LoL Fantasy Grind Down: Friday, March 11th
Welcome to the RotoGrinders League of Legends Grind Down. In this all-encompassing preview of the upcoming EULCS action, every game will be broken down statistically, with several key elements highlighted in our charts.
We provide Defense versus Position data for each team, along with the RotoGrinders original stat, Pace.
Every game is also broken down, providing an overview of the game and a selection of players to consider from each match
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G2 Esports vs. Giants Gaming
| G2 Esports | Giants Gaming | |||||||||||
 | Record | 12-3 |  | Record | 2-13 | |||||||
| Vegas Sprd | -600 | Vegas Sprd | +425 | |||||||||
| Avg. KP | 69.4 | Avg. KP | 73.3 | |||||||||
| Team Pace | 1.05 | Team Pace | 0.74 | |||||||||
| Matchup – Opponent DvP Ranks | Matchup – Opponent DvP Ranks | |||||||||||
| DvP Rks | Top | Jng | Mid | Supp | ADC | DvP Rks | Top | Jng | Mid | Supp | ADC | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Players | Kikis | Trick | Perkz | Hybrid | Emperor | Players | Atom | BetongJocke | xPePii | GODFRED | Adryh | |
| Opp. Season | 8 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 9 | Opp. Season | 4 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 2 | |
After a huge win on Thursday against Vitality, G2 enters this game on a high. Giants, even with three roster changes, still look just as Giants-like as ever. The toughest decision we face with this game is determining which, if any G2 players we can afford for our rosters. Giants are entirely off-limits, at least for the time being. It’s conceivable that this new roster will help the team navigate through the Promotion Playoffs and remain in the LCS for the summer, but they’ll need to improve quickly to do so.
Back to G2 and how we decide if we should be looking at them, as expensive as they are. Generally speaking, when considering players who face very poor competition and are among the highest priced at their position, it’s tough to pay for them. G2 does make us question that, though, as they’re one of the few top-level teams who are willing to brawl even against weak opponents. Still, we can’t expect monster performances from any team against Giants.
G2 Esports
Elite Plays
Trick (DK $7,200, AD $8,100) – Tricks aggressive nature and impressive fantasy consistency keep him elite even against Giants. Emperor came up with a huge game against Vitality on Thursday, but the downside is there in this game for players with sub-70% KP. Trick’s is 74%, and with an above average 17.6% damage share.
Secondary Plays
Emperor (DK $8,300, AD $8,600) OR Perkz (DK $8,300, AD $8,500) – The OR is important here. This is not a both situation. It’s not uncommon in games like this for just one of the two primary damage dealers on a team to have a big fantasy game, while the other takes a back seat. If you’re pairing Trick with a teammate, consider one of these two. I don’t have any real preference, both are great players with big fantasy upside.
Giants Gaming
Elite Plays
None.
Secondary Plays
None.
Elements vs. Unicorns of Love
| Elements | Unicorns of Love | |||||||||||
 | Record | 4-11 |  | Record | 9-6 | |||||||
| Vegas Sprd | +250 | Vegas Sprd | -320 | |||||||||
| Avg. KP | 68.9 | Avg. KP | 67.7 | |||||||||
| Team Pace | 0.73 | Team Pace | 0.89 | |||||||||
| Matchup – Opponent DvP Ranks | Matchup – Opponent DvP Ranks | |||||||||||
| DvP Rks | Top | Jng | Mid | Supp | ADC | DvP Rks | Top | Jng | Mid | Supp | ADC | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Players | Steve | Gilius | Eika | sprattel | Mr RalleZ | Players | Vizicsacsi | loulex | Fox | Hylissang | Steeelback | |
| Opp. Season | 6 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 6 | Opp. Season | 9 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 8 | |
This game is similar to the day’s first game in that it features a strong team that likes to fight, and a weak team that we aren’t giving much of a chance. Even with an early lead against Splyce, Elements still couldn’t find a win and have just one win in their last 11. After three straight 7th place finishes in LCS play, they are now in jeopardy of potential relegation. They’ll likely need at least one upset in their final three games, so don’t expect them to go quietly. That said, this is a team that hasn’t shown anything positive in several weeks, so banking on a win over Unicorns would be a stretch.
Perhaps Unicorns of Love are ripe for the picking, though? It’s a question worth considering after the team hilariously and embarrassingly managed to steal the game and immediately give it right back in under a minute against Origen. The team picked on sOAZ throughout and generally had upper hand for most of the match, until Origen picked up steam late. Still, they caught their opponents and looked poised to take the win, only to let greed cloud their judgement. The Unicorns are still jockeying for playoff seeding and had better come prepared after a tough loss, or Elements could make them pay.
