(+255) Counter Logic Gaming v Cloud9 (-360)

(-105) Team Liquid v 100 Thieves (-125)

(-210) Team Solomid v Immortals (+165)

(-120) Team Dignitas v Golden Guardians (-110)

(+170) Flyquest v Evil Geniuses (-225)

When there is one upset in the LCS, there are a bunch of upsets. The top of the table is becoming more and more cluttered as teams like 100 Thieves and Team Solomid continue to slide and there is a possible resurgence with Team Liquid. Flyquest and Golden Guardians are now very legitimate threats on any given day. With 8 games left to be played, teams are leaving it all on the line! Let’s dive in! 

Game #1 Counter Logic Gaming v Cloud9

  • Cann’s Pick: Cloud9

Game #2: Team Liquid v 100 Thieves

  • Cann’s Pick: Team Liquid

Game #3: Team Solomid v Immortals

  • Cann’s Pick: Team Solomid

Game #4: Team Dignitas v Golden Guardians

  • Cann’s Pick: Golden Guardians

Game #2: Flyquest v Evil Geniuses

  • Cann’s Pick: Evil Geniuses

 

Fantasy Value Breakdown

Captain

Favorite: Zven (C9: $12,000) I have absolutely no faith in Cloud9 as a team but you cannot doubt the productivity of Zven. Even with a personal win percentage in Summer of 50%, Zven still has a KDA of 5.5 and is averaging 3 kills and 6 assists per game. This is with a peak kill performance of 9 as well which would have a huge pay off for your line up. I think the only reason I am ok with this pick up is the fact that C9 are playing CLG who are arguably the worst performing team in the LCS right now and I think this greatly minimizes the risk of Cloud9 having a dud of a performance.  

Value Pick: Stixxay (GG: $10,800)

Top Lane

Favorite: Fudge (C9: $6,800) I promise this is the last Cloud9 player in this breakdown because this is the last member I fully trust. Fudge has had a farcry of an experience between Spring Split and Summer Split. Fudge has not only been one of the best top lakers in the league but also the best player on Cloud9 for the majority of this split. While I believe there is something wrong with this team, Fudge has really grown this season. He is now leading all top lakers with 68 kills this split and has almost 100 assists to his name. I like the sub $7,000 price to pick him up as well, you can invest money in other positions as well. 

Value Pick: Alphari (TL: $6,200) 

Jungle

Favorite: Iconic (GG: $6,800) This may seem like an odd pick for jungle but hear me out. 1-3-12, 5-1-9, 3-3-7, 4-0-13 Since adding Licorice in the top lane, Iconic has picked up 13 kills, 41 assists, and only 7 deaths in 4 games. These numbers are insane and we see the influence of having a top laner who doesn’t need resources and adds a win condition for the team as well as being someone who can slot into a more supportive role if needed. These two teams are relatively evenly matched and you could have made a case for them pre-Licorice so the addition of the North American top laner feels even better for this pick. 

Value Pick: Nxi (FLY: $6,000) 

Mid Lane

Favorite: Jizuke (EG: $7,600) The Evil Geniuses are victim to the classic DFS over reaction here. They lost an ugly game against a team who is much better than they are being valued at right now. Because of this, all of the EG players have had their values dropped but I think they are the same team we all thought they were yesterday. Jizuke is leading mid laners in kills (78) is third in assists (113) and has ,limited his deaths with a 15% team death share percentage. I don’t think this is as much of a coin flip of a pick as he has been in the past, and at this dollar amount you could have a huge return for a reasonable price. 

Value Pick: Insanity (IMT: $6,200)   

ADC

Favorite: Stixxay (GG: $7,200) Much like the Iconic pick, I love the value in the resurgent Golden Guardians players. With more pressure and priority in the top lane, Stixxay and Chime have been able to be more free to make plays in the bottom lane. With Solo in the top lane, enemies had turned more of their focus into putting resources into the bottom half of the map but with Licorice it is a different story. Stixxay has been more aggressive and we have seen him add to his kill count (63) for this split. I don’t think Golden Guardians have become part of the LCS elite, but they are significantly better team.

Value Pick: Tactical (TL: $6,800) 

Support

Favorite: IgNar (EG: $5,800) Don’t sleep on Evil Geniuses. Their match against FQ on Saturday should be an absolute slugfest which means that this 179 assist support should be cashing in today. IgNar and Svenskeren play so well together to coordinate early ganks in bot lane and both do a great job fighting around objectives. FlyQuest are super scrappy and will be looking for bigger skirmishes and team fights. I would imagine that EG come back on Saturday refocused and wanting to continue their push to the top four.

Value Pick: Diamond (FLY: $4,200) 

Team

Favorite: Team Solomid ($5,400) I am sure most everyone has night terrors thinking about poor performances out of favorites in the LCS at this point. I don’t really trust C9, 100 Thieves, or TSM at this point but out of these teams I think it is most likely that TSM closes out the game against Immortals on Saturday. TSM were controlling the entire game on Friday against FlyQuest and were racking up neutral objectives quickly on the rookie team. It was one poorly fought objective fight in the late game that led TSM to losing their match. Spica is a rock for this team and he alone makes me feel better knowing that he is going to focus towers and neutral monsters to help you pick up as many points as possible, regardless of the outcome of the game. 

Value Pick: Team Liquid ($4,400)
 

Cann’s Example Lineup

DraftKings Classic 

$50,000 Salary Cap

Captain (x1.5): Jizuke ($11,400)

  • Alternate: Tomo ($9,900)

Top: Alphari ($6,200)

Jungle: Iconic ($6,800)

  • Alternate: Blaber ($7,600)

Mid: Insanity  ($6,200)

ADC: Zven ($8,000)

  • Alternate: Stixxay ($7,200)

Support: IgNar ($5,800)

Team: Golden Guardians ($4,800)