With the start of LEC coming up, there’s some storied organizations facing off and new kids on the block, MAD Lions, facing off against LEC’s world’s finalists G2 esports.  The season starts off with Vitality vs Schalke 04, a match favored towards Schalke as well as Origen vs SK gaming where Origen’s slow and methodical play will likely reign supreme. Rogue and XL esports face off in a tough head to head along with Misfits and Fanatic, neither having a very clear winner.

Match predictions:

G2 is very favored to win against MAD.

S04 is slightly favored to beat VIT.

OG has high odds to win against SK.

RGE against XL is a coinflip.

FNC is slightly favored against MSF

The goal for this draft is to capitalize on the favored matchups and get good role players for cheap.

Captain

Upset ($12,000)

Upset is a very consistent player for Origen. He leads his team to victory through consistency and acting as a rock for his team. Upset is an especially good pick up because the enemy team, SK, is relatively weaker in the LEC lineup and should lead to a relatively easy win for OG. Although he may not have as many explosive games as the likes of G2 Perkz or Caps, he is a safe bet and offers more budget for other members. If you’re a bit more explosive, consider G2’s members Perkz and Caps.

Alternative: Perkz ($12,900) or Caps ($12,300)

Top

Kryze ($5,800)

Although Kryze is new to the scene, he has made waves in the EU challenger ladder for a while. Known for his carry play, he’ll be making his debut against RGE Finn, another relatively new player to the scene. Kryze is expected to play a safe-bruiser or tank in his debut matches in order to create consistency for the rest of his team, so his performance should have a pretty good cost to performance ratio provided XL doesn’t get completely wiped. His very low cost allows for more consistent members in the higher point earning positions for even matches. If there’s some extra room in your budget, consider Alphari for a more proven point earner.

Alternative: Alphari ($7,000)

Jungle

Xerxe ($7,200)

Since we took a budget top laner, we’re able to spend a bit more in the jungle position. Although not an insanely high earning role, pairing up the consistent captain with a consistent jungler in Xerxe should net a large amount of points in their relatively easy game. Although not the premier jungler in the league, Xerxe has experience behind his back in leading teams and offering flexibility.  If you’re feeling risky, MAD Shadow is a good rookie pickup for more money elsewhere who might have a standout performance after his dominant EU Masters tournaments. Otherwise, consider FNC Selfmade who might be able to “jg dif” a relatively underperforming MSF Razork.

Alternatives: FNC Selfmade ($7,000) or Shad0w ($5,800)

Mid

Nemesis ($7,000)

Seen by many as the most important role in League, it would see obvious to just immediately take G2 Caps or OG Nukeduck. We’ll grab Nemesis instead as, even though he is relatively new, he was a consistent performer for his team after the rebuilding of FNC. Since his debut, he has been a top 5 player in his role and puts up consistent numbers. If you’re a bit more go big or go home, consider G2 Caps and let’s hope he is Caps and not Craps vs the new MAD Lions.

Alternative: Caps ($8,200)

ADC

Patrik ($6,400)

Although Patrik isn’t the best bot laner in the league, we’re stacking him with the Rookie Kryze and hoping for a good performance. His counterpart in RGE Hans Sama is a bit better, but too pricy for our budget. Even though he’s considered worse, Patrik has over 5 years of competitive League experience and can handle himself in the bot lane. The goal for Patrik is to open more salary dollars for the more clearly winning matchups and gambling that XL will win. If you’re looking for someone a bit more aggressive and riskier, consider Comp who is known for his feast or famine champions.

Alternative: Comp ($7,000)

Support

Hylissang ($5,400)

As one of the lower point earning roles, we want to grab someone consistent but not too expensive. As a known leader against a weaker team, Hylissang should be able to lead his team to victory and show a decent point showing. Since there were so many close matches this week, remember, consistency is key. If you have a bit of budget left, consider upgrading to Destiny who has had major success since importing from Australia.

Alternative: Destiny ($5,800)

Team overall

Origen ($6,000)

This is a pretty clear choice to me. When looking at the matchups, OG, the 3rd place team of the most recent season, gets to face off against the known quantity of SK who wasn’t even able to make it into playoffs. Although it’s likely that G2 will beat MAD, an off day for G2 is more likely that the consistent OG. 

Alternative: G2 ($5,600)

Stacks:

Upset & Xerxe

With the consistent captain and facilitating jungler, this should be a large guaranteed source of points. Their 3rd place finish in the previous season shows that they should be able to wipe the floor with 9th place SK.

Kryze & Patrik

Although less known quantities as rookies, they are facing off against teams that didn’t do too hot last season. Hopefully these rookies can have a good bang for their buck. Importantly, Kryze should be able to neutralize his lane opponent through clever drafting, and Patrik can perform if he has an even or on day.

Nemesis & Hyllisang

This power duo should be able to secure a good amount of points in any week. As FNC has been a consistent team in the LEC for years, thy have a great staff and team that will have them prepared for a middle of the pack team like MSF.

Top picks: Perkz, Odoamne, Jankos, Rekkles

Any of these players should earn a high number of points in their matches this week.

Top value: Bwipo, Inspired, Jactroll

Although these guys have differing amounts of experience, any of them should be able to give a good bang for your buck in their particular matchups. The key thing to look for here is how their teams fair into the opponents since their roles are relatively low point earners.