LoL Grind Down: NA - Saturday, June 25th
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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Cloud9 vs. Team Envy
| Cloud9 | Team Envy | |||||||||||
 | Vegas Sprd | -124 |  | Vegas Sprd | +102 | |||||||
| Avg. Pts. | 13.7 | Avg. Pts. | 18.6 | |||||||||
| Avg. Pts./W | 17.7 | Avg. Pts./W | 20.1 | |||||||||
| FB% | 67% | FB% | 48% | |||||||||
| Matchup – Opponent DvP Ranks | Matchup – Opponent DvP Ranks | |||||||||||
| DvP Rks | Top | Jng | Mid | Supp | ADC | DvP Rks | Top | Jng | Mid | Supp | ADC | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Players | Impact | Meteos | Jensen | Bunny Fufu | Sneaky | Players | Seraph | Procxin | Ninja | Hakuho | LOD | |
| Opp. Season | 17.00% | 16.17% | 17.02% | 7.95% | 14.92% | Opp. Season | -51.79% | -52.21% | -50.79% | -52.35% | -57.27% | |
If you have been reading anything I’ve written since the start of spring, you are probably aware that I am a C9 fan. So let’s just get it out of the way right now when I say that I expect C9 to win this series. In all seriousness I do like what NV has put together thus far but I think they are just too individually lacking against C9 and their macro game isn’t clean enough to overcome that. Cloud 9 has had some serious shotcalling flaws as well but as the split goes on, I expect that to improve and the individual talent is already in place. This has the makings of a 3 game serious and it also has the makings of a monster fantasy series across the board. Although I’m highlighting several of the players I will prioritize, I am okay with almost any of the players on these teams, especially C9 on DraftKings. The only ones you don’t want are the C9 supports who are rotating in and out. NV will not be without value as well and both teams being in the top 4 in total kills is a good sign for this one to produce a lot of value. Cloud 9 is also my number one priority in the team slot on both formats so that is worth mentioning as well.
Cloud9
Elite Plays
-Sneaky (DK $6,700 only) – Sneaky is still a viable option on AD but he has truly elite value on DraftKings with his mid-tier salary while being one of the best fantasy options this season. His opponent LOD has been pretty good this season, but Sneaky is arguably the true carry on his team. Getting kills for him will be a priority and it’s worked thus far seeing as he has the most kills at his position and 13 more than the next closest player. Sneaky will be a must-have in cash games.
-Jensen (DK $6,600 only) – Like Sneaky, Jensen is going to be a must-have player in cash games on DraftKings. C9 leads the NA LCS in kills by a huge margin so there will likely be plenty of action to go around for both of them. Despite his mediocre kill participation of 68%, Jensen still leads all mid laners by over 30 kills.
Secondary Plays
- None
Team Envy
Elite Plays
- None
Secondary Plays
-Seraph (DK $6,600, AD $7,400) – Seraph will certainly have his hands full against Impact but that doesn’t mean he can’t have a strong fantasy day. Even against the likes of Huni, Seraph managed to have a respectable fantasy performance and that’s a great sign for prospective daily fantasy owners. The top lane pool on this slate has you desperate to pay up for one of the top guys and Seraph is probably the best option by a long-shot in the lower salary range.
-Procxin (DK $6,300, AD $7,200) – I’m perfectly fine with stacking this series and Procxin is the most logical choice to slot in if you play to take similar action. He is near the top of all junglers in most major statistical categories and he plays a very aggressive style. This series will have no shortage of action and it will probably go the distance. Coming off of a series where he had 18 kills and 24 assists I’m loving what I see out of him.
TSM vs. Echo Fox
| TSM | Echo Fox | |||||||||||
 | Vegas Sprd | -1300 |  | Vegas Sprd | +740 | |||||||
| Avg. Pts. | 15.0 | Avg. Pts. | 9.0 | |||||||||
| Avg. Pts./W | 17.8 | Avg. Pts./W | 17.4 | |||||||||
| FB% | 57% | FB% | 36% | |||||||||
| 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 | Biofrost | Doublelift | Players | kfo | Hard | Froggen | Big | Keith | |
| Opp. Season | 25.73% | 26.29% | 32.80% | 42.81% | 43.24% | Opp. Season | -22.41% | -26.81% | -16.64% | -28.15% | -16.69% | |
There is one team seemingly well above the rest in North America right now and that is Team SoloMid. The perennial contenders appear to be a notch up in the region and all the while there are still areas where they can improve. Against Echo Fox I expect TSM to continue to look on form and roll through this one. Fox just looks so disjointed and they hardly present any value in their lineup. The only intriguing player for me is Kfo who has carry potential and can perform well if he gets ahead but it carries just too much risk for my liking. There are probably better options at the position even if you want to punt. I won’t be stacking this matchup quite as heavily as the C9 game because the value is all on one side, but pairing C9 and TSM players has been my go-to in cash lineups this week and it’s going to be a very popular stack. I also don’t love Bjergsen here against Froggen. The team will likely have the most success working around the TSM bottom lane and let Bjergsen just farm up so I’m fading on him a bit but he’s still viable. Just avoid Echo Fox and you should be just fine.
TSM
Elite Plays
-Doublelift (DK $8,300, AD $8,300) – It’s no secret that this iteration of TSM looks like one of the best we have ever seen. Doublelift has found his groove and the much maligned Echo Fox bottom lane should be ripe for a great fantasy day. TSM players provide a lot of security and the strong possibility of a 2-0 sweep. Incredibly high floor/ceiling combo makes him a safer version of Sneaky on this slate. Definitely a great AD play.
