LoL Fantasy Grind Down: Sunday, March 13th
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!
Note: As always, if you want to try a new DFS site, be sure to click through a RotoGrinders link and use our DraftKings promo code and AlphaDraft promo code to receive the best perks in the industry.
For live game tracking and other eSports news RotoGrinders recommends Instant Esports. Get the app for iOS or Android.
Cloud 9 vs. Team Impulse
| Cloud 9 | Team Impulse | |||||||||||
 | Record | 10-5 |  | Record | 5-10 | |||||||
| Vegas Sprd | -481 | Vegas Sprd | +355 | |||||||||
| Avg. KP | 66.2 | Avg. KP | 67.3 | |||||||||
| Team Pace | 1.06 | Team Pace | 0.82 | |||||||||
| Matchup – Opponent DvP Ranks | Matchup – Opponent DvP Ranks | |||||||||||
| DvP Rks | Top | Jng | Mid | Supp | ADC | DvP Rks | Top | Jng | Mid | Supp | ADC | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Players | Balls | Rush | Jensen | Hai | Sneaky | Players | Feng | Procxin | Pirean | Gate | Mash | |
| Opp. Season | 6 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 6 | Opp. Season | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | |
After a sloppy win over Renegades where Cloud9 trailed by as much as 5,500 gold, they’ll be looking to get back to crushing the bottom tier teams the way they had been previously. A win may be a win, but C9 won’t be pleased with needing to pull off a 56 minute comeback win against 2-13 Renegades. As always, C9 players won’t come cheap and the debate will be whether their brawl style will resurface to give us the value we need out of them. Impulse has a bad habit of folding early, which is a concern, but they’ve also showed the occasional ability to test teams above the relegation zone.
It’s worth mentioning that Team Impulse did take down C9 back in Week 2, although it was the BunnyFuFuu version of the team. I wouldn’t expect a repeat. Even after Impulse made things interesting against TSM on Saturday, they still ultimately fell apart and had their base destroyed with them inside of it.
Cloud 9
Elite Plays
Jensen (DK $8,300, AD $8,300) – Jensen isn’t significantly more valuable than Sneaky on an individual basis, but has proven to be more consistent and safe than most other mid laners, so I’m more likely to pay up for him as opposed to his ADC teammate.
Secondary Plays
Rush (DK $7,200, AD $7,900) – The opportunity for a bloodbath is nearly always there for Cloud9 games and Rush’s KP remains above 70% and he also sports a strong damage share. A bad game from Impulse and a sub 25 minute win for C9 does present enough downside to give pause about paying these prices, though.
Team Impulse
Elite Plays
None.
Secondary Plays
Mash (DK $6,000) – This is a DraftKings only punt, where Mash is relatively cheaper and can be used as a decent one off. C9 aren’t a stranger to punting off a number of kills even in games where they win.
NRG eSports vs. Team Liquid
| NRG eSports | Team Liquid | |||||||||||
 | Record | 7-8 |  | Record | 8-7 | |||||||
| Vegas Sprd | +115 | Vegas Sprd | -140 | |||||||||
| Avg. KP | 74.6 | Avg. KP | 73.7 | |||||||||
| Team Pace | 0.81 | 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 | Impact | Moon | GBM | KonKwon | LOD | Players | Lourlo | Dardoch | FeniX | Matt | Piglet | |
| Opp. Season | 7 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 8 | Opp. Season | 8 | 5 | 4 | 8 | 7 | |
Both of these teams are coming off of solid showings on Saturday, even with NRG eventually falling against Immortals. Team Liquid had the best performance of the day against CLG and got a big win that keeps them a game up on NRG. This is an extremely important game for both teams as it is still possible for one of them to miss the playoffs if things don’t go their way. This is arguably the highest upside game of the day and features a number of players who may help propel you toward the top in GPPs.
The 11 kill win by Liquid was below what we’re used to seeing and I’d expect to see that rise back above 15 today, should they defeat NRG. I’m not entirely convinced that they will, though. NRG has yet to show us what they’re truly capable of and perhaps we’ll have to wait until the Summer Split for that, but they need this game. NRG has the pleasure of playing both CLG and TSM in the last week of the season next week, which is a likely 0-2. A win against Liquid would all but lock up a playoff birth, while a loss could be devastating.
