LoL Grind Down: NA - Sunday, July 10th
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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Apex vs. TSM
| Apex | TSM | |||||||||||
 | Vegas Sprd | +664 |  | Vegas Sprd | -1100 | |||||||
| Avg. Pts. | 11.7 | Avg. Pts. | 15.8 | |||||||||
| Avg. Pts./W | 20.8 | Avg. Pts./W | 18.0 | |||||||||
| FB% | 40% | FB% | 59% | |||||||||
| Matchup – Opponent DvP Ranks | Matchup – Opponent DvP Ranks | |||||||||||
| DvP Rks | Top | Jng | Mid | Supp | ADC | DvP Rks | Top | Jng | Mid | Supp | ADC | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Players | Ray | Shrimp | Keane | Xpecial | Apollo | Players | Hauntzer | Svenskeren | Bjergsen | Biofrost | Doublelift | |
| Opp. Season | -32.98% | -32.21% | -33.60% | -35.88% | -29.79% | Opp. Season | 15.74% | 17.01% | 19.44% | 25.68% | 27.17% | |
It’s no secret that TSM is the undisputed best team in the West and the more they play, the more convincing that looks. Few teams have done much to even challenge them in a single game, let alone in a full series. I don’t see Apex being the team to topple TSM from their throne and this one could get ugly quick. Talent is clearly on the side of TSM but from watching them play they appear a step ahead in their macro game and the drafts. The drafts have been incredible and in my opinion they have gained so much of their advantage in champion select before the opponent can even have a chance to counter. Unfortunately for Apex, they have been a team that really struggles in the draft especially with the limitations in the bottom lane. I suspect that Doublelift will have a field day in this one and he will probably be worth considering but Biofrost may be just as good of a play as the ADC’s on this slate are a bit deeper. It’s a risk paying up for a support but he should deliver enough fantasy points to hit value. It’s more of a question of how much you could get out of a lower salary support which is typically something I look for at that position. Ray is a monster and he is the typical carry for this Apex squad but everyone knows this by now. Good teams have spent all their resources shutting him down, leaving Apex without their solitary win condition. Keane has stepped up a bit of late but I can’t invest a dime into a mid laner of his caliber into Bjergsen. Avoid Apex even though they are dirt cheap.
Apex
Elite Plays
- None
Secondary Plays
- None
TSM
Elite Plays
-Doublelift (DK $8,400, AD $8,200) – Doublelift is sporting a casual 6.7 KDA through 5 and a half weeks into the season and he appears to be in the best form of his career. How do you stop this TSM squad? Doublelift should be able to rack up a plethora of stats in this one and the fantasy point should be there as well. I’m punting at a few positions just to make sure I can get him on my team.
Secondary Plays
-Bjergsen or Biofrost – I prefer Jensen on this slate but you can’t go wrong paying up for Bjergsen. The issue with Biofrost is you are devoting a huge amount of salary to a support. I’ll go with one or the other most likely because you can’t get both.
NRG vs. Cloud9
| NRG | Cloud9 | |||||||||||
 | Vegas Sprd | +346 |  | Vegas Sprd | -466 | |||||||
| Avg. Pts. | 10.4 | Avg. Pts. | 13.3 | |||||||||
| Avg. Pts./W | 18.3 | Avg. Pts./W | 17.9 | |||||||||
| FB% | 48% | FB% | 63% | |||||||||
| 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 | Impact | Meteos | Jensen | Bunny Fufu | Sneaky | |
| Opp. Season | 16.53% | 14.83% | 18.87% | 26.43% | 14.17% | Opp. Season | 9.49% | 8.27% | 7.51% | 2.78% | 6.62% | |
It’s feeling like Cloud 9 has hit a learning curve wall. They looked to be on the path of improvement on a weekly basis but ever since last week they have been trending in the wrong direction. I think it has generally been a product of some “experimental” drafts. The comps that they are running are just odd and they have really been handcuffing some of their best advantages. Sneaky in particular has been forced onto Sivir with the team prioritizing her over the likes of Ashe, Jhin or Lucian which are some of the best champions for Sneaky. Even if C9 chooses not to return to their roots, NRG has been plagued with even more puzzling drafts and their play in game leaves much to be desired. We know C9 basically has been successful against weaker teams, yet struggled against stronger opponents. I suspect they should handle NRG pretty easily and they match up quite well against them. I’m a bit surprised where C9 players are priced on AlphaDraft as opposed to DraftKings and they are much more enticing on DK.
NRG
Elite Plays
- None
Secondary Plays
-Santorin (DK $4,800 Only) – With the nature of how the salaries are set up on DK, you will likely have to punt somewhere. Jungle is a decent spot to do so and Santorin is probably the best option when you consider how high his kill participation is as well as the matchup.
Cloud9
Elite Plays
-Jensen (DK $8,000, AD $8,300) – Throw out the game against TSM because that team and Bjergsen is just on another level. Jensen is still one of the best at his position and against GBM, who leads the league in mid lane deaths, means this one should lead to a huge fantasy day.
Secondary Plays
- Impact (DK $7,200, AD $7,900) – This is more about how I just won’t be paying up for Hauntzer on this slate. Impact is the lowest price of the top tier top laners on DK and I think he will have a very strong performance even if it isn’t the carry performance that we see from players like Hauntzer and Huni.
