LoL Grind Down: EU - Saturday, July 30th

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. H2k

Unicorns of Love H2k
Article Image Vegas Sprd +229 Article Image Vegas Sprd +255
Avg. Pts. 13.1 Avg. Pts. 11.9
Avg. Pts./W 18.6 Avg. Pts./W 17.8
FB% 52% 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 Vizicasacsi Move Exileh Hylissang Veritas Players Odoamne Jankos Ryu VandeR Freeze
Opp. Season -11.39% -5.67% -4.83% -3.58% -2.75% Opp. Season 2.04% -1.80% -1.56% -2.29% 2.29%

The odds have this one being a pretty close match but I have all but lost faith in this H2K team and the addition of Forg1ven into the lineup doesn’t change that outlook for me. He may be one of the best mechanical players to play the position ever but his issues with team synergy have left a lot to be desired and now they are adding that onto a team that already looks to have synergy issues. Those who were once the teams strenghts in Odoamne and Ryu, have slipped down to middle of the pack at their respective positions and in the current meta, you need to be solid at both mid and top. The Unicorns on the other hand have continued to rocket up the standings and are threatening for the 4th and 5th place slot which is crucial considering it means avoiding a match against Splyce or Fnatic. H2K is in the same boat as far as potential standings but they look more poised for a collapse than a late season surge.

Unicorns of Love

Elite Plays

- None

Secondary Plays

-Vizicsacsi (DK $6,100, AD $7,500) – Vizi and Odoamne have been trending in opposite directions this split. Odoamne has been quite a disappointment while the entire UOL squad has stepped up and is making a real push heading into the playoffs. Vizicsacsi has been one of the key parts of that and his latest series with 13 kills and 9 assists is a testament to just how good he’s been lately. I’m going with the hot hand here and he’s a nice value on both sites, especially DraftKings.

-Veritas (DK $6,900, AD $7,800) – Though he’s been very boom or bust this summer, Veritas is still a decent option and he’s about as low as I’m willing to go when it comes to ADC’s on this slate. Despite having several games with low kill totals, his highs have been great with 7 kills or more in 3 of his last 7 games.

H2k

Elite Plays

- None

Secondary Plays

- None

Origen vs. Splyce

Origen Splyce
Article Image Vegas Sprd +843 Article Image Vegas Sprd -127
Avg. Pts. 13.9 Avg. Pts. 12.8
Avg. Pts./W 21.8 Avg. Pts./W 17.6
FB% 59% FB% 51%
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 Wunderwear Trashy Sencux Mikyx Kobbe
Opp. Season 23.54% 28.16% 21.57% 20.88% 33.11% Opp. Season -12.10% -10.13% -4.47% -7.90% -11.43%

I really hope this is one of those times where the new blood sends the old guard packing because Lord knows, European League of Legends needs it. Players like xPeke and SoaZ have held down the fort for long enough and the rising stars of Splyce are ready to prove they can represent EU just as well when it comes to international reputation. Could this be the alternate version where the old guard rides off into the sunset? Sure, but I think that is more likely to occur tomorrow and the fireworks should be all Splyce here. I mention a few key players to target for your lineups below but I think essentially any Splyce player is a good option based on their salaries. Splyce is also a team I will be favoring for the team slot as well considering Trashy’s strong objective control. I’ll be a little surprised if this is anything other than a Splyce 2-0 but it’s never safe to count xPeke & Company out completely. At least this presumed farewell tour is going better for xPeke than Froggen…

Origen

Elite Plays

- None

Secondary Plays

- None

Splyce

Elite Plays

-Wunder (DK $7,100, AD $7,800) – You can make the argument that Wunder has been the best top laner this split in Europe. If you look at his match history, it is littered with games of 4+ kills which is very solid for a top laner and he leads that statistical category at his position. He’s the best fantasy top laner on this slate at a reasonable salary he seems like the obvious choice among the upper echelon.

Secondary Plays

-Kobbe (DK $7,800, AD $8,000) – Zven may be the obvious choice at ADC but Kobbe isn’t far behind and with the revolving ADC door for Origen, Kobbe has a great matchup against either xPeke or Toaster. He hasn’t been exploding for massive games but his high floor gives you some room to work with at other positions.

-Trashy (DK $6,800, AD $7,900) – Trashy has had at least 8 assists in 5 of his last 6 and that’s basically what he does. The guy puts up big assist numbers when the team wins and against an OG team surrendering the 2nd most deaths in Europe, the assists will be there it just really is a matter of how many can he get before Splyce likely closes out the series.

FC Schalke vs. Giants

FC Schalke Giants
Article Image Vegas Sprd +409 Article Image Vegas Sprd +136
Avg. Pts. 10.8 Avg. Pts. 12.1
Avg. Pts./W 17.5 Avg. Pts./W 19.2
FB% 39% FB% 56%
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 SmittyJ Maxlore NighT Hustlin SONSTAR
Opp. Season -13.04% -15.91% -15.46% -7.85% -15.84% Opp. Season -14.65% -13.48% -8.85% -8.07% -10.94%

I wish I could get more excited for this matchup but something about Schalke just makes me feel like it will be another lackluster EU best of two. These teams on paper look pretty similar but the way they have been playing makes me think this one could be a one-sided affair for the Giants to dominate. I’ve been really impressed by Maxlore in the past several weeks and his synergy with the Giants solo laners gives them a pretty big edge. Tack on the improving Giants shotcalling and we could be in for a clean series. Having said that I don’t think it will be a daily fantasy powerhouse of a series and stacking on the Giants side, while better than a Schalke stack, carries an unnecessary amount of risk for the potential reward. Better to go with some of the afore mentioned games and keep Giants players reserved for a one-off or a GPP lineup with NighT in the mid lane. Schalke still has more upset potential than the likes of Roccat or Vitality so they present a few punt plays that will give you the lineup flexibility you need.

