LoL Fantasy Grind Down: Friday, March 18th
Welcome to the RotoGrinders LoL Grind Down! These articles will cover everything you need to know for playing League of Legends fantasy including defense vs position, projections, vegas odds, and detailed analysis.
Also included is the RotoGrinders original statistic pace — a higher pace means bloodier games, so when two teams with high pace play, expect a bloodbath!
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H2k-Gaming vs. Elements
| H2k-Gaming | Elements | |||||||||||
 | Record | 13-3 |  | Record | 5-11 | |||||||
| Vegas Sprd | -650 | Vegas Sprd | +453 | |||||||||
| Avg. KP | 72.7 | Avg. KP | 67.2 | |||||||||
| Team Pace | 0.82 | Team Pace | 0.72 | |||||||||
| Matchup – Opponent DvP Ranks | Matchup – Opponent DvP Ranks | |||||||||||
| DvP Rks | Top | Jng | Mid | Supp | ADC | DvP Rks | Top | Jng | Mid | Supp | ADC | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Players | Odoamne | Jankos | Ryu | VandeR | Forg1ven | Players | Steve | Gilius | Eika | sprattel | Mr RalleZ | |
| Opp. Season | 9 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 6 | Opp. Season | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
Elements came out firing against Fnatic on Thursday and didn’t stop until they had a stranglehold on the game. Throughout the season, MrRalleZ has been that player who we thought would step up on a more regular basis, but he and Elements have done just enough to likely remain in the LCS for another season. Elements won’t likely need this win to remain safe in 7th place, however because this game is the first of the day, they won’t have the result of Splyce’s game and therefore can’t rest easy just yet. Elements were excellent both within fights as well as in map control against Fnatic and will need a repeat performance to try to unseat Europe’s best team.
I don’t see it happening, though. H2k are still in a tight race at the top of the standings and haven’t given much of a reason to think they capable of the types of missteps that Fnatic are. The loss to Unicorns was disappointing, but they’re still a top team. None of H2k’s four losses this season came against lower tier teams, meaning they’ve not been the victim of an upset yet. It wouldn’t be a surprise if Elements tried something outside the box here, and that may be their only hope.
H2k-Gaming
Elite Plays
Ryu (DK $8,400, AD $8,300) – Ryu’s fantasy performances have been on the tame side at times this season, but seeing him bring back out the LeBlanc, as well as an Azir pick were encouraging. He doesn’t come cheaply on either site, but has the better matchup between him and FORG1VEN against Elements.
Secondary Plays
None.
Elements
Elite Plays
None.
Secondary Plays
MrRalleZ (DK $5,800, AD $7,200) – The least expensive ADC on DraftKings and coming off a big performance in Elements’ impressive win over Fnatic. Temper expectations though, H2k aren’t likely to give it away like they did against Unicorns two days in a row.
Vitality vs. Splyce
| Vitality | Splyce | |||||||||||
 | Record | 12-4 |  | Record | 5-11 | |||||||
| Vegas Sprd | -600 | Vegas Sprd | +425 | |||||||||
| Avg. KP | 70.7 | Avg. KP | 73.1 | |||||||||
| Team Pace | 0.77 | Team Pace | 0.68 | |||||||||
| Matchup – Opponent DvP Ranks | Matchup – Opponent DvP Ranks | |||||||||||
| DvP Rks | Top | Jng | Mid | Supp | ADC | DvP Rks | Top | Jng | Mid | Supp | ADC | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Players | Cabochard | Shook | Nukeduck | KaSing | Hjarnan | Players | Wunderwear | Trashy | Sencux | Nisbeth | Kobbe | |
| Opp. Season | 4 | 4 | 5 | 7 | 5 | Opp. Season | 1 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 | |
For me, this is likely the game I’ll look to fade. Nearly every time either of these teams plays, there’s a question of whether there will be enough kills in the game for fantasy relevance. Vitality have been a little more likely to fight as of late, but it’s very possible they will whittle away at Splyce in this game. Splyce, as we’ve been over time and time again, don’t like to fight. They’re the lowest pace team in the LCS and are facing a team that generally likes to control the map rather than engage in unnecessary battles. Were Vitality players cheaper, they’d be of higher consideration, but they’re quite pricey on both DFS eSports sites.
Vitality
Elite Plays
None.
