LoL Grind Down: EU - Friday, July 15th
Welcome to the RotoGrinders League of Legends Grind Down. In this all-encompassing preview of the upcoming LCS 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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Unicorns of Love vs. Vitality
| Unicorns of Love | Vitality | |||||||||||
 | Vegas Sprd | +244 |  | Vegas Sprd | +248 | |||||||
| Avg. Pts. | 12.5 | Avg. Pts. | 12.8 | |||||||||
| Avg. Pts./W | 18.7 | Avg. Pts./W | 19.3 | |||||||||
| FB% | 40% | FB% | 68% | |||||||||
| Matchup – Opponent DvP Ranks | Matchup – Opponent DvP Ranks | |||||||||||
| DvP Rks | Top | Jng | Mid | Supp | ADC | DvP Rks | Top | Jng | Mid | Supp | ADC | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Players | Vizicasacsi | Move | Exileh | Hylissang | Veritas | Players | Cabochard | MightBear | Nukeduck | KaSing | Police | |
| Opp. Season | -9.73% | -4.73% | -3.14% | -2.63% | -1.24% | Opp. Season | -10.28% | -10.46% | -14.24% | -11.86% | -8.32% | |
A battle between two teams on the rise, this game should be a target for most everybody on both AlphaDraft and DraftKings. Team Vitality is the winner of 4 straight games while Unicorns of Love have not lost a series since dropping 0-2 against G2 in Week 3 of the summer split. The surprising dominance of this team has them as the early favorite heading into the matchup but the salaries are quite reasonable and enticing for cash games. Vizicsacsi has returned to form as one of the better top laners in Europe and rookie ADC Veritas looks far more comfortable than he did earlier in the season. Vitality on the other hand has stabilized, but not exactly flourished with Shook’s return to the starting lineup. The team has been a bit more reliant on Police during their winning streak and he has delivered some incredible performances with at least 8 assists in each game. The last time these 2 teams faced off Police had a standout performance but this version of UOL is in far better shape and it won’t be quite as easy to rack up fantasy points for him. I think both players are viable and the same can be said at every position but I prefer UOL with the safer floor.
Unicorns of Love
Elite Plays
-Exileh (DK $7,000, AD $7,500) – This guy has been an absolute monster lately and he has been doing it against some of the best mid laners in the region. Over the past 12 games he is averaging almost 5 kills per game. He had 4 kills or more in all but 2 of those games. These performances came against the likes of NighT, Febiven, Fox, and Sencux, all of which are among the best in Europe at this point. Great play in cash or GPP lineups.
Secondary Plays
-Veritas (DK $7,100, AD $7,600) – Veritas has been another impressive rookie for UOL and while he has been more feast or famine than Exileh, he’s still a strong option in the bottom lane on this slate. I would favor Exileh over him but if you are looking for a solid ADC without paying up for a top 3 player, Veritas is my favorite play.
-Move (DK $6,000, AD $7,100) – I finally get to talk about Move again. He was on my radar at the start of the split and he’s been improving along with the rest of his team making him a real fantasy threat. The knock on him is his poor kill participation at just over 63% but he still contributing a good balance of kills and assists to make him one of the safest cheap junglers for the slate.
Vitality
Elite Plays
- None
Secondary Plays
-Police (DK $7,000, AD $7,800) – As I referenced in the game summary, Police has been one of the catalysts for Vitality’s recent success. His boom or bust nature has me leaning towards having him in GPP lineups and favoring a higher tier ADC in cash games.
