Game #1: Team Liquid versus Evil Geniuses

Cann’s Pick: Team Liquid

Game #2: Flyquest versus Team Dignitas

Cann’s Pick: Flyquest

Game #3: Golden Guardians versus Cloud9

Cann’s Pick and lock of the week: Cloud9

Game #4: 100 Thieves versus Immortals

Cann’s Pick: 100 Thieves

 

Fantasy Value Breakdown

Cann’s Starting Lineup for 6/21

$49,400 out of the $50,000 salary cap

Captain (x1.5 Points): Zven (Cloud9) 

Top:  Licorice (Cloud9)

Jungle:  Broxah (Team Liquid)

Mid:  Jensen (Team Liquid)

ADC:  Tactical (Team Liquid)

Support: Gate (Immortals)

Team: Team Liquid

Captain (1.5x Points)

Tier 1: Zven (Cloud9/$12,600): It seems like Zven has finally found his home in NA. When he came to this region to Team Solomid, there seemed to be a disconnect. Most analysts questioned whether it was in Zven’s ability to carry or internal issues in the organization. Upon joining Cloud9, it appears those questions have been answered and Zven is a force to be reckoned with in the LCS.

Value Pick: Ryoma (100 Thieves/$11,400): While I dont think playing it cheap for your captain is a good idea, I think this pick may be an exception. Immortals are a runaway train rocketing downhill and I think most players who play into them will have an edge for the foreseeable future. This could be a riskier pick as some others for captain but if you were ever going to give Ryoma the nod, this may be it.

Top

Tier 1: Licorice (Cloud9/$7,000): This is a huge matchup to look at today. Licorice became what Team Solomid and now Golden Guardians wished Huantzer would become. Licorice continues to prove his value in the top lane.He has a career KDA (Kill/Death/Assist ratio) of 3.5, which is impressive for top lakers who frequently get placed on champions who are engage heavy tanks and tend to die in fights. I personally prefer to see him on duelists because it is in those matchups he truly gets to shine.

Value Pick: Ssumday (100 Thieves/$6,400): A small amount cheaper than Licorice, but that gives you $600 dollars to spend elsewhere. Ssumday has a long professional resume beginning in the LCK (Korean LoL League) and made three trips to the World Championship Tournament. Consistently one of the best top lakers in this league I think he should handle the likes of ex-European star in sOAZ. If Ssumday can get a strong counter-pick champion into sOAZ, I think he and 100Thieves should come out on top.

Jungle

Tier 1: Santorin (Flyquest/$7,200): I really like Santorin and what he brings to Flyquest. You can tell he is setting the pace in most matches as he seems to always have a good read on where he needs to be. Through the first weekend, Santorin carried a 7,67 KDA (Kill/Death/Assist ratio) which includes a loss to Cloud9. Team Dignitas should be an easier match than Cloud9 and I expect for Santorin to help guide Flyquest to that win.

Value Pick: Svenskeren (Evil Geniuses/$6,400): Svenskeren, much like Santorin, seems to be a part of a list of former Team Solomid players who had a glow up after leaving the organization. I really like the synergy that Evil Geniuses found at the end of Spring Split and have carried into Summer now. This will be a tougher game for Svenskeren and Evil Geniuses going up against Team Liquid and their jungler in Broxah. I fully expect this to be a dog fight the entire way but I think Evil Geniuses are just in stride at the moment.

Mid

Tier 1: Nisqy (Cloud9/$8,200): I think this price tag is worth every penny because Nisqy is a game changer. While Zven has a lot of gold funneled to him throughout the game, Cloud9 has their best performances when Nisqy goes off in a game. Into Demonte and the Golden Guardians I think Nisqy will get put on something more aggressive because of the skill discrepancy.

Value Pick: Jensen (Team Liquid/$7,000): Warning on this pick, I do not think Team Liquid will win this game. But in regards to midlaners in the bottom half of prices, Jensen and Team Liquid have the best chance of winning. Currently he is 3-0 in this split with his only real challenge being Bjergsen and Team Solomid. Things will be a little more difficult in this game because Evil Geniuses are a complete squad, but there is definitely a chance for Team Liquid to take this one.

ADC

Tier 1: Zven (Cloud9/$8,400): Zven will pull in points in this matchup. I am not trying to throw too much shade on Golden Guardians, which I feel like this article will make is seem, but they just aren’t at a competitive level. I think this will be most evident in the bottom lane. FBI and huhi aren’t terrible but just above terrible. For a bottom lane to be ranked lower than teams like Immortals and Team Dignitas… things are not working. I could see Zven end this game with a 10+ KDA (Kill/Death/Assist ratio) and up anywhere from 25-50 CS up on FBI.