Elements
Elite Plays
None.
Secondary Plays
MrRalleZ (DK $6,200, AD $7,100) – I still believe that MrRalleZ is Elements best player, but it hasn’t shown in some time. The team’s incredibly lackluster performances plays a big role in that, but if there was ever a moment for a big showing, this is it. Elements needs to find an upset to avoid relegation, and they won’t get it without a great performance from their ADC.
Unicorns of Love
Elite Plays
Vizicsacsi (DK $7,200, AD $7,700) – Coming in as the same price as sOAZ on AlphaDraft and only the third most expensive top laner on DK, Csacsi is once again the best play in his role. He is still on the expensive side and I don’t always like to pay more than $7,000 for a top laner on DraftKings, but I will on this slate.
Steeelback (DK $8,000, AD $8,300) – Statistically, Steeelback and Fox are comparable in damage share and KP, but the ADC has a KDA of 6.7, while Fox’s is just 4.4. Steeelback is the better player, and better play. One of the top plays on the slate given that he comes at a slight discount compared to other ADCs in good matchups.
Secondary Plays
loulex (DK $6,900, AD $7,600) – We’ve talked before about how loulex has historically had a very low damage share, and that hasn’t changed thus far. However, through his first three games as a Unicorn, his KP is nearly 80%. While that number seems likely to drop, there’s no denying that he’s been heavily involved, despite the 12% damage share.
Fnatic vs. Vitality
| Fnatic | Vitality | |||||||||||
 | Record | 9-6 |  | Record | 11-4 | |||||||
| Vegas Sprd | -106 | Vegas Sprd | -114 | |||||||||
| Avg. KP | 63.6 | Avg. KP | 69.2 | |||||||||
| Team Pace | 0.80 | Team Pace | 0.75 | |||||||||
| Matchup – Opponent DvP Ranks | Matchup – Opponent DvP Ranks | |||||||||||
| DvP Rks | Top | Jng | Mid | Supp | ADC | DvP Rks | Top | Jng | Mid | Supp | ADC | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Players | Gamsu | Spirit | Febiven | Klaj | Rekkles | Players | Cabochard | Shook | Nukeduck | KaSing | Hjarnan | |
| Opp. Season | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3 | Opp. Season | 1 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | |
Team Vitality takes part in their second straight game of the day after their loss to G2 on Thursday, and they need a win. With both G2 and H2k facing opponents who they are likely to defeat, Vitality can’t afford to lose this game if they want to stay in the race for a first round bye. Vitality’s game with G2 was a very well played game by both teams and was a show of things to come in the playoffs, so I don’t think the loss is indicative of a drop-off by the team after the one week break for IEM. I still consider Vitality the favorite heading into their match with Fnatic.
Fnatic and a suddenly surging Spirit won’t be easy, though. After a run to the finals at IEM, the top League of Legends brand in Europe is looking like they may be a force in the playoffs. That said, funny things happen in two day international tournaments. Until we see Fnatic begin looking good against, and beating teams like Vitality, G2 and H2k, we can’t quite say that they’re back to form. This is a huge moment for Fnatic. A win would not only be a huge statement, but also give the team hopes of a top 3 seed. A repeat of these teams first game would be a rain cloud on their IEM party. That game was a 27 minute ass-kicking in which Fnatic had just three kills.
Fnatic
Elite Plays
None.
Secondary Plays
Spirit (DK $5,800) – At $7,600 on AD, Spirit is more of a DraftKings play. As exciting as this game should be, we have to remember the type of game Vitality will want to play. If they succeed, Fnatic’s floor is rock bottom.
Febiven (DK $6,900, AD $7,800) – Although Febi’s KDA is only 1.1 higher than Rekkles, he still feels like the one who has big games more regularly. Throughout the season and IEM, Rekkles has become more accustomed to the role that Fnatic have him in, but Febiven has been playing well all along. He’s my preferred Fnatic damage dealer.
Vitality
Elite Plays
None.
Secondary Plays
Cabochard (DK $6,400, AD $7,900) – You’ll notice right away that Cabochard isn’t listed as an elite play, and that isn’t an error. Not only is this a difficult game for Vitality, but Cabo’s champion pool has suddenly taken a turn in an unforeseen, and unwelcome direction. Vitality is going to want to play the map game against Fnatic, and once again we’re probably going to see Cabo on another tank. I can only hope that I’m wrong, but Cabo’s last four LCS champions have been Lulu, Nautilus twice, and Thursday’s Nasus.
