League of Legends Champions Korea

League of Legends Pro League

February 17th, 2022

(+105) Hanwha Life Esports v Kwangdong Freecs (-135)

(-240) DWG KIA v DRX (+188)

(+550) Anyone’s Legend v LNG Esports (-1200)
(+400) Invictus Gaming v Bilibili Gaming (-650)

After going 3-1 straight up on predicting winners on Wednesday, I am feeling even more confident with Thursday’s slate. There are some serious bombs on this slate and the LPL has two heavy favorites we can pull from. The closest matchup should be between Hanwha Life and Kwangdong from the LCK but not in a good way. The 9th and 10th place teams have both struggled to find wins and produce performances worth investing in. With the end of the split approaching and many of these teams are already past their halfway point, their margins for error are razor thin. Let’s dive in! 

Series #1: Hanwha Life Esports v Kwangdong Freecs

Cann’s Pick: Hanwha Life Esports (2-1) 

Series #2: DWG KIA v DRX

Cann’s Pick: DWG KIA (2-1)

Series #3: Anyone’s Legend v LNG Esports

Cann’s Pick: LNG Esports (2-0)

Series #4: Invictus Gaming v Bilibili Gaming

Cann’s Pick: Bilibili Gaming (2-0)

Fantasy Value Breakdown

Captain

Favorite: Light (LNG: $12,000) We have gotten to the point in the Spring Split where LNG has answered the doubters who credited their late season push from 2021 to just getting hot at the right time. They are a clean team who found an identity playing through Light and their bottom lane. Light has only 14 deaths and a KDA of 12+. He is pretty equal in his split of kills (79) and assists (90) which could cause you to pause when you grab him for the captain spot. The justification here has to be the relative safety in the pick and knowing that LNG completely outclasses the roster from Anyone’s Legend. 

Value Pick: Tarzan (LNG: $10,800) 

Top 

Favorite: Breathe (BLG: $6,600) While the BLG versus IG appears closer on paper, there isn’t a top laner who fills the role of “carry” better than Breathe. His departure from Team WE is a direct factor to their failures and BLG being able to sit among the top teams in the LPL this season. He has the second most kills (60 - an average of nearly 4 per game) and only 30 deaths (about 2 per game). Breathe will win lane hard in the early game and create a tremendous amount of pressure in a side lane. This pressure should be more than enough to get him early kill participation and the ability to pick up good points for your lineup. 

Value Pick: Kingen (DRX: $5,200) 

Jungle

Favorite: Canyon (DWG: $6,800) To get Canyon for under $7,000 is a steal. I don’t have too much worry on whether or not DWG will win this series or not, though dropping a game is a reality against DRX. The DWG jungler and mid (ShowMaker) are the only two players I have a lot of faith in. The last two pieces from the World Championship roster are the two most consistent players and we don’t see them get worked over by their opponents often. Canyon has a 74% team kill participation which is a huge upside in a matchup where DWG has such a significant skill advantage. 

Value Pick: Weiwei (BLG: $6,600) 

Mid

Favorite: Doinb (LNG: $7,800) With a sub 2 death average, Doinb is always able to find small advantages during the laning phase and he translates that into Doinb being able to be a force in the late game. We see this in his 76% team kill participation rate and a whopping 117 assists. It is the low kill number (51) is the main reason we see him in the mid lane role instead of the captain role. This is a high price for Doinb, so finding more cost effective options in the middle lane may be a line you can take for Thursday. 

Value Pick: FoFo (BLG: $7,400) 

ADC

Favorite: Doggo (BLG: $7,800) I am all over BLG this slate. They have had great pacing so far this year and Doggo is a huge reason behind that. His laning has been an amazing upside and the LPL fans who have been questioning why the legend (Uzi) hasn’t been playing have widely been quiet in recent weeks. Doggo is third in total kills (70) but has the highest kill per game average at 4.3. His team kill participation rate of 73% is solid for an ADC and we see enough threats across BLG that Invictus won’t be able to target him down early in a fight. If Doggo can get his hands on his Aphelios or Jinx picks, you are in for a huge point drop out of this ADC pick. 

Value Pick: SamD (HLE: $7,000) 

Support

Favorite: Kellin (DK: $5,600) I don’t have the highest regard for the DWG bottom lane, but the matchup is really good for Thursday. DRX’s support (BeryL) just cannot stop dying, especially in lane. His 52 deaths in the most in the matchup and DWG should be able to get whichever combination of ADCs they choose to run ahead against DRX. This will be a scrappy series but with the map presence that DWG’s jungler (Canyon) has in game, Kellin should be a beneficiary of some extra kill participation. 

Value Pick: Crisp (BLG: $5,400) 

Team

Favorite: LNG Esports ($5,600) I doubted this team at the beginning of the season. They look to be the most consistent team on the slate by far and there are some serious questions about how well they will stack up against some of the heavier hitting LPL teams. They are decisive in their decision making which usually adds to faster games and in the current meta, more dragon stacking. Grabbing these neutral objectives are huge for your point totals and could be the determining factor on whether or not you place for Thursday. 

Value Pick: DWG KIA ($5,000)

 

Cann’s Example Lineup

DraftKings Classic 

$50,000 Salary Cap

Captain (x1.5): Tarzan (LNG: $10,800)

Alternate: Forge (AL: $10,200)

Top: Breathe (BLG: $6,600)

Jungle: Canyon (DWG: $6,800)

Mid: FoFo (BLG: $7,400)

Alternate: Karis (HLE: $7,000)

ADC: Light (LNG: $8,000)

Alternate: SamD (HLE: $7,000)

Support: Crisp (BLG: $5,400)

Team: DWG KIA ($5,000)