LPL, LCK Sunday

  • (+700) KT Rolster v Damwon KIA (-1400)
  • (-155) LGD Gaming v Ultra Prime (+120)
  • (-150) DRX v Afreeca Freecs (+115)
  • (-900) World Elite v ThunderTalk (+500)

Captain

Canyon ($10,500)

There are two players that are on Damwon that truly deserve the moniker of “World Champion”: Canyon and Showmaker. Of the two, I’d only recommend Canyon against KT; their opposing jungler in GIDEON is underwhelming, albeit has significant room- and time- for improvement. Canyon is already the #1 best jungler in Korea, and perhaps the world. Damwon players come in expensive, but Canyon is worth the price tag against such a weak opponent. Alternatively, mid laner Mole is one of the most valuable choices on Sunday.

Alternatives to consider: Mole ($10,800)

Top Lane

Khan ($6,600)

Top laner Khan was not with Damwon KIA during their 2020 Championship run, however, he’s still a strong top laner- only falling short to greats like Xiaohu during RNG’s MSI run. KT is a vastly inferior team, and in particular, their top side is lightyears away from Damwon’s, even Ucal is more competitive with Showmaker than Doran is with Khan. Khan can be one of the best, Doran’s main advantage is that he’s not Sword. WE’s Breathe is my second option, but he’s extremely overpriced for my taste, and cash is tight on Sunday.

Alternatives to consider: Breathe ($6,800)

Jungle

Shad0w ($6,800)

Jungling against Rare Atom and looking extremely competitive is a massive surprise for LGD’s new jungler Shad0w, coming from LEC’s MAD Lions. Aside from a singular lack luster Lee sin game, Shad0w appeared to be back in top form against Leyan, and while Ultra Prime impressed by taking a singular game off of FunPlus Phoenix, the overall form of the team didn’t impress me beyond Smlz’s return to the rift with a dominating game 2 performance. I am cautiously optimistic about LGD following their match against Rare Atom, and particularly on the form of Shad0w. For a more well defined option, I think Pyosik will pitch a close match against the Afreeca Freecs, whose ace in Dread occupies the same position with him.

Alternatives to consider: Pyosik ($6,600)

Mid Lane

Mole ($7,200)

Thank god Mole got off the sinking ship that was V5. By the end of his stint, even a strong support in Ppgod looked absolutely done for; with Mole being the sole win condition game after game. While Shanks had a decent start to spring, as the season wore on it became more and more apparent that against actual strong LPL middle lanes, being “decent” was not enough to be competitive. Mole will likely be the starter across the summer split, being one of the shiniest new mids LPL has to offer, and WE look to use him to dominate ThunderTalk on Sunday. Alternatively, pair up Shad0w with his mid laner Xiye against Ultra Prime’s Xiaocaobao.

Alternatives to consider: Xiye ($7,200)

ADC

Elk ($8,000)

Elk is Jiumeng, for those who are wondering. One of the best LPL ADCs as long as he can navigate his laning phase well enough, and the strongest ADC playing on Sunday. ThunderTalk’s SamD is bottom tier compared to Elk, and his support isn’t much either since Elk has one of the strongest supports in the league in Missing. His mechanics are outmatched, and WE’s bottom lane is a powerful late game tool. For a less costly option, just grab Ghost- he’s not a fantastic player, but he always delivers high KDAs in Damwon’s winning matches so he will serve you well for points.

Alternatives to consider: Ghost ($7,800)

Support

Beryl ($5,600)

Support is conflicting. Missing is the best option, but the bloody nature of LPL- and particularly WE- combined with his high price tag may make people understandably worried. Beryl is an inferior player, but Damwon move at a slow pace domestically, which should ameliorate Beryl’s weakness, combined with their easier match-up against KT. This, in combination with his lower price tag, makes me recommend Beryl over Missing. Feel free to take the latter, but in my mind, Beryl is the better choice- don’t bother with Mark, or Becca either. Even Lehends looks washed.

Alternatives to consider: Missing ($5,800)

Team

DRX ($5,000)

I can’t have a team with Fly on it winning. I just can’t stand for it. While Kiin may have potential (maybe) yet left in him, and Dread has had the occasional good game, Lehends looks absolutely blasted out of his mind, Fly is the worst mid laner in the league bar maybe one, both Leo and Bang make me want to scream with how mediocre they are. I’d rather take the untested DRX over the stagnant and boring Afreeca Freecs. For a different team, I favor LGD over UP, but I think it’ll actually be a closer match than DRX vs AFS.

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

Stacks

Elk & Mole

The two biggest carries of WE are an easy take. I love Beishang and Breathe, but the ADC and mid lane run the show most games; and these two have demonstrated that they are capable of being on top of the chaotic LPL teamfights the region is known for, and deliver the points in turn.

Canyon & Beryl

Beryl is not a fantastic support, but he can still be useful, especially since KT Rolster’s bottom lane is not very special. Beryl should find ample opportunities to move to support jungler Canyon, and not be punished as he was at MSI just a few weeks earlier- or by T1 support Keria. Canyon is one of the best junglers in the world; he just needs a team to set him up.

Shad0w & Xiye

These two players have a lot in common, well, they have one thing in common: an underwhelming worlds 2020 performance. Fortunately for both though, the failures of worlds 2020 have coalesced into a mid tier LPL team to beat up on the teams that could never hope to qualify for worlds. I don’t have high hopes for LGD, but I have literally 0 hope for Ultra Prime.

Top Picks: Elk, Mole, Canyon

These are some of the best players in the world at their positions. WE’s solid carries, alongside Canyon is a recipe for some fun games to watch on Sunday. All of these guys are expensive, but they’re worth some hard work to put in together.

Top Value: Khan, Shad0w, Pyosik

Damwon players are cheap on Sunday, Pyosik is the best player on a DRX roster who is likely to overcome AFs, and Shad0w is returning after taking a split off with a relatively capable roster. There’s a lot to be excited about on Sunday, and these guys give you good materials to play with elsewhere on your roster.