NRG eSports
Elite Plays
GBM (DK $6,800, AD $7,900) – Admittedly, GBM’s inconsistent play has been part of what has kept NRG from reaching the heights I believe they are capable of, but we have every reason to expect that a GBM carry in a near must win is in the cards for this team. This price is higher than anticipated, but I’m still willing to pay.
Secondary Plays
Impact (DK $6,100, AD $7,400) – Earlier in the season we relied on Impact to be one of our top lane plays each and every week. He was playing well and was heavily involved in his team’s offensive plans against any opponent. That’s all fallen off a bit, which keeps him as a secondary play, but he should still be considered.
Team Liquid
Elite Plays
Dardoch (DK $6,200) – Regularly one of the highest owned players on any slate, we once again have every reason to look at Dardoch. The price on DraftKings is affordable for a player who has all but won Rookie of the Split and is a fantasy monster on a regular basis. Tough not to find a way to put him in cash game lineups.
Piglet (DK $7,300, AD $8,000) – Piglet is the highest upside player on Sunday. Sure, it’s possible Liquid will once again win in controlling fashion, but this is the type of game where the winning ADC could blast his way to a 10 kill day.
Secondary Plays
Dardoch (AD $7,800) – Simply too expensive on AlphaDraft to be considered an elite play. There is risk in this game, especially with NRG desperately needing the win. A strong play none the less, but secondary.
Team SoloMid vs. Renegades
| Team SoloMid | Renegades | |||||||||||
 | Record | 8-6 |  | Record | 2-12 | |||||||
| Vegas Sprd | -509 | Vegas Sprd | +372 | |||||||||
| Avg. KP | 64.6 | Avg. KP | 69.4 | |||||||||
| Team Pace | 0.95 | Team Pace | 0.76 | |||||||||
| Matchup – Opponent DvP Ranks | Matchup – Opponent DvP Ranks | |||||||||||
| DvP Rks | Top | Jng | Mid | Supp | ADC | DvP Rks | Top | Jng | Mid | Supp | ADC | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Players | Hauntzer | Svenskeren | Bjergsen | YellOwStaR | Doublelift | Players | Seraph | Crumbzz | Alex Ich | Hakuho | Freeze | |
| Opp. Season | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | Opp. Season | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | |
TSM returned from IEM Katowice with a shaky, but solid performance. With only a 1,000 gold lead beyond 22 minutes, the win looked like it might not come easy against Impulse. However, a collapse from TIP and a Doublelift triple kill quickly ballooned their lead up above 6,000 and they pushed for an under 30 minute win. Now they face what would be fair to call an improved Renegades, but still Renegades.
We already know who TSM is. They showed improvement at IEM and perhaps that will boost them to a Spring Split win in the playoffs. Who are Renegades, though? The addition of Seraph in particular is a major improvement and he was one of the most successful punt plays on Saturday’s slate, but the team still features a needs-to-be-replaced jungler and lacks the necessary time to become cohesive with this new roster. If, and it’s a big if, they survive Relegation and replace Crumbzz, then perhaps we’ll see what they can offer the LCS this summer.
Team SoloMid
Elite Plays
Doublelift (DK $8,300, AD $8,300) – This game borders on fade potential, but the addition of Seraph and Ninja to Renegades gives them just enough talent to keep things interesting against top level North American opponents. Doublelift is the safest pick, especially after we saw Bjergsen put up a zero kill day on Saturday with Lulu.
Secondary Plays
None.
Renegades
Elite Plays
None.
Secondary Plays
Seraph (DK $5,100, AD $7,200) – I’m doubling down on Seraph as my top lane punt. He’s only $200 cheaper than Impact on AlphaDraft, but is a full $1,000 below him on DraftKings. Acceptable on either site, still.
