Every team in the LCS has playoff aspirations with only an eighth-place spot required to have a chance to play in Worlds. With stakes high, every match should be exciting from here on out unless the teams at the bottom suddenly stop their recent hot streaks.

Captain

Nisqy ($12,000)

Eschewing my usual Zven bias, Nisqy has proven to be a solid choice at the captain spot, and with a date against Immortals’ Insanity he should have no issues racking up stats. As long as Cloud9 draft Nifty some playmaking midlaners and pray Immortals don’t draft Galio, expect a great fantasy performance from the C9 midlaner.

Alternatives to consider: Zven ($12,300)

Top Lane

Ssumday ($6,400)

Ssumday’s stock has risen considerably as he has proven to be a threat on carry champions such as Aatrox and Jayce. If you don’t want to break the bank with Licorice, your options are dodgy as teams such as DIG, IMT, and CLG all have two viable top laners available on gamedays. Ssumday provides the greatest value with a winnable matchup against either Ruin or Deus, but otherwise, Licorice would be the ideal pick if money is not an issue.

Alternatives to consider: Licorice ($7,000)

Jungle

Contractz ($6,800)

Contractz has been a great option for 100 Thieves who were clearly struggling with Meteos at the position. Bringing veteran experience and flexibility, Contractz is a good value option that has a favorable matchup against CLG’s Wiggily. Otherwise, you could go for either Cloud9’s Blaber or FlyQuest’s Santorin.

Alternatives to consider: Blaber ($7,600)

Mid Lane

Bjergsen ($7,600)

Bjergsen has been having a good split and a matchup against Dignitas’ Fenix shouldn’t be an issue. In his start against 100Thieves last Friday night, Bjerg went 2/0/3 on one of his pocket picks Leblanc. He has shown a great ability to farm and have a high kill participation rate even against good teams such as Cloud9. A great budget pick is Damonte who is having a decent year in the LCS all things considered.

Alternatives to consider: Damonte ($6,400)

ADC

WildTurtle ($7,000)

The elder statesmen of the modern-day LCS, WildTurtle has been amazing after spending a brief stint in academy as FlyQuest tried and failed with their MasH experiment. FBI is a good ADC, but I have a lot of faith in the Flyquest botlane to succeed especially at the value they provide. Otherwise, go with Zven if you want to spend money or pick up Johnsun from Dignitas for a value pick.

Alternatives to consider: Zven ($8,200)

Support

IgNar ($5,400)

I am leaning toward the Flyquest botlane stack because of how much potential they have shown in matches against contenders such as Team Liquid. IgNar is a world-class support and huhi just can’t stack up against this lineup. Plus, IgNar comes at a slight premium compared to Vulcan and Treatz.

Alternatives to consider: Vulcan ($6,000)

Team

Cloud9 ($6,000)

Has Cloud9 lost two games recently? Yes. Will they lose a game in the future? Probably. Should you bet against them against the worst team in the LCS? Of course not.

Alternatives to consider: 100 Thieves ($5,000)

Top Stacks:

Zven and Nisqy

Cloud9 are stacked with talent and the bot mid stack of Zven and Nisqy are extremely overpowered. Having either as your captain is ideal and both are guaranteed to provide a ton of value despite their high costs.

WildTurtle and IgNar

The FQ pair are one of my personal favorites for their mix of experience and consistent results. Performing against both good and poor teams, the FlyQuest botlane are great value choices for now until their stock rises to meet their actual talent level in game.

Ssumday and Contractz

Two great veterans with plenty of game left in them, Ssumday and Contractz are a great duo on a team that always finds a way to come back in the season despite having rough starts. I would love to see this pair continue to do damage especially with Ssumday on carry top laners and Contractz on champs like Nidalee and Olaf.

Top Picks: Zven, Nisqy, Bjergsen

As usual the Cloud9 bias is showing, but Zven and Nisqy have proven to be consistent enough to belong here. The newcomer Bjergsen takes over from Blaber as I feel he’s a much better investment, and Bjergsen has shown why TSM have chosen to invest so heavily into him over the years.

Top Value: Damonte, Johnsun, Smoothie

It’s always Tanner time as Damonte has proven he can still compete against the cream of the LCS crop this split while Johnsun has been a good ADC for an otherwise struggling Team Dignitas.  Smoothie is a veteran support that has been performing well so far this split despite his team having a middling season to date.