone is looking forward to is Doublelift and TSM meeting up with Doublelift’s previous team in Team Liquid for the second game of the day. Other points of noting will be to see how the roster swaps impact teams such as Golden Guardians, Team Dignitas, and Immortals.

Game #1: Evil Geniuses versus Counter Logic Gaming

Cann’s Pick and Lock of the Day: Evil Geniuses

Game #2: Team Solomid versus Team Liquid

Cann’s Pick: Team Liquid

Game #3: Immortals versus Flyquest

Cann’s Pick: Flyquest

Game #4: Golden Guardians versus Dignitas

Cann’s Pick: Team Dignitas

Fantasy Value Breakdown (All values are based on DraftKings Classic LoL System)

Cann’s Starting Lineup for 6/13

$49,500 out of the $50,000 salary cap

Captain: PowerOfEvil (FQ)

Top: V1per (Dig)

Jungle: Svenskeren (EG)

Mid: Jizuke (EG)

ADC: Bang (EG)

Support: Gate (IMT)

Team: Team Liquid

Captain (1.5x Points)

Tier 1: Bang- Evil Geniuses ($12,600)- The discrepancy between the two teams is the real reason for this pick. CLG’s ADC (Stixxay) isn’t a bad ADC, but Bang’s pedigree is just too good. I would also look at the pressure that Svenskeren, Huni, and Jizuke will create elsewhere on the map and see how that opens up Bang to play more aggressively. The playstyles of the top laner, jungler, and mid laner for the Evil Geniuses squad will be so in the face of CLG that Bang should get free reign to maneuver in teamfights.

Value Pick: Altec- Immortals ($9,900)- While I think Flyquest is a much better team on the rest of the map, I think Immortals has an edge in the botlane. Altec and his support Gate should be able to deal with the botlane of Flyquest. If Immortals can stretch out this game and keep it close, look for Altec to pick up some serious numbers here.

Top

Tier 1: Impact- Team Liquid ($6,400)- Impact can take over games. Period. If TL look to funnel resources and strategy into this top lane, I don’t think TSM’s toplaner in Broken Blade will be able to put up much of a fight. I want to see Impact on a more playmaking champion and not relegated to a tank in the top lane. 

Value Pick: V1per- Team Dignitas ($5,200)- While I would never argue that V1per is the best top laner in the LCS. I think he is inconsistent at times and there can feel like a wide range of ability levels based on the champ he is playing. The only top laner I believe is more inconsistent for a marquee player is Golden Guardians Hauntzer. V1per is best known for his flashy Riven play and I think if Dignitas puts him on a mechanically demanding and high-pressure champion, V1per will get you a decent amount of points.

Jungle

Tier 1: Santorin- Flyquest ($7,200)- This is a matchup between Santorin (who has a long resume of success) versus Potluck (a true rookie in the LCS). Santorin will have the ability to bounce between winning lanes in top and mid while Potlock will most likely need to force a lot of ganks bottom lane. Look to see how well Santorin controls the entire map this match.

Value Pick: Broxah- Team Liquid ($6,600)- This might be the cheapest value I have seen on Broxah in a fantasy league. Broxah is a player who once stood on the World Championship Finals stage with European team Fnatic to now be valued less than junglers who have not made that event. Look for Broxah and TL to make a bounce back this split and begin it against a former teammate in Doublelift.

Mid

Tier 1: PowerOfEvil- Flyquest ($8,200)- I don’t expect this to be close matchup in the midlane. IMT midlaner, Eika, was such a puzzling pickup by the organization in the offseason leading into the Spring Split. He had amazing matches on some champions, and then followed it up with abysmal performances on others. PowerOfEvil has been consistent since he came from Europe to NA. With a KDA almost an entire point higher than Eika, look for PowerOfEvil to be a safe pick up.

Value Pick: Froggen- Team Dignitas ($7,000)- I think this is a very safe pick and can allow you to spend more in other lanes. Froggen very rarely loses lane and I think against Golden Guardian's midlaner, Demonte, Froggen should be expected to win. Both midlaners are valued at the same amount which I think only increases Froggen’s value because the leadership and experience that he brings along with a much better jungler should prove to be more than enough to make the Froggen more than worth the pick up here.

ADC

Tier 1: Bang-Evil Geniuses ($8,400)- Two words here are needed. World. Champion. No other ADC in today’s matches have even sniffed a finals appearance and Bang won it twice with SKT1 from Korea. Stixxay seemed like the hope for CLG when Doublelift made his exit from the organization but he has proven more to be a piece of the puzzle rather than a possible cornerstone of the organization. Look for Bang to get a HUGE lead in this lane

.Value Pick: Altec Immortals ($6,600)- While I think this game is going to be hard for Immortals’ fans to watch, I think the bot lane will be the comfort blanket for them. Altec and Gate will hold their own and possibly even take advantage of the missteps of Flyquest’s ADC, WildTurtle who has become famous for making questionable plays at important moments. He may not be able to carry Immortals but he may be able to give your fantasy lineup the boost it needs. 