Dignitas vs. Immortals
| Dignitas | Immortals | |||||||||||
 | Record | 4-11 |  | Record | 14-1 | |||||||
| Vegas Sprd | -932 | Vegas Sprd | +592 | |||||||||
| Avg. KP | 63.5 | Avg. KP | 67.5 | |||||||||
| Team Pace | 0.79 | Team Pace | 1.12 | |||||||||
| Matchup – Opponent DvP Ranks | Matchup – Opponent DvP Ranks | |||||||||||
| DvP Rks | Top | Jng | Mid | Supp | ADC | DvP Rks | Top | Jng | Mid | Supp | ADC | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Players | BillyBoss | Kirei | Shiphtur | KiWiKiD | Apollo | Players | Huni | Reignover | Pobelter | Adrian | WildTurtle | |
| Opp. Season | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | Opp. Season | 5 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 4 | |
Oh, Dignitas. This entire Grind Down could be dedicated to DIG’s performance yesterday, but I think it’s better to relive their performance against Echo Fox as little as possible. It’s nothing new for Dignitas after all, as they held the upper hand against Fox for almost the entire 67 minute game, only to fail to close out the win repeatedly. Much like traditional sports, this is a total letdown spot after that kind of game. I do not expect Dignitas to play well against Immortals and think Immortals players will struggle to hit any semblance of value.
Dignitas
Elite Plays
None.
Secondary Plays
None.
Immortals
Elite Plays
None.
Secondary Plays
Huni (DK $7,400, AD $7,900) – Typically, I pay down at top lane, or at least want my top laner in a game that I believe will be more contested. I’m going to go against that here because this is the type of game where we get an elite player at minuscule ownership. Billyboss is unlikely to present a challenge to Huni, who has enough upside to warrant the risk of an under 20 minute win by Immortals. If you’re willing to take the risk, a solo kill or two could be snowballed into a monster game by Huni against a down and out Dignitas.
Echo Fox vs. CLG
| Echo Fox | CLG | |||||||||||
 | Record | 6-8 |  | Record | 10-5 | |||||||
| Vegas Sprd | +190 | Vegas Sprd | -236 | |||||||||
| Avg. KP | 74.6 | Avg. KP | 65.6 | |||||||||
| Team Pace | 0.71 | Team Pace | 0.93 | |||||||||
| Matchup – Opponent DvP Ranks | Matchup – Opponent DvP Ranks | |||||||||||
| DvP Rks | Top | Jng | Mid | Supp | ADC | DvP Rks | Top | Jng | Mid | Supp | ADC | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Players | kfo | Hard | Froggen | BIG | KEITH | Players | Darshan | Xmithie | Huhi | Aphromoo | Stixxay | |
| Opp. Season | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | Opp. Season | 4 | 7 | 8 | 5 | 5 | |
A 67 minute marathon has given Echo Fox genuine playoff hopes, but they still remain a game behind NRG eSports. Saturday’s win over Dignitas was an emotional roller coaster for the entire team and they need to turn things around quickly ahead of today’s huge game with CLG. Not only is the turnaround fast for a team coming off this kind of game, they also must prepare for CLG’s playstyle, which is quite different than Dignitas’.
This game is also very important for CLG, who would be at risk of falling outside of the top two with a loss against a lower tier opponent. As of now, CLG and C9 would require a tiebreaker at the end of next Sunday to determine which team would have a bye, so any upset of either team would be a big shakeup to the standings. My question regarding CLG is if they are willing to adapt to a new style, as it’s becoming apparent that repeating the same game plan in every game is beginning to bring about problems. They were absolutely decimated by Liquid, who had little trouble dealing with Darshan’s attempts to split push on Yasuo.
Echo Fox
Elite Plays
Froggen (DK $6,300, AD $7,600) – Fresh off a game in which he set the world record for most CS in a game, Froggen gets a big chance against HuHi and CLG. Considering price and upside, Froggen can even be considered in cash games.
Secondary Plays
Hard (DK $5,300, AD $7,000) – Kill Participation numbers have fallen across the board in recent weeks, but Hard remains north of 70%. The Echo Fox rookie has often been on the receiving end of blame for some of the team’s shortcomings, especially earlier in the season, but has been improving right along with the team more recently.
CLG
Elite Plays
HuHi (DK $7,700, AD $8,000) – CLG’s damage share gap between HuHi and Stixxay has actually widened, as he now leads the team’s ADC 32.1% to 24.3%. I prefer Jensen over HuHi in a role decision, but will take HuHi over Stixxay if using both Jensen and HuHi, or if looking to fade Jensen.
Secondary Plays
Xmithie (DK $6,600, AD $7,700) – It seems that talks of a Xmithie resurgence may have been said too soon, as Saturday’s Gragas performance was not Xmithie’s finest moment. That said, he comes at a reasonable price on this slate, especially on DraftKings.
Still need more data to help set your lineups? Check out our eSports daily research tools!