LoL Grind Down: NA - Sunday, July 31st
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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TSM vs. NRG
| TSM | NRG | |||||||||||
 | Vegas Sprd | -1707 |  | Vegas Sprd | +871 | |||||||
| Avg. Pts. | 15.6 | Avg. Pts. | 9.5 | |||||||||
| Avg. Pts./W | 17.7 | Avg. Pts./W | 17.7 | |||||||||
| FB% | 62% | 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 | Hauntzer | Svenskeren | Bjergsen | Biofrost | Doublelift | Players | Quas | Santorin | GBM | KiWiKiD | Ohq | |
| Opp. Season | 4.51% | 8.90% | 12.43% | 13.49% | 11.60% | Opp. Season | 10.84% | 9.30% | 8.76% | 17.09% | 9.52% | |
After reassuring fans and fantasy owners that they are still the region’s best team with Friday’s dominating win over Immortals, TSM have one last official match to cap off one of the more impressive LCS seasons of all time. Time and time again this season, Bjergsen and Doublelift have proved far too powerful of a duo for their opponents and it’s been impressive all the way. It should be no different in today’s final match of the season. NRG are outmatched in every lane. GBM and ohq are both players who have the capability to perform a this level of play, although it hasn’t been on display much this year. It will be interesting to see if either is in the LCS next season, though sadly I would bet against it. They’re not likely to get a friendly sendoff either, particularly not with the likes of Quas bringing them down.
TSM
Elite Plays
Bjergsen (DK $8,400, AD $8,500) – Call it a hunch, but I think Bjergsen may be Penta Kill hunting during this series after Doublelift picked one up on Friday.
Secondary Plays
Hauntzer (DK $7,700, AD $7,800) – NRG don’t have any obvious weaknesses that can direct us to target a specific secondary player statistically, so we’ll look to individually target Quas instead. Hauntzer should have no problem building a lead in each game of the series.
NRG
Elite Plays
None.
Secondary Plays
None.
Counter Logic Gaming vs. Apex
| Counter Logic Gaming | Apex | |||||||||||
 | Vegas Sprd | -409 |  | Vegas Sprd | +310 | |||||||
| Avg. Pts. | 12.4 | Avg. Pts. | 13.0 | |||||||||
| Avg. Pts./W | 16.9 | Avg. Pts./W | 20.9 | |||||||||
| FB% | 47% | FB% | 49% | |||||||||
| 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 | Ray | Shrimp | Keane | Xpecial | Apollo | |
| Opp. Season | 16.85% | 29.95% | 23.37% | 25.60% | 25.53% | Opp. Season | -23.44% | -22.00% | -21.10% | -20.76% | -13.81% | |
The hope in this match is that Apex’s general willingness to engage in less than advantageous fights can bring both teams to fantasy relevance. Throughout yesterday’s match against Liquid, Apex’s less than well-thought fights completely swung game two toward Liquid, and more importantly for us, had the kills flying. In the eyes of the masses, CLG should be beating Apex every time. Clearly, they’re a strong favorite and I wouldn’t dispute that, rather note that Apex have the ability and talent to give CLG’s tumultuous season one last bad turn. CLG are a bit like NA’s version of Fnatic right now. Always a threat to beat any team in the league, even TSM or Immortals, yet also just can’t get over the consistency hump and make far too many mistakes against seemingly weaker opposition.
With Darshan’s play slipping and Ray being an aggressive player who forces his opponents to make decisions, he might be just the type to throw Darshan off of his game, which has been one of CLG’s reoccurring errors this season. Darshan need not match Ray’s often reckless play, but he does need to respond around the map, which we know Ray will be actively doing.
Counter Logic Gaming
Elite Plays
Xmithie (DK $7,000, AD $7,700) – Just as it was yesterday, Xmithie should be your go to CLG player. Only P1 and Echo Fox are worse against junglers in losses than Apex.
Secondary Plays
Huhi (DK $7,900, AD $8,000) – Borderline elite on AlphaDraft, where you receive a small discount over other high upside options. I prefer Huhi to Stixxay on today’s slate.
Apex
Elite Plays
None.
Secondary Plays
Keane (DK $5,800, AD $7,700) – There’s often an argument for Keane as an elite play as a punt, but CLG’s more passive nature does severely limit his floor. As boom or bust as it comes.
