The LEC team rankings are slowly taking shape as we see which teams are making the jump into the category of contender while other mainstay organizations are faltering. Teams like Fanatic, G2, MAD Lions, and Rogue continue to soar while teams like Excel Esports, Team Vitality, and Schalke 04 look to be going nowhere this split. A lot of questions will continue to be answered and teams like MIsfits and SK Gaming look to continue to define whether or not they will make playoffs at the end of the split.

Game #1: SK Gaming versus Excel Esports

Cann’s Pick and Lock of the Week: SK Gaming

Game #2:Misfits versus Schalke 04

Cann’s Pick: Misfits

Game #3:Team Vitality versus MAD Lions

Cann’s Pick: MAD Lions

Game #4:G2 Esports versus Rogue

Cann’s PickG2 Esports

Game #5: Fnatic versus Origen

Cann’s Pick: Fnatic

 

Fantasy Value Breakdown

Cann’s Starting Lineup for 6/20

$49,700 out of the $50,000 salary cap

Captain (x1.5): Rekkles (Fnatic) 

Top: jenax (SK) 

Jungle: Shad0w (MAD)

Mid: Humanoid (MAD)

ADC: Crownshot (SK)

Support: Vander (Rogue)

Team: MAD Lions

Captain (1.5x Points)

Tier 1: Rekkles (Fnatic/$12,300): You are going to PAY to get Rekkles as your Captain. While he is into Origen, I have full faith that Rekkles will maintain a high level of play. With a 33 KDA (Kill/Death/Assist ratio) through the first 3 games, you can find a way to make ends meet elsewhere in your lineup to fit him into your Captain spot.

Value Pick: ZaZee (SK/$10,200): Talk about a rookie who impresses me a lot. I almost took him in my lineup because it is such a value pick up. For a touch over 10k you are getting a safe mid laner who really limits his mistakes. If you want to slot in more expensive pieces elsewhere, ZaZee here is a great pick up.

Top

Tier 1: Orome (MAD Lions/$6,400): This is an expensive pick up, but if you are looking for a top laner who can pick up points, Prime can do just that. Add the fact that he is playing against Team Vitality, there should be added value to this pick. While he is going against Cabochard, who is no scrub player, I think he can hold his own and transition to team fighting and pick up serious points as MAD Lions takes this game.

Value Pick: Finn (Rogue/$4,800): This is another steal. I think G2 is flailing right now and Rogue seems to be putting an identity together. Even with an early deficit as a team against Vitality on Friday, Finn and Rogue just played more intelligently and won out. Picking up this cheap of a laner in a lane where you rarely have a player who racks in a ton of points, you can get some decent value here.

Jungle

Tier 1: Shad0w (MAD Lions/$7,400): Update, Team Vitality is not good. Second update, get MAD Lions players while their value is still rising week by week. I don’t think this game is going to be close. Team Vitality can win/hold it close with teams who play slow. Teams who are aggressive and in your face will run over this team. Look for Shad0w to play an early game aggressive jungler like Lee Sin and rack up serious points for you.

Value Pick: Trick (SK/$6,400): I am done doubting SK Gaming. I think Trick has quietly been establishing himself as a consistent jungler. Look for Trick to exploit the weaknesses of disjointed mid game fights from Excel Esports. Jungle can be one of the lower scoring roles so you can spend this money on your Captain/Mid/ADC by picking Trick over a higher tiered jungler.

Mid

Tier 1: Humanoid (MAD Lions/$7,600): I would probably put Humanoid only behind Caps in the mid lane. The reason Humanoid gets the nod this week is because he is playing a significantly worse team. MAD Lions love roaming and diving turrets with HUmanoid and this game should be no different. I expect Humanoid to get close to the 10 KDA bonus points in this match.

Value Pick: Zazee (SK/$6,800): I think I am going back to the same well over and over, but I think this matchup is pretty important to look at. Special (Excel’s mid laner) has been run out the gym by every team they have played. I think ZaZee doesn’t do anything stupid to put himself behind which I think would be Special’s only hope to gain an edge in this lane.

ADC

Tier 1: Rekkles (Fnatic/$8,200): I think this is a pretty safe pick here. While I think Origen is a decent team, I think the difference between Origen’s ADC (Upset) and Rekkles is huge. Rekkles is setting a pace to hit almost 100 kills in 18 games and that is a pretty impressive feat. I would look for Fnatic to continue to focus resources onto Rekkles and not try anything cute.

