LPL Monday

  • (+400) Oh My God v Invictus Gaming (-650)
  • (-350) EDward Gaming v Rare Atom (+250)

Monday’s LPL slate features a match that should be extremely one sided in Invictus Gaming versus Oh My God, and a relatively decisive advantage towards EDward in the second match versus Rare Atom. Both favored teams are relatively well rounded, but there are some weaknesses in their opponents worth targeting.

Captain

Jiejie ($9,900)

Money isn’t particularly tight on Monday, although at the same time, I’d argue that you definitely don’t want to get stuck with players that are disadvantaged. Both games being one sided makes sac picks very disadvantageous, which is why I’d prefer to stick it with a cheaper captain: EDG jungler Jiejie is a household name as a consistently strong player on an outstanding team. Flandre is at the same price, but I prefer the well roundedness of grabbing two junglers; which tend to shine the most in one-sided games as opposed to top laners, which usually don’t get to flex their teamfight muscles in the shorter matches.

Alternatives to consider: Flandre ($9,900)

Top Lane

neny ($6,800)

Out of the two top laners though, I’ve been impressed with neny so far, while TheShy is a world champion, he went off with a poor spring split, so its understandable that IG decided to start neny to lead off summer. He’s played well in their victory against Suning, and their relatively narrow defeat against EDG. OMG’s top lane is looking relatively weak, so I welcome him on my roster to see how things progress for the young player. If you prefer consistency, I’d take Flandre, although Cube has been a surprisingly good player so far for Rare Atom.

Alternatives to consider: Flandre ($6,400)

Jungle

XUN ($7,000)

My opinion on IG’s latest jungler is concise: he’s a good jungler, but lacks the starpower to compete with teams like RNG, EDG, or FPX. However, he is a capable enough player to beat down on the lower teams in LPL, and he actually does it relatively consistently. Even players Leyan in the past, who I fit into a similar category, have had a rough run against XUN. Indeed, I consider XUN the bar; but opponent Aki doesn’t cross that bar. OMG hit the bar with a fast 0-2 to Rare Atom, and I see them falling to IG on Monday too with the same velocity.

Alternatives to consider: Jiejie ($6,600)

Mid Lane

Rookie ($7,400)

Mid laner Rookie is the crown jewel of IG, and the only player who retains his starting spot in summer from their World Championship run. Gone are TheShy, Ning, Jackeylove, and Baolan, and Rookie now leads a new ensemble that comprise IG. While their top side is still solid, IG’s new bottom lane is still a sore spot for the squad. Rookie is one of the best mid laner in the entire LPL, and far surpasses whatever OMG has to throw at him, he’s captain material at least, but money is too tight to slot him in the position without significant sacrifices.

Alternatives to consider: Scout ($7,200)

ADC

Viper ($7,600)

EDG’s bottom lane is one of the best in the league; if not the absolute best. They easily smash anyone less than them, and while iBoy and Hang aren’t bad by any means, there’s a reason EDG had ditched iBoy for Hope, and then later Viper. The ADC was the most valuable player in the regular season last year, and continued his surge into play-offs, but EDG unfortunately just fell short against the eventual winners, RNG through 5 close games. Viper looks to cruise through OMG’s bottom lane alongside support Meiko.

Alternatives to consider: Wink ($7,800)

Support

Meiko ($5,600)

While I’d consider opposing Rare Atom’s bottom lane to be one of the highlights of RA; to be a highlight on OMG is like being a match in a room covered with Vantablack. EDG by comparison are a shining star, with a powerful bottom lane and a solid top side. Meiko competes with Ming and Crisp readily, having a longtime rivalry between each other. Rookie LPL supports aren’t as plentiful or as talented as many of the veterans, so players like Meiko come at a premium, and are worth their weight in gold.

Alternatives to consider: Lucas ($5,800)

Team

Invictus Gaming ($5,400)

I feel good taking either EDG or IG, but I prefer having IG as my team since Rare Atom is much stronger relative to OMG. Not much else to it; despite the fact that EDG is certainly the stronger team compared to IG, IG’s match up should be easy for even the middle table teams to cash in on.

Alternatives to consider: EDward Gaming ($5,200)

Stacks

Rookie & XUN

Mid jungle 2v2 is always a solid stack from a strong team, and IG’s 2v2 is pretty sturdy. Rookie is one of the best laners in the league, and that laning power transfers easily to jungle leads (and vice versa).

Viper & Meiko

EDG’s bottom lane contends for the best in the league, even if they fell short of the championship. Meiko has been a household name for years, and Viper making the cross from Korea into EDG was just what they needed to be #1 again.

Flandre & Jiejie

The top side of EDG is no laughing matter either. Jiejie is a strong jungler, and Flandre finally solved the longstanding issue of EDG’s top lane; basically the inverse of IG’s bottom side problem. If these two can keep up their form, EDG can once again contest for the top spot.

Top Picks: Rookie, XUN, Viper

The IG 2v2 alongside EDG’s Viper comes in for the top picks, XUN benefits from his strong laners despite not being an especially 10/10 jungler, Rookie and Viper comprise some of, if not the, best players in their respective roles.

Top Value: Viper, Flandre, Meiko

All of EDG players are cheap on Monday, and they’re worth it; I’d hesitate to take Scout over Rookie, but other than that, all of EDG are excellent options for Monday’s matches.