Secondary Plays
-Biofrost (DK $6,500, AD $7,600) – I have never been a huge fan of paying up for supports so I’m not overly excited about Biofrost but it just can’t be ignored how good he’s been. He generates so much action with his playmaking and survivability that he is able to secure a huge number of assists each game.
Echo Fox
Elite Plays
- None
Secondary Plays
- None
NRG Esports vs. Phoenix1
| NRG Esports | Phoenix1 | |||||||||||
 | Vegas Sprd | -519 |  | Vegas Sprd | +478 | |||||||
| Avg. Pts. | 9.2 | Avg. Pts. | 9.4 | |||||||||
| Avg. Pts./W | 18.6 | Avg. Pts./W | 26.0 | |||||||||
| FB% | 40% | FB% | 28% | |||||||||
| Matchup – Opponent DvP Ranks | Matchup – Opponent DvP Ranks | |||||||||||
| DvP Rks | Top | Jng | Mid | Supp | ADC | DvP Rks | Top | Jng | Mid | Supp | ADC | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Players | Quas | Santorin | GBM | KiWiKiD | Ohq | Players | Zig | Zentinel | Slooshi | Gate | Mash | |
| Opp. Season | 22.42% | 16.04% | 18.15% | 25.40% | 12.82% | Opp. Season | -60.22% | -58.47% | -53.03% | -53.92% | -56.63% | |
Saying this isn’t a highly anticipated series would be quite the understatement. Both Phoenix1 and NRG look like a couple of the worst teams in the league which is sort of baffling considering the lineup that NRG has on paper. I mean, Quas and KiwiKid are not world beaters but any team with GBM should not be wallowing in the cellar. Part of me feels like this will be one of those series’ where one team just stomps and racks up a bunch of fantasy points leading to someone winning a GPP with the weirdest lineup ever created. The issue I have with predicting that is I still think this is anyone’s series. The projections give the edge to NRG but I think P1 has a legit shot to take this one. NRG players look too pricey for me on DraftKings so I won’t be banking on any of those but AlphaDraft has some more interesting options on both sides. If you are looking for a deep sleeper support, Gate for P1 is someone I will be taking a look at but that is really only a GPP option for me. Never lock in either team for the team slot as this one is up in the air.
NRG Esports
Elite Plays
- None
Secondary Plays
-Ohq (AD $7,300 Only – I know I’m a fan of Korean players so naturally I love Ohq and his aggressive playstyle. It hasn’t really translated well on the NA LCS stage yet but Phoenix1 is a different animal. They probably have the weakest bottom lane in the region and no time is better than now to grab Ohq. This is half a gut play and half a matchup play but either way I like him in GPP lineups or in the flex spot.
Phoenix1
Elite Plays
- None
Secondary Plays
-Pirean (DK $6,000, AD $7,100) – Strictly a flex play for me but I’ve liked what I’ve seen from Pirean at times this season and I think if he can get one of his niche champions, he has a chance to go off. NRG does a very poor job at playing around GBM which really boosts the value of his opposing laner and I’ll certainly be looking at Pirean in GPP’s as well.
Immortals vs. Liquid
| Immortals | Liquid | |||||||||||
 | Vegas Sprd | -700 | Vegas Sprd | +479 | ||||||||
| Avg. Pts. | 14.6 | Avg. Pts. | 12.0 | |||||||||
| Avg. Pts./W | 17.0 | Avg. Pts./W | 18.4 | |||||||||
| FB% | 53% | FB% | 53% | |||||||||
| Matchup – Opponent DvP Ranks | Matchup – Opponent DvP Ranks | |||||||||||
| DvP Rks | Top | Jng | Mid | Supp | ADC | DvP Rks | Top | Jng | Mid | Supp | ADC | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Players | Huni | Reignover | Pobelter | Adrian | WildTurtle | Players | Lourlo | Dardoch | FeniX | Matt | Piglet | |
| Opp. Season | 50.14% | 52.50% | 34.60% | 50.74% | 43.18% | Opp. Season | 32.97% | 18.77% | 19.90% | 11.76% | 15.53% | |
I have so many issues with the way Immortals plays the game as well as their odd pick/ban strategies but alas, they just keep winning. This is a dangerous matchup for Team Liquid and I don’t like their chances to win the series. That being said, I don’t love the value on Immortals in this series either. I just would rather have C9 and TSM at their salaries so I’m going to be fading this matchup and hope that others are buying more heavily after seeing IMT defeat CLG. The junglers are the most enticing options for me in this matchup as I like both Reignover and Dardoch. If you go with Reignover you basically know you are paying up for a very high floor player who will likely hit value. Dardoch’s projections according to our data are actually quite favorable and he is one of the main carries for his team so if TL wins any of these games, he will likely be a big reason why. You really never know which of the laners is going to go off for IMT as Huni looks to be cooling off while Poebelter is running white hot. I’m not going to take that gamble with their salaries and I’ll generally be looking at Team Liquid for a one-off play like Dardoch or maybe even Lourlo.
Immortals
Elite Plays
- None – If I’m paying up for a top tier player I think it’s going to be from TSM or C9.
Secondary Plays
- None
Liquid
Elite Plays
- None
Secondary Plays
-Dardoch (DK $4,900, AD $7,300) – This is clearly the best punt play on the slate in my opinion. Ever since returning to the starting lineup, Dardoch has looked pretty close to his old self especially on champions like Olaf. He’s not a great kill participation % player and he tries to make a lot of small plays on his own rather than dominate teamfights but he has major upside and the salary on DraftKings allows you to stack higher priority players.
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