SUP

Tier 1: Zeyzal- Evil Geniuses ($6,000)- I think the discrepancy between bot lanes in this match increases the value of this support pick. If you can find a way to pick up both Bang and Zeyzal, you could find yourself racking up a lot of points quickly. Zeyzal isn’t just reliant on his laning partner for success, instead you will find him roaming with the jungler looking for ganks in the midlane quite often. Between the almost guaranteed win against an inferior opponent and his own skillset, a clear Tier 1 choice here.

Value Pick: Aphromoo- Team Dignitas ($4,000)- Aphromoo is on of North America’s most decorated players but has slowly been falling out of fashion since the breakup of CLG where he supported none other than Doublelift. Aphromoo is valued lowest amongst all supports for Saturday but I do not think that is indicative of how good Aphromoo actually is. I don’t think Golden Guardians ADC/support duo (FBI/huhi) are anything special and I think the botlane of Dignitas will get some reprieve based on the skill mismatches in the other lanes.

TEAM

Tier 1: Evil Geniuses ($5,800)- This is a tale of two organizations moving in two different directions. Evil Geniuses are trending upward with exciting individual play that is tied together with a unified identity. CLG on the other hand is lack luster in almost every position with little to no team synergy, especially in late game team fights.

Value Pick: Team Dignitas ($4,600)- I personally believe that Golden Guardians is valued way too high ($5,200) with the lack of any real difference between these two teams that both finished the last split at 8-10. If this is a coin flip game, spend your money elsewhere.

Value Combos:

*Santorin and PowerOfEvil (Flyquest)- $15,400 Combined Salary: The synergy between these two will grow throughout the split but they are just fundamentally starting in a better spot than the Immortals Mid/Jungle pair in Eika/Potluck. PowerOfEvil has been on stage many times and has proven he can adapt his play style based on the needs of his team. Eika seems to accidentally have good games. Look for this pair to move together into the top and bottom lanes which only boosts the value of picking up these two together.

*Bang and Zeyzal (Evil Geniuses v CLG)- $14,400 Combined Salary: I feel like I keep going back to the same well with this game but it has to be driven home. There may not be a single lane in this matchup that is remotely close. I think the widest of margins will be in the bottom lane. Stixxay and Smoothie are decent, but you have to be better than decent to beat a 2x World Champion and a support whole has roared onto the scene and made a name for himself. Also the pair coming in at just a touch over $14,000 is a huge value leaving you with almost $36,000 left with 5 other positions to fill.

Top Picks: Bang, PowerOfEvil, Santorin, Jizuke

The gap between these players and their counterparts are going to be wide for the match. Each of their play styles also lends itself to higher KDA scores because of their aggressive nature.

Top Value: Broxah, Bjergsen, Altec, huhi

These players I am not as confident in their team’s ability to win, but I am confident that they will perform well. Look to them to make more calculated plays and try to limit mistakes. These guys are cheaper salary cost for their role but have still proved themselves in the past to be solid players.

Cann’s Game by Game Breakdown

Game #1

Evil Geniuses versus Counter Logic Gaming

Evil Genius ended the first half of the season at a 10-8 record and ended the Spring Split playoffs at an impressive 3rd place finish after falling to Flyquest 3-1. CLG ended the spring split not making the cut for playoffs with an abysmal (and somewhat surprising) 3-15 record. Don’t get me wrong, there were gaping holes in the roster for this team's last split but with the consistency of mid laner Pobelter and ADC Stixxay, most thought they would put up more of a fight. Looking at this match, I would expect nothing but complete dominance out of EG, especially with the addition of a world renowned top laner in Huni. Huni and EG’s ADC Bang both bring a high level of pedigree as both of them were both World Championship finalists in previous years (And Bang actually winning  World Championships in 2015 and 2016. My expectation is that Svenskeren will have free reign to select which of the lanes he chooses to gank for on the side of Evil Geniuses while Huni and Bang to apply a lot of pressure in their respective lanes

Cann’s Winner: Evil Geniuses

Most Valuable Player (Will pull in most points according to DraftKings Classic LOL points Model): Bang- ADC- EG- Bang plays safe and intelligently he sported an average KDA (Kill Death Assist ratio) of 9.1 last split which means the bonus 2 points are very probable.

