League of Legends DFS: EU LCS Thursday
The European League Championship Series finally returns on Thursday and Riot has wasted no time in getting the big teams matched up against one another. The first game of the day pits the spring favorite in Origen against last summer’s dominating team, Fnatic. This game could set the tone for the entire split if Origen does what’s expected of them and dispatches a newly formed Fnatic roster in a timely fashion. If Origen want to compete with the best at the 2016 World Championship they’re going to need a full season of playing top notch League of Legends and that starts against the reigning EU LCS champions.
Speaking of top notch teams, the LCK kicked off early on Wednesday and SKT already look prepared to defend their 2015 title. Any team that wants to find a way to knock off the Korean giants is going to have to put together a special year and Origen may be the only hope the west has.
World’s is a long time away of course and we’ve got 2 full Splits of LCS to play contests on DraftKings so let’s get into our first slate of the 2016 Season.
Discussion in the comments, in the eSports section of the forums or on twitter are all great!
Odds
Origen (-165) vs. Fnatic (+125)
Elements (-155) vs. G2 Esports (+115)
H2k Gaming (-420) vs. Giants Gaming (+280)
Unicorns of Love (-220) vs. Splyce (+160)
Team Vitality (-220) vs. ROCCAT (+160)
Before we talk players, I’ll note that these odds seem a little off. Books may not have adjusted to roster changes as well as they think and I wouldn’t hesitate to choose teams who play for underdogs this week.
Top
Kikis, G2 ($5,900) – As noted above with regards to underdogs I think Kikis fits the bill. Kikis was the jungler for UOL during their impressive run in the second half of the 2015 season. The move to a new lane always takes adjusting, but Kikis is actually a former top laner, so there’s not much concern that he won’t find the move smoothly. His statistical outputs as a jungler aren’t a consideration, but he will certainly pay off this cheap tag if G2 defeats expected bottom-feeder Elements.
Odoamne, H2k ($7,300) – H2k is a significant favorite against Giants and that isn’t exactly a secret. However, given that Odoamne comes $500 more expensive than the next highest top laner, I think it makes him an interesting choice. He’s arguably the highest upside player at the position and because he’s much more expensive than other tops he just may come in quite underowned. You’ll have to sacrifice elsewhere, but it could pay serious fantasy dividends.
Jungle
Trashy, SPL ($5,200) – This is too good to resist. The least expensive jungle on the board and his name is Trashy. That’s good fantasy analysis, right? Trashy is an excellent choice to save salary. Splyce is a popular team coming into this split. Just about everyone thinks they are, “Under the radar.” Whether they are or are not, Splyce certainly has a chance to beat a Unicorns team that lost the heart and soul of their team in PowerOfEvil.
Shook, VIT ($6,100) – Shook joins Vitality after having been on Copenhagen Wolves last season. Wolves finished in dead last and were relegated to the Challenger Series. On the surface it seems strange that a player from such a poor team was picked up by a team that’s receiving a considerable amount of attention heading into the 2016 season. When you take a peek at the stats they give us at least a suggestion why that may be. All but two Wolves players had @10 numbers that rivaled the worst in the league and Shook was of course one of those who didn’t, posting positive numbers across the board while holding a 70% Kill Participation. It remains to be seen if Shook will gel with his new and improved teammates, but if his numbers improve as you would expect, he’ll be a fantasy monster.
Mid
PowerOfEvil, OG ($7,400) – If there’s any one player that would like to come out and make a statement in the first week it has to be POE. Making the jump from Unicorns to a team that is expected to win the split with ease. A bad performance against Fnatic could create questions and put Origen in an early hole. POE is too good for that. Expect numbers.
Perkz, G2 ($6,800) – A rookie to the LCS, Perkz was in the Challenger Series last season, but was one of the best players and is ready to make the jump. In 10 games in the summer he posted 64 kills and had a particularly insane 35.7% of his team’s damage dealt. He’s a young player and has very high upside both long term and in this game against Elements.
ADC
Kobbe, SPL ($7,000) – No, not that Kobe. Not the former League pro-turned caster, either. Kobbe absolutely dominated the CS last year. He finished the season with a KDA of 10.3. For reference, fellow CS dominator Perkz had a 6.7. This is another young player who is ready to make the jump.
Zven, OG ($7,800) – I’m including Zven in part so that no one will be confused if they come across references to Niels. Many will remember Niels from being a fantasy monster early in the World Championship and he’s rebranded himself to Zven. Underpriced, but not underappreciated given his previous fantasy box scores.
Support
This section doesn’t exist and never will, but because it’s the start of the season it’s here for a reminder. Supports have little to no standalone value. They don’t kill minions and they don’t kill players without the help of teammates. Chose supports that are either on the team of players whom you already have or are teammates of players you believe that you want exposure to.
Team
The favorite: H2k Gaming ($5,300) – To me, H2k is the only team on the slate that we can be nearly certain that they will win. H2k is expensive, but worth it if you can squeeze them in.
The upset: G2 Esports ($4,000) – Is this an upset? I don’t know if it is, but the books say they’re a dog, but I may even use G2 in cash games.