FC Schalke

Elite Plays

- None

Secondary Plays

-Steve (AD Only $6,800) – On DK my top lane bargain play would be Vizi but on AlphaDraft you are probably best off with Steve if you punt this position. I really only advocate that option if you go with a heavy G2, FNC stack. Steve has had a rough going lately but some of his best performances of the season came against Giants and he still leads all top laners in total assists despite his marginal kill participation.

Giants

Elite Plays

- None

Secondary Plays

-NighT (DK $7,400, AD $8,000) – It’s a riskier mid lane play than the likes of Febiven or Sencux, but NighT has just as high of an upside as those two. After tapering off a bit he has stormed back recently and he has a pretty good matchup. I like him but don’t love him. Probably a GPP/Flex option for me.

Fnatic vs. Roccat

Fnatic Roccat
Article Image Vegas Sprd -152 Article Image Vegas Sprd +984
Avg. Pts. 14.0 Avg. Pts. 9.9
Avg. Pts./W 18.7 Avg. Pts./W 18.1
FB% 48% FB% 42%
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 YellOwStaR Rekkles Players Parang Airwaks Betsy Raise Steelback
Opp. Season 5.97% 5.67% 8.31% 9.69% 7.91% Opp. Season 10.79% 9.15% 6.44% 9.73% 0.14%

Goodbye and good riddance! This will be the last time this year that I have to write about the disappointment that has been Roccat in summer 2016. Rising stars like Betsy have fallen flat and Steeelback continues to reside in purgatory on a team that is going nowhere fast. And in true Roccat fashion, they present virtually zero fantasy value for all of us making this departure even more painful to watch. Now we can talk about Fnatic but really what can you say when the matchup is this good? Go with your studs like Febiven and Yellowstar, and maybe consider an option like Spirit but overall they are great plays for this slate. Fnatic’s longest slide this season has been 4 games and they are a team that quickly rebounds after a poor week. Their last match against Roccat was insane for fantasy and they are one of the best teams at thrashing inferior opponents when they win. They have lost some winnable series’ but I don’t think this will be another.

Fnatic

Elite Plays

-Febiven (DK $8,100, AD $7,700) – Febiven’s volatility this season has burned many DFS players with myself included but when he’s on his game, he is still one of the best at his position. Every time we see Febiven and Fnatic dip in performance, they seem to bounce back quickly and Roccat is a great team to do that against. His opponent Betsy has the most deaths among mid laners and in their last meeting Febiven has a monster 21 kill plus 22 assist performance. Expect that version of Febiven as FNC fights for their seeding in the last weekend.

Secondary Plays

-Yellowstar (DK $6,300, AD $7,200) – The support position is a lot about opportunity for daily fantasy and given that Roccat leads the EULCS in deaths by a wide margin, the opportunities will be there for Yellowstar. He nearly exceeded 40 total assists in the 2 games against Roccat earlier this split and will be primed for more of the same in this meeting.

Roccat

Elite Plays

- None

Secondary Plays

- None

G2 Esports vs. Vitality

G2 Esports Vitality
Article Image Vegas Sprd -182 Article Image Vegas Sprd +1483
Avg. Pts. 17.0 Avg. Pts. 11.9
Avg. Pts./W 19.2 Avg. Pts./W 18.7
FB% 37% FB% 61%
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 Cabochard MightBear Nukeduck KaSing Police
Opp. Season 17.46% 11.72% 10.80% -1.96% 0.50% Opp. Season -8.62% -7.71% -11.95% -8.66% -2.99%

I really thought we could have something in Vitality this split but I overestimated the additions the team made and the remaining players as well. The only staple for solid play on the team has been Cabochard and since it’s no longer Season 3 where one player can carry the game 1 vs. 9, we have to watch him waste away in the top lane for a subpar squad. It’s okay folks, I’m done advising going with Cabochard in the top lane slot and I don’t even think he has sleeper value as a one-off punt play. This series should be a dominant performance for G2 in a slate that doesn’t appear to have many competitive series’ on paper. G2 can clinch the first seed with a victory so this is far more important for them than Vitality.

G2 Esports

Elite Plays

-Trick (DK $7,000, AD $8,200) – Trick has been a staple in strong DFS lineups all season and that won’t change much in the last week of the regular season. His knack for racking up assists while still managing the most kills at his position is unmatched by any player in Europe and he’s been delivering strong performances with 9 kills in each of his last 3 series’. He’s also the only jungler you can really build your lineup around safely.

-Zven (DK $8,000, AD $8,500) – The price is surely steep but Zven is another consistent performer who has been showing up big in the team’s wins. As they put more emphasis on him, he has really started to bump up his kill totals and his low number of deaths per game means he won’t hurt you in that department. I may not be as keen on the salary on AlphaDraft but he’s certainly a viable option on both platforms.

Secondary Plays

- None

Vitality

Elite Plays

- None

Secondary Plays

- None

Still need more data to help set your lineups? Check out our eSports daily research tools!

About the Author

Airbudgoldenrec
Airbudgoldenrec

Robert “AirBud” Marshall has been following the League of Legends competitve scene for over 3 years across all 4 major regions. He started his website “DFS League of Legends” during Worlds 2015 with the introduction of Esports on DraftKings. Prior to that, Robert was an avid fantasy football, baseball, and basketball player in both season long and daily formats. Follow him on Twitter: @Airbudgoldenrec