Value Pick: Tactical (Team Liquid/$7,200): Start spreading the news folks. Tactical is an upgrade from Doublelift. There, I said it. Hot take in the League of Legends community but in three games (One against the previous Team Liquid ADC) Tactical has a KDA (Kill/Death/Assist ratio) of 33. THIRTY THREE. That is bananas. A year and a half ago this guy was playing in semi pro leagues and now he is filling the shoes of one of NA’s greatest players. Good on you Tactical.

SUP

Tier 1: Vulcan (Cloud9/$6,400): It only makes sense if you highly value an ADC from a team, to also value their support. Vulcan has never really been a center talking point on any team he has been on but he has been consistent wherever he has gone. He has a wide range of playstyles which can match with whatever is strongest in the meta right now. While it might be hard to spend a lot on a position which doesn’t normally rack up too many points, Vulcan is always a solid choice for your roster.

Value Pick: Gate (Immortals/$4,600): Wait… am I really putting a member of Immortals on this list? Yeah. I suppose that Gate is not the worst support in the LCS and I think that the bot lane for 100 Thieves isn’t much to write home about. I think for almost the cheapest price for a support, you can get an ok return on your investment. The biggest risk here is not getting your win bonus which can make or break a lobby.

TEAM

Tier 1: Cloud 9 ($6,000): While pretty expensive as far as teams go, they should be worth your troubles Cloud9 doesn’t just win games, they beat other teams into full submission. In their game against Evil Geniuses on Saturday, they had such a commanding lead that you would have believed they were playing a bottom tier team. Evil Geniuses is arguably the second or third best team in the league. Cloud9 is calculated in their team play and style on opponents on an individual basis.

Value Pick: Team Liquid ($4,600): This is a coinflip. Let me say that a bit louder for those of you in the back… this is a coinflip. With that being said, I think Team Liquid is just playing at a different level right now. Evil Geniuses were completely dismantled by better macro play on Saturday and that is how Team Liquid like to play. Look for Broxah to prioritize winning lanes and objectives to gain an early snowballing lead. The writer or this article would like to remind you that these two teams are comparable in skill… so this is in fact a coinflip.

Value Combos:

*Santorin and IgNar ($13,200): One combination of roles that is commonly looked over is the pairing of the jungler and the support. This is the difference of breaking down numbers and having a deeper knowledge of the game. Many times these two roles will move together around the map together trying to find kills and objectives together. I think this will be the game plan of Flyquest over Team Dignitas so look for these two to move together and find points for your team.

*Bang and Zeyzal ($13,200): This is a riskier pick but can pay out huge. I think Evil Geniuses are a legitimate pick to win the Summer Split and I think they do this through this bot lane pair. I’ve spoken to the quality of Bang as a player being a previous World Champion but not enough is said about Zeyzal. The strength of Zeyzal is the strength of any player who comes from the Cloud9 system. Zeyzal has a deep understanding of not only the micro game (knowing how to play against their lane matchup) but also the macro game (How to transition into late game team fights and approach taking neutral objectives). Look for this bot lane to own this game and push Team Liquid to the breaking point.

Top Picks: Zven, Bang, Jensen, Nisqy

These players are standards when it comes to bringing in serious amounts of points. They all play positions that have kills, CS, and gold funneled into them and should put up great score lines. All of these players should be under consideration for the Captain role on your team.

Top Value: Cody Sun, Ssumday, Santorin, IgNar

These players either play positions that do not secure as many points or are not in the top tier of players but are against weaker competition today. They are valued low overall but should pick up decent points and more importantly a win which will pick you up bonus points.

 

Cann’s Comments

A Game by Game Breakdown

Game #1

Team Liquid versus Evil Geniuses

I actually have written this analysis multiple times now. I think what helped solidify my pick were the games from yesterday (June 20th). This will be an interesting match to watch. Both teams are trying to solidify themselves as legitimate contenders with Cloud9 this split and hopefully represent NA at the World Championships. Team Liquid (3-0) picked up an emotional win over Team Solomid and their previous ADC (Doublelift) as well as an arguably weaker team in Golden Guardians. Evil Geniuses (2-1) beat a disjointed 100 Thieves and probably the most resounding win of the split over Counter Logic Gaming. Neither of these teams are short of firepower. For Team Liquid, their jungler/mid lane combo in Broxah and Jensen will continue to carry the load as their bot lane continues to find their footing. On the side of Evil Geniuses, serious decisions need to be made in the top lane when it comes to continuing with the success of Kumo top or find the right time to pivot to world talent in Huni. I think the ability for Team Liquid to weather the storm throughout periods of being down will be the deciding factor because when Evil Geniuses gets down in a match, they tend to struggle to turn it around.