Value Pick: Hans sama (Rogue/$6,200): This price point makes no sense to me. Hans sama is into G2 and Perkz is a scary laner to go into. But in G2’s match on Friday Perkz was 0-1-0 for most of the game and had little impact on getting G2 through the early game. I think Rogue’s strength is in Hans sama and Vander bot lane and I would not be shocked to see them upset the perennial favorites. What makes this a little more of a gamble is the fact that you may not get the winning bonus, but I expect Hans sama to play well regardless.

SUP

Tier 1: Kaiser (MAD Lions/$5,600): The bot lane of MAD Lions are quietly making a name for themselves. Both Carzzy and Kaiser have truly dominated the opposing bot lanes; they have gone up against this split outside of G2. In fact, if you took out the G2 loss, Kaiser had a KDA (Kill/Death/Assist ratio) of 14 which is bananas. Add the inexperience of Team Vitality into the equation and I fully expect MAD Lions bot lane to get work done this game.

Value Pick: Vander (Rogue/$4,000): I think this value pick is the same reasoning as the Hans sama pick above. I really like what Rogue does in the bottom lane and Vander is a huge part of that. While G2 on paper is the superior team, I think you could find Vander and Rogue keeping this one close.

TEAM

Tier 1: SK Gaming ($4,600): I am putting this as the pick for Tier 1 more because of how incredibly bad Excel is as a team. I have made a vow on Twitter to stop doubting SK but I think Excel is also such an incredibly bad team. If my previous sentences haven’t delivered the message enough… Excel is bad. Pick SK.

Value Pick: Rogue ($3,600): G2 Esports deserve all the love in the world. They are titans of League of Legends on a global scale but the fact that Rogue is THIS cheap is wild. I would take safer bets than this, but I do not think G2 has this game on lock. This pick could be a huge swing for you since most daily fantasy lobbies will be filled to the brim with G2 and its players if Rogue wins.

Value Combos:

Value pick #1: Shad0w and Humanoid ($15,000): Mid and jungle is a great combo to choose together. Most professional teams put a focus on getting their mid lane ahead and then forcing objective based team fights. These two are expensive for that reason. They are so good together and the deficits they put other teams into is usually insurmountable.

Value Pick #2: Crownshot and ZaZee ($14,200): Finding teams with an edge over their opponent and then picking their carries (mid/ADC-These two roles have gold and kills funneled to them because they carry the responsibility of doing the damage in fights). SK Gaming will have a good day at the office against Excel Esports so in turn, these two will have very good days.

Top Picks: Perkz, Caps, Rekkles, ZaZee

All of these picks tend to be the focus of each of their teams. Into each of their specific matchups tomorrow expect solid point returns. Each of these players are a great flex into the Captain role as well.

Top Value: Hans sama, Crownshot, Larssen, Abbedagge

Each of these players seem undervalued based on recent performances or matchups for today. While riskier than others in their respective role, the payoffs can outweigh the risks. I wouldn’t go all in on all of these picks, but sprinkling them into your lineup can save you money towards your salary cap as well as a potential plus in points.

 

 

Cann’s Game by Game Breakdown

Game #1

SK Gaming versus Excel Esports

On the surface, this match looks like it will be SK Gaming (3-1) pouring more fuel into the dumpster fire that is Excel Esports (0-3) and if I was a lazy writer with better things to do, that’s all I would tell you. Instead you came to this article for juicy analysis and get more information than you would in 280 characters on Twitter, so I will deliver. While Excel is in fact a roaring dumpster fire, I think they have some silver linings and didn’t focus on some strengths last weekend. I think their ADC (Patrik) is a legitimate ADC and they need to play around him. What we saw in Excel’s matches last week against Rogue, MAD, and Fnatic is they were just outclassed when put under pressure. They fed over early kills and could not stop the bleeding. Against SK Gaming I don’t see them getting as far behind. While SK Gaming, to their credit, has played well in their first weekend beating both Schalke 04 and Origen and now are halfway to their win total from Spring Split. That being said, they are halfway to their win total from Spring and I would caution getting too excited about this team too fast.

Cann’s Winner: SK Gaming

Most Valuable Player Zazee- Mid- SK Gaming: While I warned buying into SK Gaming too quickly, I am buying into Zazee. He is sitting with a 6.67 KDA (Kill/Death/Assist ratio) through the first weekend of games. He showed technical skill on Azir which requires a deep understanding of mechanics and accuracy to play while also showed great teamfight and macro knowledge in going deathless on Galio who has a long range ult that provides protection for teammates. Why am I telling you this? Because he is making a case in him being a diverse player and those types of players stick around in League of Legends.