Team Liquid vs. Cloud9
| Team Liquid | Cloud9 | |||||||||||
 | Vegas Sprd | +135 |  | Vegas Sprd | -165 | |||||||
| Avg. Pts. | 12.4 | Avg. Pts. | 13.2 | |||||||||
| Avg. Pts./W | 17.7 | Avg. Pts./W | 17.7 | |||||||||
| FB% | 57% | 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 | Lourlo | Dardoch | FeniX | Matt | Piglet | Players | Impact | Meteos | Jensen | Bunny Fufu | Sneaky | |
| Opp. Season | 21.55% | 15.20% | 11.79% | 6.59% | 11.05% | Opp. Season | 4.61% | 3.14% | 1.77% | -2.52% | 3.37% | |
This should be today’s best watch and the best fantasy options primarily come from this series. Not only are Cloud9 and Liquid the third and fourth best team’s in the region, behind TSM and Immortals, but they are the two teams most prone to massive fantasy ourbursts. It wouldn’t be shocking if exclusively selecting players from this series was enough to win some money in any format. I don’t recommend that as downside for losing teams is immense in League of Legends, just know that it suggests that there is a lot of points to be had here. For my money, C9 has really come on in recent weeks. Other than Immortals, I see them as TSM’s only threat to the title and the World’s berth that comes with it. Jensen and Sneaky are overshadowed by the duo of Bjergsen and Doublelift, but are only slightly below in overall skill.
It’s also that very duo that should swing the edge in this series. Lourlo is quite comparable to Impact these days and Dardoch is one of the top players in North America, but C9’s damage duo are significantly better than Liquid’s. Fenix has improved from the Spring Split and that’s all well and good, but fabbbyyy is marginal and not named Piglet.
Team Liquid
Elite Plays
Dardoch (DK $5,600) – No surprise here, Dardoch is at a price where it’s difficult to say no on DraftKings. He’s closer to a fade on AlphaDraft, where he is the most expensive jungler even as an underdog.
Secondary Plays
Lourlo (DK $5,900, AD $7,700) – This isn’t really a pick against Impact, though he hasn’t been all too scary to face. It’s both a floor and upside pick, which is often tough to find in the top lane with split pushers like Darshan in the lane.
Cloud9
Elite Plays
All five C9 players. Really. If you’re playing cash games, stacking can be unwise, but all players here are elite plays in this series. It’s just the right combination of opponent’s level and style of play. C9 should defeat Liquid on most occasions and should also post massive fantasy scores on most of those same occasions.
Secondary Plays
None.
Team Envy vs. Echo Fox
| Team Envy | Echo Fox | |||||||||||
 | Vegas Sprd | -330 |  | Vegas Sprd | +257 | |||||||
| Avg. Pts. | 12.5 | Avg. Pts. | 9.2 | |||||||||
| Avg. Pts./W | 19.5 | Avg. Pts./W | 18.0 | |||||||||
| FB% | 37% | FB% | 33% | |||||||||
| Matchup – Opponent DvP Ranks | Matchup – Opponent DvP Ranks | |||||||||||
| DvP Rks | Top | Jng | Mid | Supp | ADC | DvP Rks | Top | Jng | Mid | Supp | ADC | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Players | Seraph | Procxin | Ninja | Hakuho | LOD | Players | kfo | Hard | Froggen | Big | Keith | |
| Opp. Season | -32.99% | -36.07% | -27.79% | -29.56% | -39.12% | Opp. Season | -3.38% | -12.57% | -4.76% | -11.41% | -4.13% | |
One. Last. Time. I for one will be blatantly cheering for Envy, even if I wouldn’t consider myself much of a fan of their team either. Thankfully for me, little bias is needed to reach the conclusion that Echo Fox won’t be heading into the relegation tournament in a blaze of glorly. More likely, it should be yet another 2-0 loss. Envy’s downward spiral in the second half of the season does seem to suggest that this could be one of Echo Fox’s few chances to find an upset though. I don’t see it happening at this point, however I do think this may be one of the few times that I actively target Echo Fox’s opponent, as they aren’t enough better than them for this to scream “stomp.”
Team Envy
Elite Plays
Seraph (DK $7,200, AD $7,300) – A near must play in cash games on AlphaDraft, and a solid option elsewhere. kfo is arguably Echo Fox’s best player, but we aren’t concerned with that in the least.
Secondary Plays
LOD (DK $7,900, AD $7,800) – LOD managed to win Player of the Game in a game in which I didn’t think he even played well in on Saturday. That’s what scaling champions can do for ADCs, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see more of it from LOD on Sunday.
Echo Fox
Elite Plays
None.
Secondary Plays
Froggen (DK $5,900, AD $7,300) – It wouldn’t be that surprising if this was Froggen’s last LCS match. I think it’s more likely that he returns to Europe for a mid tier team, so maybe this won’t be his last hurrah. It is his final chance to put Echo Fox on his back in the LCS, though.
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