Cann’s Winner: Team Liquid

Most Valuable Player Broxah-Jungle-Team Liquid: For some reason, NA has quickly forgotten who Broxah is. Broxah was the premier jungler in Europe for the esports titan Fnatic. Broxah stood on the stage for the World Championship finals only two seasons ago and should be treated with some respect. I think most people count out Team Liquid because of the falling out between the team and star ADC Doublelift. I think what the team gained with his departure is a renewed focus. The clash of personalities is gone and now the team can follow the direction of Broxah who looks to find early aggression in specifically top and mid lanes, rather than the bot lane. I think Broxah puts on another career performance as TL continues their very own revenge tour in this split to the World Championship tournament in the fall. 

Game #2

Flyquest versus Team Dignitas

Flyquest (2-1) dropped their match to Cloud9 and that really shouldn’t be used against anyone in NA at this point. They systematically dismantled Immortals though in their win and it did not even look close. I would put Team Dignitas (0-3) on the same level as Immortals and that isn’t a compliment. Team Dignitas feels like a shell of what the historical organization used to be. Long past are the days of the Scarra, IWillDominate, and imaqtpie (all historically successful Dignitas players) but now they have the likes of V1per, Dardoch, Froggen, and aphromoo in washed up pros past their prime and soloqueue (competitive game mode in the game) players. Dignitas found a way to pick up big names but make a lackluster team. Flyquest on the other hand have crafted what seems to be a balanced team that has legitimate players in all lanes. I expect Santorin (jungler for Flyquest) to set the tone around objectives and pick up the win here.

Cann’s Winner: Flyquest

Most Valuable Player Santorin-Jungle-Flyquest: Santorin is one of the best junglers in NA. Team Dignitas have two solid junglers but that speaks to the team not having a defined identity which is worse than having worse positional players. Santorin has a wide champion pool and will make plays to further his team’s win condition. He will not make it look flashy but he will be consistent in directing Flyquest around the map.

Game #3

Golden Guardians versus Cloud9

Golden Guardians (1-2) had a disastrous loss against CLG on Friday. I mean it looked bad and they were favorites going into the match. Hauntzer continues to be underwhelming in the top lane which is unfortunate for the Golden Guardians because when they signed him, they expected him to carry out of the top lane. Instead he continues to be perfectly mediocre as the rest of his team are not on the same level as the top players in the league. Cloud9 (3-0) on the other hand is the standard for a complete quality lineup. The biggest question mark for this lineup could possibly be in the top lane with NA region native Licorice. By no means is Licorice bad, but there are definitely differences in the different champions he chooses. If Licorice gets to counter the pick of the opposing top laner, he will rack up significant points for you. If he is relegated to a tank mid and needs to play more for the team, he will have less of an impact on your fantasy team.

Cann’s Winner: Cloud9

Most Valuable Player: Nisqy-Mid-Cloud9: This is probably the biggest gap in impact for this match. Nisqy has quietly made a name for himself after the previous mid laner, Jensen, left to join Team Liquid. I really appreciate not only his ability to control waves in the mid lane but also the diversity of his champ pool. Most players have a natural tendency in the champions they pick whether it is an aggressive in your face assassin or a more slower scaling control champion. Nisqy can play both styles well. In the first weekend of matches he played both LeBlanc (a very aggressive and flashy assassin) and Galio (A tankier champion who looks to support the rest of his team) and between those two games he is sitting at a 12.5 KDA (Kill/Death/Assist ratio) which means Nisqy is someone to look out for in this game.

Game #4

100 Thieves versus Immortals

This will not be a fun game to watch. Grab a snack, walk the dog, or take a nap. Immortals (0-3) are quite possibly the worst team in the league. They are a complete disaster taped and glued together with having marquee names playing in different positions. I don’t think 100 Thieves (0-3) are a particularly good team compared to the top teams in the league, but they aren’t Immortals. Now is there a chance that Immortals finds a win? Sure. I think their new jungler in Potluck actually is decent but with the disjointed and antiquated pieces around him, I think Cody Sun (ADC) and 100 Thieves will win this game.

Cann’s Winner: 100 Thieves

Most Valuable Player: Cody Sun-ADC-100 Thieves: Altec and Gate have proven that there is some sort of disconnect between them. I am not sure when Immortals will pull the trigger and make the switch in the bot lane but until they do; I will favor the bot lane of whoever plays Immortals. I think Cody Sun has become more of a veteran as he has bounced around the league, but he has yet to define himself as a top ADC. Against Immortals he can do just that.