Game #2

Misfits versus Schalke 04

Both Misfits (1-2) and Schalke 04 (0-3) both did not see the results in their first weekend of play that they would have drawn up. Schalke 04 arguably had a worse weekend dropping to the bottom two teams from last split who collectively went 6-30 together (Team Vitality and SK Gaming) while Misfits had a much better showing in dropping a game to a dominate Rogue team and having victory being ripped from them by the hands of Fnatic’s Rekkles. I think Misfits’ ADC (Kobbe) will continue to establish himself as a force in the LEC this weekend and unfortunately for the new bot lane for Schalke 04 of Neon and Dream, they will play the victims in this match. I do always have a feeling of confidence in Abbadagge (Schalke 04’s mid laner) but in all of Schalke 04’s games last weekend, the map seemed to collapse around him and there was little he was able to do to right the ship.

Cann’s Winner: Misfits

Most Valuable Player: Kobbe- ADC- Misfits: Welcome back Kobbe! In his first week he absolutely dropped the hammer on the league with a KDA (Kill/Death/Assist ratio) of 7. And this is with one of those three games having a KDA of 0. Hey Misfits, I’ll throw together a lineup for you. Put Kobbe on a carry (don’t relegate him to Ezreal again) and build a comp to control teamfights so he can go off. That’s it. Easiest draft of all time. Go off King. This game is yours.

Game #3

Team Vitality versus MAD Lions

On paper, some data guy would probably tell you this is some sort of coin flip. In the only shared opponent for Team Vitality (2-1) and MAD Lions (2-1) was G2 Esports with Team Vitality beating them and MAD Lions losing to them. What I would argue is that at the core of this match, MAD Lions are a significantly better team. In their loss to G2 Esports, MAD Lions played aggressively the entire game and made G2 fight for control over that game for most of the match. MAD Lions is a feast or famine team who will either soar to towering heights on the back of flashy early game aggression or they will never leave the ground and run headfirst into a wall trying to make it work. Against Team Vitality I would expect Cabochard and Team Vitality to run the top lane but I think Milica (mid) will get run over by MAD Lion’s Humanoid.

Cann’s Winner: MAD Lions

Most Valuable Player Humanoid-Mid-MAD Lions: Get your popcorn ready folks. Humanoid is going to RUN OVER Milica. While Milica had an impressive Jayce game against G2 and Caps, I think it was a fluke. In his Azir matches, Milica only had a 1.75 KDA (Kill/Death/Assist ratio) which for a long range and relatively safe champion blows my mind. Humanoid may get relegated onto a safer lane champion like Orianna this match, but I expect for him to show up in team fights when his team needs him.

Game #4

G2 Esports versus Rogue

This game will be interesting. Rogue (4-0) look like a legitimate contender at this point. G2 (1-2) look like they are struggling to gain footing at the beginning of this split. Now this could be explained off that they were not prepared for week one and will bounce back, or it could be seen as the top of the League are not as distant as they once seemed. It has been no secret that G2 will experiment in the regular season and then turn it on for tournaments. I think the problem with this mentality is what is the hole that they will dig themself early and will they be able to pull themself out? I would look for G2 to begin to right the ship over the next few weeks and find their stride.

Cann’s Winner: G2 Esports

Most Valuable Player: Perkz-ADC-G2 Esports: For G2 to win, Perkz must go off. Wunder will not carry out of the top lane for G2 and Larssen has proven that he should be able to keep pace with the other prominent mid laners. Hans sama has shown that he as the ADC for Rogue and Vander as the support can win games on their own. Perkz will need to go on a late game ADC and take over in team fights for G2.

Game #5

Fnatic versus Origen

Fnatic (3-0) looks like they are on a revenge tour. They looked to be an unstoppable path to Spring champions to only have it ripped away from them in the finals against G2. This split they look like a team possessed with only having 1 game looking like they had weaknesses. Origen (1-2) on the other hand make no sense. If I told you that in their first week of games they would beat G2 esports and then have to play Misfits (who finished below them in Spring) and Team Vitality (who were the manifestation of a nuclear meltdown in Spring) and you would tell me they probably went 0-2 against those teams. TO their credit, both of those teams seem better, especially Misfits but my point stands. The biggest problem with Origen is their total lack of consistency. They win games they shouldn’t, and they get run out the studio of games they should win.

Cann’s Winner: Fnatic

Most Valuable Player: Nemesis-Mid-Fnatic: I am trying to find someone other than Rekkles to make the MVP of Fnatic and I think Nemisis is just the guy. Nemesis would have a 9 KDA (Kill/Death/Assist ratio) if it weren’t for a slightly questionable Twisted Fate game. I would look for Nemesis to continue to thrive with the pressure that Bwipo and Rekkles will put out around the map and look for him to pick up some serious points.