Game #2

Team Solomid versus Team Liquid

What a showmatch. If you were looking for a game that will help you get into League of Legends as an esport, this should do it. While last split did not see the best performances from Team Solomid (9-9) and Team Liquid (7-11), these two teams have a long and storied history. Much like the Yankees and Red Sox, Bears and Packers, or Lakers and Celtics; TSM and TL have had their fill of each other. What makes this match even more intriguing is that TSM’s ADC (Doublelift) has just made his return back to the team from TL. While on TL, Doublelift won 3 regular season championships and 3 split tournament championships establishing himself as one of the most decorated players in North America. With Doublelift now on TSM, TL is not short of superstar talent. With 4 out of the 5 members all attending at least 1 World Championship (with their support CoreJJ winning the World Championship in 2017 and placing 2nd in 2016) TL looks to take their rightful place as perennial titan of the league.

Cann’s Winner: Team Liquid

Most Valuable Player (Will pull in most points according to DraftKings Classic LOL points Model): Bjergsen- Mid- TSM: While I am not picking TSM to win this match, it is hard to doubt the impact Bjergsen will have on the match. He posted an average KDA (Kill Death Assist ratio) of 5.29 in the regular season but turned it on for the playoffs jumping to a 7.08. Bjergsen is the model of consistent play and TSM has lived and died by the success of the pressure he can generate in the mid lane. I would expect with the return of Doublelift in the bot lane, Bjergsen can have more breathing room to make plays around the map.

Game #3

Immortals versus Flyquest

Not even sure what to say about this matchup outside of it should be very one sided. Immortals (8-10)  was a pleasant surprise for the first 9 games of the Spring Split going 7-2 and then only picking up 1 win the rest of the way on. Flyquest (10-8) on the other hand did fundamentally what they were supposed to do, beat the teams they were expected to. With exception of TL, Flyquest beat the bottom half teams and lost to the top half teams. They showed creativity in the playoffs and high levels of coordination nearly running the table from the losers bracket including a resounding upset win 3-1 over EG. Flyquest has some name recognition in their roster with Santorin as their jungler and PowerOfEvil as their mid laner. Both should be able to take full advantage of their counterparts in this match in Potluck (jungle) and Eika (mid) for Immortals. When Immortals originally entered the competitive League of Legends, they created one of the most dominant squads ever going 14-4 in the summer split. Since losing their spot in the LCS and having to buy their way back in, Immortals have not had the same buying power as they had previously. Most are critical of their roster having no true carry and lacking any form of cohesion and have subbed in a new talent in Potluck for the decorated veteran leadership of Xsmithe.

Cann’s Winner: Flyquest

Most Valuable Player (Will pull in most points according to DraftKings Classic LOL points Model): Santorin- Jungle- Flyquest- I think Santorin is a solid player but usually not super flashy. I think the largest difference here is that barring a massive surprise, this should be the largest gap in matchups between the two teams. Potluck is completely untested and in his last game in Academy, Potluck went 2-6-1 as a jungle Pantheon into a jungle Morgana… for those of you new to League of Legends, that shouldn’t happen. Look for Santorin to be relentless in his pressure around the map and controlling the objectives. This game could very well be less than 30 minutes long.

Game #4

Golden Guardians versus Dignitas

These two teams were part of the three way bottleneck for 6th place at the end of the first half of the season at 8-10. Through a series of tiebreakers, Golden Guardians won the right to move on to the Spring Playoffs as the lowest seed. They were quickly dispatched in that series 0-3 by Flyquest. In looking at the matchup one needs to look at the changes in the rosters. I would argue that even with the departure of Huni in the toplane, Dignitas did get marginally better since Spring. The position they make the biggest leap is in the jungle role. In the offseason Dignitas picked up Dardoch and still have Akaadian from the Academy (the minor league) roster as well. Both jungler fit a similar play style in aggression and looking for early fights but with Dardoch Dignitas gets more experience and I think a mental edge. The Golden Guardians bring up FBI up from their Academy team and their mid laner Demonte from Dignitas’ Academy team. While Demonte has seen some stage time in the LCS, he hasn’t risen to the same level of success as the other mid laners in the league and FBI will need to begin his campaign of proving himself.   

Cann’s Winner: Dignitas

Most Valuable Player (Will pull in most points according to DraftKings Classic LOL points Model): Froggen- Mid Laner- Dignitas- To say Froggen is a staple in professional League of Legends would be an understatement. Froggen stepped onto the scene as the premier mid laner in 2012 (a professional in esports with a career staring down 10 years is very rare, especially in League of Legends) and saw the most success in 2014 while on Alliance. Known famously for his Anivia play (A Cryophoenix known for her ability to control lanes and push waves well) Froggen’s playstyle will rack up points in this one as he will most likely be playing a safe control style mid laner. Don’t expect anything too flashy, but also don’t expect him to be caught out or make any serious misplays in this one.