Counter Logic Gaming vs. Phoenix1
| Counter Logic Gaming | Phoenix1 | |||||||||||
 | Vegas Sprd | -649 |  | Vegas Sprd | +452 | |||||||
| Avg. Pts. | 11.7 | Avg. Pts. | 8.8 | |||||||||
| Avg. Pts./W | 16.7 | Avg. Pts./W | 17.2 | |||||||||
| FB% | 42% | FB% | 38% | |||||||||
| Matchup – Opponent DvP Ranks | Matchup – Opponent DvP Ranks | |||||||||||
| DvP Rks | Top | Jng | Mid | Supp | ADC | DvP Rks | Top | Jng | Mid | Supp | ADC | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Players | Darshan | Xmithie | HuHi | Aphromoo | Stixxay | Players | Zig | Zentinel | Slooshi | Gate | Mash | |
| Opp. Season | 16.81% | 36.97% | 29.35% | 29.46% | 29.52% | Opp. Season | -43.67% | -42.16% | -34.89% | -39.17% | -41.27% | |
CLG and their climb out of the cellar has been slow and steady, but they have been improving even if only the slightest bit. They still have some glaring deficiencies and the clever shotcalling that catapulted them to the top in the spring just hasn’t been there in the summer. Weaker players on their roster have been exposed time and time again this summer and that is one area that is really tough to improve upon. Though the meta is shifting in ways that many perceive to be CLG’s strengths, Darshan has fallen out of favor as one of the top split-pushing laners in the game and his mediocrity has left this team scratching their heads. CLG does look improved and their team play and objective control is what I’ve noticed the most recently. They should be able to dispatch P1 fairly easily but I think this could be one of the more interesting series’ of the day. Phoenix 1 is coming off of a huge victory over Echo Fox so they are riding high. And by “huge victory” really just mean that they proved they are indeed not the worst team in the league. I honestly believe that this team isn’t even close to one of the worst teams in NA LCS history and they have a decent level of shot-calling that can put pressure on the best teams in the league. The execution of these plays has been shaky but the concepts are there and if you try to just rely on overpowering them, it won’t always work. With all of that said, the value on CLG doesn’t make them too enticing for fantasy purposes. TSM, C9, and Team Liquid are all performing better and they consistently provide more reliable fantasy numbers making CLG and afterthought. If anything, P1 might just be my punt team.
Counter Logic Gaming
Elite Plays
- None
Secondary Plays
- None
Phoenix1
Elite Plays
- None
Secondary Plays
-zig (DK $4,900, AD $6,800) – Obviously this is a pretty big punt play but let’s look at what this does. You aren’t expecting very much in kills but he does have the 3rd best kill participation among top laners. He also has been looking better on champions like Shen and Darshan has not been as strong as he was during the spring. It won’t be pretty, but being able to grab high priority players elsewhere will likely make this not only worth it, but necessary.
Team Liquid vs. Echo Fox
| Team Liquid | Echo Fox | |||||||||||
 | Vegas Sprd | -584 |  | Vegas Sprd | +416 | |||||||
| Avg. Pts. | 12.4 | Avg. Pts. | 8.6 | |||||||||
| Avg. Pts./W | 18.2 | Avg. Pts./W | 17.4 | |||||||||
| FB% | 60% | FB% | 41% | |||||||||
| Matchup – Opponent DvP Ranks | Matchup – Opponent DvP Ranks | |||||||||||
| DvP Rks | Top | Jng | Mid | Supp | ADC | DvP Rks | Top | Jng | Mid | Supp | ADC | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Players | Lourlo | Dardoch | FeniX | Matt | Piglet | Players | kfo | Hard | Froggen | Big | Keith | |
| Opp. Season | 37.34% | 22.93% | 21.30% | 10.13% | 19.67% | Opp. Season | -9.46% | -18.57% | -11.59% | -18.43% | -9.24% | |
Team Liquid is one of the hottest teams in North America even despite their loss to Immortals in 3 games on Saturday. In a lopsided day of salaries with favorites up against vastly inferior opponents, Team Liquid is the lowest price of that group. I really like the value on this team and I love what I’ve seen from them recently. The biggest downside for them is the conservative, generally poor playstyle from Echo Fox that limits their opponents kill totals. The aggression from Team Liquid should be enough to overcome that and hit value. Echo Fox along with Apex are the two lower tier teams that I will not be rostering any players from. Even a talented player like Froggen looks like a shadow of his former self and I can’t really see him turning things around against FeniX who has also been quite improved. Team Liquid features a solid bottom lane but a player like Dardoch is who I will be targeting and I even think Lourlo could have some potential, but at the same price as Impact, I’d just rather have impact. Team Liquid should be able to comfortably win this series and it will likely be in only two games.
Team Liquid
Elite Plays
-Dardoch (DK $7,000, AD $7,700) – Dardoch may be the last true carry jungler in the region and his performances have been fantastic of late. Fenix is playing a more supportive role, giving Dardoch more damage focus receiving the highest gold % of any jungler in North America. He also has the most total kills despite playing only 20 games. He’s a stud and I want him in my cash lineups.
Secondary Plays
- None
Echo Fox
Elite Plays
- None
Secondary Plays
- None
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