Giants vs. Splyce
| Giants | Splyce | |||||||||||
 | Vegas Sprd | +270 |  | Vegas Sprd | +219 | |||||||
| Avg. Pts. | 12.2 | Avg. Pts. | 11.8 | |||||||||
| Avg. Pts./W | 19.2 | Avg. Pts./W | 17.6 | |||||||||
| FB% | 63% | FB% | 47% | |||||||||
| Matchup – Opponent DvP Ranks | Matchup – Opponent DvP Ranks | |||||||||||
| DvP Rks | Top | Jng | Mid | Supp | ADC | DvP Rks | Top | Jng | Mid | Supp | ADC | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Players | SmittyJ | Maxlore | NighT | Hustlin | SONSTAR | Players | Wunderwear | Trashy | Sencux | Mikyx | Kobbe | |
| Opp. Season | -12.54% | -10.09% | -7.12% | -6.10% | -10.26% | Opp. Season | -13.60% | -17.02% | -7.38% | -7.77% | -12.79% | |
It’s another wild split of the EU LCS where games involving Unicorns of Love, Vitality, Giants, and Splyce among the most anticipated matchups of the week. It’s not a knock on the teams but the volatility of the region has shown that if you don’t keep up a high level of play, you will be surpassed by your competition (looking at you H2K and Origen.) In all seriousness these two teams have been steadily improving and this matchup is one that I really like for fantasy. Both teams are in the top half of the league in kills and deaths and feature star players with some great upside, without huge price tags. This matchup has me once again leaning toward the favorite Splyce, but Giants are still a threat and they are capable of beating anyone on any given day. The enticing thing about Splyce is how they have consistently played well against teams that they should beat. I think this will be a split series but I lean in the favor of Splyce if I had to choose a point-blank winner.
Giants
Elite Plays
- None
Secondary Plays
-NighT (DK $6,800, AD $8,000) – I will admit that I was unimpressed by NighT in his games against UOL today but I think it was more of an issue with the draft than an issue with his individual play. He is still the primary carry on this team and if they want to pull off a 2-0 they will need him to go off, something he is fully capable of doing. Definitely prefer this play on DK.
Splyce
Elite Plays
-Wunder (DK $6,500, AD $7,600) – Seemingly out of nowhere, Wunder has turned into a carry top laner. His champion pool looks very diverse and his play has been equally as impressive. SmittyJ is no slouch in the current meta but Wunder is just a better player and the team plays around him more. I don’t want to pay up for a top laner on this slate and Wunder’s price is right for that.
Secondary Plays
-Mikyx (DK $5,400, AD $7,300)* – There is no reason to pay up for a support on this slate and Mikyx is the highest salary I’m willing to pay for here. His high death total hurts him a bit, but he still has incredible upside which is what you want from the support position.
Origen vs. Roccat
| Origen | Roccat | |||||||||||
 | Vegas Sprd | +193 |  | Vegas Sprd | +355 | |||||||
| Avg. Pts. | 13.7 | Avg. Pts. | 9.3 | |||||||||
| Avg. Pts./W | 21.9 | Avg. Pts./W | 17.0 | |||||||||
| FB% | 55% | FB% | 47% | |||||||||
| 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 | PowerOfEvil | Hybrid | FORG1VEN | Players | Parang | Airwaks | Betsy | Raise | Steelback | |
| Opp. Season | 24.06% | 30.65% | 22.13% | 16.38% | 32.41% | Opp. Season | 8.22% | 9.52% | 5.94% | 5.96% | -1.81% | |
The schedule makers sure know how to save the best for last don’t they? This matchup features the two worst teams in Europe although Origen still has the slightest outside chance of squeaking into the playoffs. Roccat is the worst team in EU but they don’t necessarily get destroyed enough to make the other team incredibly valuable for fantasy purposes. They even had a pretty solid early game lead against Vitality before throwing it away in the 2nd game. Steeelback was the primary reason they were able to do so and he is still a threat at the ADC position but you still can’t entirely trust anyone on Roccat and the same can be said about Origen. Getting rid of Airwaks was a good start for ROC but I don’t think it will be enough to make them even half decent. The main issue I’m having with this game is: I think someone will probably go off and be a fantasy stud for one game but there are few reasons to believe I could pick who it is. My gut says that we could see a big game from PowerOfEvil but I also think Steeelback is the only reason that Roccat has a chance. I won’t be paying up for POE so there won’t be much that draws me into this one.
Origen
Elite Plays
- None
Secondary Plays
- None
Roccat
Elite Plays
- None
Secondary Plays
- None – Sadly I just don’t trust this game to provide any predictable form of value. I’m not wiling to pay up for OG nor do I trust ROC to do much of anything. Sad game.