Secondary Plays
Cabochard (DK $7,500, AD $8,200) – Even at these kinds of prices, Cabo still must be viewed as one of our better top lane options. Like most slates in Europe, it’s difficult to find great options in this role, and Cabo is the most reliable of the bunch.
Shook (AD $7,800) – Shook is actually more expensive than Trick on DK, so this is a one site play. We at least get a couple hundred in savings from Trick on AlphaDraft.
Splyce
Elite Plays
None.
Secondary Plays
None.
Origen vs. Fnatic
| Origen | Fnatic | |||||||||||
 | Record | 9-7 |  | Record | 9-7 | |||||||
| Vegas Sprd | +152 | Vegas Sprd | -187 | |||||||||
| Avg. KP | 65.4 | Avg. KP | 63.9 | |||||||||
| Team Pace | 0.84 | 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 | sOAZ | Amazing | xPeke | Mithy | Zven | Players | Gamsu | Spirit | Febiven | Klaj | Rekkles | |
| Opp. Season | 5 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 8 | Opp. Season | 7 | 8 | 4 | 5 | 7 | |
This is the most interesting game of the day. A late season match between teams who’ve had similarly disappointing seasons after coming off excellent 2015s. After a run to the finals in Poland at the IEM Championships, it’s been right back to the gutter for Fnatic after a loss to Elements. After the impressive showing at IEM it appeared that Fnatic may be ready to return to form and begin mounting a challenge of the league’s top teams as we head to the playoffs, but it’s not to be. Fnatic, just like Origen, are looking like they may be early outs in the Spring Split playoffs.
Origen do come into this game on a three game win streak, but it’s fair to strike an asterisk on it. Wins over ROCCAT and Unicorns of Love were not well played games by either team and ultimately had to be won by somebody. That said, Thursday’s domination of Giants was an extremely well played game by Origen. Wins against Giants, who have replaced four members over the last two weeks, aren’t particularly difficult. Still, it was a very clean win and did provide promise.
Origen
Elite Plays
Zven (DK $6,600) – There’s a significant discount on Zven on DraftKings, where he is $1,100 cheaper than lane opponent Rekkles. Fnatic simply haven’t been consistent enough, especially in the bottom lane, to not give reason to look at Zven at this price.
Secondary Plays
Editors Note Since this writing, Origin’s starting mid laner has been changed to be xPeke.
xPeke (DK $6,400)* Priced $100 less than POE, xPeke brings great value in a game that OG can win. My opinion is that xPeke makes OG a better team making xPeke a solid play in all formats.
PowerOfEvil (DK $6,500) – In POE’s first game back from his absence, he posted a 6/0/5. Giants are Giants, but it was a well played game from POE and it’s possible that the time away has helped him refocus and study his play. Febiven is a very tough matchup, but Origen’s upset chances make POE worth a look.
Zven (AD $7,900) – The barely there $200 discount from Rekkles on AD makes this secondary, but he’s still worth a look as Origen’s driving force.
Fnatic
Elite Plays
Febiven (DK $7,600, AD $7,900) – Okay, so I said PowerOfEvil is worth a look, but that doesn’t mean Febiven might not toy with him. Fnatic is one of the teams where I prefer the mid laner to the ADC in most games, and this is certainly one of them with Rekkles facing Zven.
Spirit (DK $6,500, AD $7,800) – This is one of the few plays that I really like on both sites even with Spirit being relatively more expensive on AlphaDraft. If Fnatic is to again find the form they had on display at IEM, Spirit will need to carry. Rekkles isn’t pushing advantages out of the bottom lane unless Spirit is making them happen.
Secondary Plays
None.
Giants Gaming vs. Roccat
| Giants Gaming | Roccat | |||||||||||
 | Record | 2-14 |  | Record | 3-13 | |||||||
| Vegas Sprd | +150 | Vegas Sprd | -184 | |||||||||
| Avg. KP | 72.9 | Avg. KP | 67.8 | |||||||||
| Team Pace | 0.74 | Team Pace | 0.77 | |||||||||
| Matchup – Opponent DvP Ranks | Matchup – Opponent DvP Ranks | |||||||||||
| DvP Rks | Top | Jng | Mid | Supp | ADC | DvP Rks | Top | Jng | Mid | Supp | ADC | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Players | SmittyJ | Wisdom | xPePii | GODFRED | S0NSTAR | Players | fredy122 | Airwaks | Betsy | NoXiAK | Tabzz | |
| Opp. Season | 10 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 9 | Opp. Season | 8 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 10 | |
Oh, boy. The game of the day! Okay, not really. These games between poor teams can sometimes be difficult to decipher, but I think it’s fair to expect a ROCCAT win here. Irregardless of ROCCAT’s strange win over Vitality yesterday in which they trailed in kills even as Vitality’s Nexus fell, they’re still the better team here. They’ve often been talked about as the team who can’t hold early game leads, but Giants are the team who never have any leads at all. European slates have been tough to find value on in recent weeks and this game is a rare spot where we can find some if we are willing to put our trust in ROCCAT.