Splyce vs. H2k-Gaming
| Splyce | H2k-Gaming | |||||||||||
 | Record | 5-10 |  | Record | 12-3 | |||||||
| Vegas Sprd | +382 | Vegas Sprd | -526 | |||||||||
| Avg. KP | 74.3 | Avg. KP | 72.6 | |||||||||
| Team Pace | 0.67 | Team Pace | 0.81 | |||||||||
| Matchup – Opponent DvP Ranks | Matchup – Opponent DvP Ranks | |||||||||||
| DvP Rks | Top | Jng | Mid | Supp | ADC | DvP Rks | Top | Jng | Mid | Supp | ADC | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Players | Wunderwear | Trashy | Sencux | Nisbeth | Kobbe | Players | Odoamne | Jankos | Ryu | VandeR | Forg1ven | |
| Opp. Season | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | Opp. Season | 5 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 7 | |
To me, this is the day’s biggest fade. Mistakes and 47 minutes were the only thing that let yesterday’s Splyce game reach the 24 total kills it did. Splyce remains a bad, nap-time inducing team. There were multiple occasions in Thursday’s game with Elements where the teams had a full-on 10-man team fight in which the fight fizzled out with zero kills. This team is desperate to not fight.
And that won’t bother H2k, either. H2k is going to be happy to let Splyce play their game while they simply out maneuver them all over the map, just as they did back in Week 4 when they beat Splyce without even reaching 10 kills. FORG1VEN ended the game with a grand total of 13 points. Ryu’s then replacement Selfie did post a relatively strong 4/1/4 with 267 CS, but even one player reaching 25+ DraftKings points in this game may be a tall ask.
Splyce
Elite Plays
None.
Secondary Plays
None.
H2k-Gaming
Elite Plays
None.
Secondary Plays
Jankos (DK $7,200, AD $7,800) – For those who are newer to eSports DFS and League of Legends, I think the idea that good teams don’t score a bunch of fantasy points against weak opponents can be confusing. Most of the time in traditional sports when a good team dominates a bad team, we see a big scoreline. That’s simply not the case in LoL, as they can often be so much better than their opponent that they can win without ever even engaging into fights, which put their members at risk. Why fight if you can simply take every objective without contention? Expect that type of playstyle from H2k in this game.
Roccat vs. Origen
| Roccat | Origen | |||||||||||
 | Record | 3-12 |  | Record | 8-7 | |||||||
| Vegas Sprd | +236 | Vegas Sprd | -300 | |||||||||
| Avg. KP | 68.0 | Avg. KP | 66.4 | |||||||||
| Team Pace | 0.79 | Team Pace | 0.84 | |||||||||
| Matchup – Opponent DvP Ranks | Matchup – Opponent DvP Ranks | |||||||||||
| DvP Rks | Top | Jng | Mid | Supp | ADC | DvP Rks | Top | Jng | Mid | Supp | ADC | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Players | fredy122 | Airwaks | Betsy | NoXiAK | Tabzz | Players | sOAZ | Amazing | PowerOfEvil | Mithy | Zven | |
| Opp. Season | 7 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 4 | Opp. Season | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | |
Origen’s ugly win over Unicorns of Love may convince some that they are ready to turn things around, but I won’t be fooled. sOAZ will earn much of the blame, but this simply isn’t a good team. Perhaps, in time, the move to xPeke can move the team in a new and better direction, but even that seems that it may not be permanent, with PowerOfEvil out with health issues. Back to sOAZ, though, as he is playing so poorly right now that I believe it opens Origen up to a potential upset in any matchup. Origen remains a strong favorite to finish as the 6 seed as we head into the playoffs, but ROCCAT still have an outside shot at moving up into the seven spot, which would keep them safe for the split. ROCCAT needs this win. Origen doesn’t and aren’t very good even if they did, so I have no confidence in their ability to take what would normally be an easy win here.
Roccat
Elite Plays
None.
Secondary Plays
Tabzz (DK $6,400, AD $7,200) – Tabzz, along with Noxiak, have been clear upgrades to ROCCAT’s bottom lane. It hasn’t magically transformed the team into winners, but they’ve certainly produced fantasy points at a higher clip. I’ll stop short of calling the upset, but this is certainly where I’m going contrarian.
Origen
Elite Plays
Zven (DK $7,900, AD $7,900) – Even if Zven’s recent performances haven’t been as carry heavy as they were early in the season, he’s still the driving force of Origen. With xPeke back in the mix, an upgrade to shotcalling and teamwork may increase Zven’s level of play, as well as his fantasy ceiling.
Secondary Plays
xPeke (DK $7,800, AD $7,900) – It’s difficult to say what kind of role xPeke will have on the Rift after coming off the bench, but it was nice to see him hop right onto a damage champion like Corki for his first game. I’m wary of xPeke bringing out more support-style mid laners, but am at least intrigued by his return to the game.
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