FC Schalke vs. Fnatic
| FC Schalke | Fnatic | |||||||||||
 | Vegas Sprd | +583 |  | Vegas Sprd | +103 | |||||||
| Avg. Pts. | 11.5 | Avg. Pts. | 14.1 | |||||||||
| Avg. Pts./W | 17.5 | Avg. Pts./W | 19.0 | |||||||||
| FB% | 44% | FB% | 44% | |||||||||
| 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 | Fox | sprattel | MrRalleZ | Players | Gamsu | Spirit | Febiven | YellOwStaR | Rekkles | |
| Opp. Season | -16.85% | -18.49% | -17.94% | -9.47% | -20.42% | Opp. Season | 8.41% | 9.65% | 10.06% | 11.37% | 13.17% | |
Schalke’s fall from the top half of the league has been rapid and ugly to witness. Once regarded as the surprise team of the split, they were quickly surpassed by the real Cinderella stories in Giants and Splyce, so I guess that makes them the ugly stepsister? Either way it hasn’t been good and it has lead players like Fox and Gillius to look very mediocre in their current state. There was a time a few weeks ago where I might have wanted some action on the S04 side of this matchup but there is no chance for that now. Give me Fnatic even if I have to pay up for it. Just going for one Fnatic player and stocking up on Splyce/UOL is how my ideal cash lineup looks and you don’t have to look much further than the mid lane with Febiven. Sure it was nice to see the new addition Kikis performing well with his new team but you can’t rely on him to hard carry every series and put up those big fantasy numbers. I think this will be a clean sweep for FNC and the only fear is how quickly they finish this one. Even if the series is quick a player like Febiven or even Spirit should have decent value.
FC Schalke
Elite Plays
- None
Secondary Plays
- None
Fnatic
Elite Plays
-Febiven (DK Only $7,700) – I know I’ve recommended basically every mid laner in this slate but seriously Febiven is the safe play and you don’t have to pay an absurd amount for him like you would on AlphaDraft. This is my cash play mid laner and pairing him with someone like NighT is certainly a possibility. Expect some of those kills we saw from Kikis to end up on Febiven for this slate.
Secondary Plays
- None
G2 Esports vs. H2k
| G2 Esports | H2k | |||||||||||
 | Vegas Sprd | +122 |  | Vegas Sprd | +477 | |||||||
| Avg. Pts. | 16.5 | Avg. Pts. | 13.0 | |||||||||
| Avg. Pts./W | 18.9 | Avg. Pts./W | 17.7 | |||||||||
| FB% | 37% | FB% | 55% | |||||||||
| 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 | Mithy | Zven | Players | Odoamne | Jankos | Ryu | VandeR | Freeze | |
| Opp. Season | 19.81% | 13.07% | 12.45% | 3.74% | 3.84% | Opp. Season | 2.50% | -2.11% | -0.77% | 0.37% | 5.43% | |
This is not only a brief game preview, but also a eulogy for H2K. Rest in peace my friends, for you used to be a good team, and yet you have fallen into the realm of European mediocrity. I have seriously lost all faith in this team and I won’t be targeting a single player for my lineups even at the cheap salaries against a top tier team like G2. Unfortunately I’m not high on G2 players either seeing as their upside isn’t much higher than the likes of Splyce or UOL players. Perkz is working more on name value at this point considering the price you have to pay for him and Zven, though his statistics have improved, is still a risk because of how cleanly the team can win games before he becomes a major factor. I’m just not buying that this game will provide enough fireworks for it to be worth it. Nothing wrong with the G2 players but the downside and somewhat limited upside will have me shying away from committing too much salary their way.
G2 Esports
Elite Plays
- None
Secondary Plays
-Perkz (AD Only $7,800) – This will likely be the huge play in cash games on AlphaDraft at the position. You can slot Perkz into the starter role or the flex and I think it’s fine for cash but I’m not sold this is the week he goes off. Expect solid numbers with some upside but it’s not often you see Perkz as the 4th highest salary on a given slate.
H2k
Elite Plays
- None
Secondary Plays
- None
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