For Giants, the end is near. Even if they manage to survive relegation, I’m not so sure we won’t see yet another roster explosion from them. Their effort this season has been poor from top to bottom, including ownership.
Giants Gaming
Elite Plays
None.
Secondary Plays
xPePii (AD $7,100) – Giants players are unfortunately too expensive to invest in for upset potential on DraftKings, but can be had at reasonable prices on AlphaDraft. Even so, xPePii is still the only player I’m heavily considering. He is the last standing player from the original Giants roster for this season and remains the team’s best player and only real offensive threat.
Roccat
Elite Plays
Tabzz (DK $7,600, AD $7,700) – Tabzz has surprisingly been one of the most consistent fantasy players in all of Europe. Despite regularly being extremely cheap, he’s hit what could be considered value in most of ROCCAT’s games, including losses. Today should be no different, but with a win and perhaps even more upside than usual.
Secondary Plays
Airwaks (DK $6,500, AD $7,400) – The same price as Spirit on DK and cheaper on AD, Airwaks will be similarly owned, but have a higher floor than Spirit. Airwaks isn’t flashy and doesn’t often post big games, but is very capable of it against Giants.
G2 Esports vs. Unicorns of Love
| G2 Esports | Unicorns of Love | |||||||||||
 | Record | 13-3 |  | Record | 9-7 | |||||||
| Vegas Sprd | -281 | Vegas Sprd | +222 | |||||||||
| Avg. KP | 69.5 | Avg. KP | 68.8 | |||||||||
| Team Pace | 1.04 | Team Pace | 0.87 | |||||||||
| 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 | Vizicsacsi | loulex | Fox | Hylissang | Steeelback | |
| Opp. Season | 6 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 4 | Opp. Season | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | |
Unicorns of Love come into this game of the heels of a comeback, upset win over H2k, but get the gift of facing G2 Esports, the likely top seed in the playoffs. The Unicorns took advantage of mistakes from H2k in what was a sloppy mid-game from them and turned it into an important bounce-back win after a stretch of poor games. This game isn’t likely to have any significant effect on Unicorn’s standing for the playoffs, but two strong showings in a row would be a significant boost in momentum.
Ultimately, G2 are likely going to brawl their way to victory here and secure the regular season win. These teams play a similar style in that they are willing to fight, but G2 has a unique ability to answer map calls and create their own pressure on top of the team fights. Very few teams are strong in both styles, but G2 are. This game features enough upside that any number of players could reach value, on either team.
G2 Esports
Elite Plays
Trick (DK $6,800, AD $8,000) – Once again, the player here is relatively cheaper on DraftKings, which seems a theme on today’s slate. Regardless, Trick is an elite play against this kind of opponent and I’d consider paying for him even if he were more expensive than he already is. Near must play on DK in particular.
Emperor (DK $7,900, AD $8,200) – Emperor and Perkz have been nearly identical for fantasy this season, but the ADC of the two has been just a hair more consistent in recent weeks and I’d lean toward him if paying for one.
Secondary Plays
Kikis (DK $7,100, AD $7,800) – G2’s opponent is tougher and Kikis’ lane opponent is better than Vitality and Cabochard’s, but the price and upside can’t be forgotten. Cabochard’s floor is higher here and you have to pay to get it, but Kikis may be the overall better play.
Unicorns of Love
Elite Plays
None. Yes, none. They don’t come nearly cheaply enough and don’t need to win this game.
Secondary Plays
Steeelback (DK $6,300) – If there’s anyone that should be kept in mind for this game from the Unicorn’s side of the rift, it has to be triple-e ADC Steeelback. He has been significantly better than all of his teammates for fantasy. More so than most ADC’s are for their teams.
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