League of Legends Championship Series - Spring Split 2022

Upper Bracket Finals - April 16th, 2022

The upper bracket finals are upon us and we have the two best performing teams looking to square off against each other. Team Liquid ended the regular season as the number one seed in the LCS and fought a full five-game series against Evil Geniuses to make it to this appearance. In contrast, 100 Thieves came in off a resounding 3-0 win over Cloud9. I think that most people will overvalue this result though and that is a dangerous trap to fall for. Cloud9 had been on somewhat of a freefall going into that game and their main mode of winning (aggression and getting early leads in the top lane) are directly countered by how 100 Thieves plays the game. When 100 Thieves brings in their jungle-centered approach and late game insurance policy of FBI against Team Liquid, I think they are going to see drastically different results. 

 

Match: 

(-165) Team Liquid v 100 Thieves (+125)

Cann’s Pick: Team Liquid (3-1)
 

 

Fantasy Value Breakdown

(TL) Captain

Favorite: Hans sama ($16,200) Hans has been one of the best imports into North America this year but his arrival to the LCS’ superteam has meant most don’t give him the attention he deserves. He has the highest FPPG average on the slate with over 44 FPPG and he does this with minimal attention from Bjergsen or Santorin. He and his support (CoreJJ) are probably the best bottom lane duo that this league has ever seen and they are winning lanes with champions that most teams have deemed, “Not strong”. I like this pick even more with how often we will see the Hans/Core duo opt into the isolated 2v2 fight early in the laning phase. That confidence is what is helping bring in all of those points. 

Value Pick: Bwipo ($12,300) 

 

(100T) Captain

Favorite: FBI ($15,900) I am not in love with this pick and I think you can definitely make the case for other 100 Thieves players in this role, but I feel like you are stuck with FBI because of his ceiling. It isn’t a secret that his production and late-game dominance is not what it was las split. That being said, 100 Thieves doesn’t have anyone else on their roster who is a standout “carry” player. While their mid laner, Abbedagge, played better in the Cloud9 series; Abbedagge is not playing at a high enough level in enough games to justify him as your captain. I think taking the safer, albeit more expensive, pick in FBI is probably just the correct play.  

Value Pick: Abbedagge ($15,000)


(TL) Flex

Favorite: Bjergsen ($10,200) Admittedly, to secure Bjergsen and Hans sama both in your lineup, you are going to have to pick up a much weaker 100 Thieves player. I would argue that is ok though because of the raw output by Bjergsen. He is averaging 42.5 FPPG and is only one of two players on the slate to have a 40+ average. Bjergsen has traditionally been over simplified into a control mage/utility champion mid laner. He marquee pick, Zilean, is best know for how he supports his teammates, rather than the damage he can individually do. As of late, Bjergsen has shown us a newer look. One where he is playing more aggressive champions like Ahri and picking up huge kills in critical moments. With the struggles of 100 Thieves in the mid lane during periods of the 2022 Spring Split, this is a logical place for Team Liquid to attack. 

Value Pick: Santorin ($9,000) 


(100T) Flex

Favorite: Closer ($9,400) We can talk about all other players for 100 Thieves anf describe them as “carries” but there is no one else who is going to push this team to a victory like Closer. In his series against C9 (and former league MVP, Blaber) Closer had a 7.0 KDA, 12 kills and a +284 GD10. If Closer can somehow replicate this performance against TL, I could see 100 Thieves punching their ticket directly to the Spring finals in Houston.   

Value Pick: Ssumday ($8,000)

 

Cann’s Example Lineup

DraftKings Classic - $50,000 Salary Cap

 

Captain (x1.5): Hans sama (TL: $16,200)

  • Alternate: Bjergsen (TL: $15,300)

Captain (x1.5): FBI (100: $15,900)

  • Alternate: Ssumday (100: $12,000)

Flex: Bjergsen (TL: $10,200)

Flex: huhi (100: $7,000)

 

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