(+210) Liiv SANDBOX v Damwon KIA (-285)

(-170) Royal Never Give Up v LGD Gaming (+130)

(0) Afreeca Freecs v Nongshim RedForce (-130)

(-450) FunPlus Phoenix v Bilibili Gaming (+300)

 

Wednesday’s LPL+LCK slate features the return of Damwon KIA after their dismantling of Gen.G after the reintroduction of a revived Ghost into the line-up. RNG is on the ropes against an LGD that looks to be upper mid tier, two unexpected high rank teams face off in AFS vs NRF, and FPX looks to maintain their high standing against the mid table BLG.

Captain

ShowMaker ($11,400)

The return of Ghost has allowed Canyon and Showmaker to return to their respective roles, and that’s fantastic for both players- they handedly crushed Gen.G and looked far better than they did the entire summer split. Just in time too, Damwon’s opponent on Wednesday is Sandbox, with a very weak mid-jungle and a strong bottom lane, Damwon’s power players returning to their roles alongside Ghost resuming his role of “rock in the bottom lane” is just what they need to stylistically outclass Sandbox.

Alternatives to consider: Gori ($10,500)

Top Lane

Nuguri ($6,600)

Top lane is a story of “haves” and “have-nots” on Wednesday. Fearness/Garvey, Summit, and Biubiu each are solidly under their competition, and with two strong top laners in Rich and Kiin locked up against each other, you’re left with Nuguri, Xiaohu, and Khan (I guess), the real strength that Nuguri has is not only is he an outstanding player, he also has the superior mid and jungle in Tian and Doinb, whereas Xiaohu’s topside has to contend with Xiye and Shad0w- strong pieces on LGD. Both are great players, but Nuguri has more power close to him.

Alternatives to consider: Xiaohu ($6,800)

Jungle

Canyon ($6,800)

The combination of Canyon and ShowMaker against Croco and FATE is essential to success on Wednesday in my eyes; the mid-jungle 2v2 of Damwon has historically been the strongest region of their team throughout their championship run, alongside a strong top laner in Nuguri (now FPX). Canyon moving back to jungle has restored this power, and allows Damwon to crush SANDBOX in the 2v2. Your other option is Tian, who similarly has a great 2v2 match-up alongside Doinb against BLG.

Alternatives to consider: Tian ($7,400)

Mid Lane

Gori ($7,000)

Nongshim’s new mid laner is in hot pursuit of the rookie of the split title, he is a fantastic player with a good level of consistency, he’s in the lead of “Player of the Game” votes on his team, and he has made Peanut look strong again- something not even a player like Xiye could accomplish. Afreeca Freecs are an alright team, but their mid laner Fly is a massive liability who I expect will be exploited by Gori. Doinb is another great option- Zeka is a complete middle of the road mid laner, which Doinb’s expansive champion pool can exploit.

Alternatives to consider: Doinb ($7,800)

ADC

Lwx ($7,800)

While Aiming is a strong ADC, Lwx holds the more complete bottom lane alongside Crisp relative to Ppgod, who hasn’t shown the promise he displayed in splits prior. Likewise, he has the better team in general- Doinb, Tian, Nuguri, etc. FPX is an aggressive team, and Aiming not having the access to the resources he’s used to is bound to be inconvenient at the least, and more likely game changing to the point where he will completely fall over. Your other option is Ghost, but I want to see him retain his form before I integrate him into any line-ups, although he is known for maintaining high point volume by virtue of his low deaths.

Alternatives to consider: Ghost ($7,200)

Support

Beryl ($5,000)

While Effort is a good support, Beryl, at least domestically, is the best by a mile. He is strong in lane and typically finds good roam angles to help out his laners and link with jungler Canyon, which is especially useful against a jungler like Croco, someone who is not particularly known for his power. His lane may be difficult, but Ghost returning should make him more comfortable against Prince and Effort. Otherwise, Crisp is a great option alongside Lwx for your bottom lane.

Alternatives to consider: Crisp ($5,800)

Team

Nongshim RedForce ($5,200)

Fly is just so bad, man. There’s not much more here to explain- he is always the biggest liability for the squad, and while Leo, Kiin, Lehends, and even Dread have come into their own, Fly is on the way out- he can stick around as a coach, but I can’t see Afreeca as a top tier team with him as the middle laner. Otherwise, I think Damwon will ascend to #1 now that they’ve made the necessary roster moves to rejuvenate their players.

Alternatives to consider: Damwon KIA ($5,600)

Stacks

Showmaker & Canyon

The stacks of the day are going to be mid lane focused, with three options. Showmaker is “the laner”: he is extremely strong and capable, alongside forming the strongest 2v2 in the world alongside Canyon. FATE and Croco are easily exploited, and I consider these two as the strongest overall option for jungle and middle.

Nuguri & Doinb

The solo laners for FPX are also expensive, Doinb is “the specialist”: his expansive champion pool allows him massive leverage over his opponent in Zeka, a player that can be caught off guard by these picks relatively easily, and likely doesn’t have answers into these picks. Furthermore, combining him with Nuguri grants you tremendous top side power against players like Biubiu.

Gori & Peanut

Finally, Gori is “the assistant”. He works with Peanut to form a respectable 2v2, and out of the players on the day he has the easiest match-up versus a bottom tier middle laner in Fly. The only disadvantage he has is Peanut versus Dread isn’t certain- Dread has been massive for AFS this split, although Peanut has consistently been a strong player across his career.

Top Picks: Nuguri, Showmaker, Gori

Mid laners rule the day on Wednesday, Gori, Showmaker, and Doinb are each excellent options, although I think Nuguri is far and above the best option for top lane. BLG has weak solo laners and I think they’re worth exploiting by making Nuguri your crowning piece in the top lane.

Top Value: Gori, Canyon, Beryl

Canyon and Beryl are seriously undervalued- Gori being new is a respectable reason to have him lower relative to other options on Wednesday, but the other two are world champions who just came off beating the #1 team in the league after their initial underperformances.