LCS’ Lock-in tournament carries on during Friday, with some of the most favorable match-ups of the day: each team is playing against an extremely favorable opponent; but if you hunt well enough, you’ll find some solid undervalued gems amongst the players on the day. Let’s get into it.

Captain

Alphari ($9,300)

Alphari has finally landed in North America; he was one of the best performing top laner in the LEC, if not the best. Team Liquid’s opponent on Friday is TSM, with Huni in the top lane; who has likely been one of, if not the, worst performing member of the squad and has routinely been a liability for the various teams he’s found himself a part of. Alphari is priced low due to his team’s terrible placement in LEC: dead last; Xerxe, Nukeduck, and Destiny looked lost, and the few games Origen was capable of scraping together were due to the great performances of Alphari, and he’s paid in full with a stacked TL roster he gets to join. Don’t miss out on this cheap superstar. Otherwise, I’d pick up 100 Thieves’ Closer.

Alternatives to consider: Closer ($10,500)

Top Lane

Ssumday ($6,800)

Ssumday has mostly been an evergreen player for 100 Thieves, and while Niles has shown promise on Golden Guardians, Ssumday is a new step in the challenge. Huni has been underwhelming for a while, and while matched up nicely against Solo, Ssumday is on a steeper level overall. Combine this with an exemplary bottom side, and Ssumday is set up for success against Golden Guardians; whose rosters they’ve faced have had significant holes, whereas 100 Thieves is solid for the most part. If you haven’t pick up Captain Alphari, now’s your chance to do so.

Alternatives to consider: Alphari ($6,200)

Jungle

Closer ($7,000)

Iconic has been another pleasant surprise on Golden Guardians, but when you look at the junglers he’s faced so far: Wiggily (Griffin), and Spica who is still getting used to PowerofEvil in the middle lane? Closer is pretty much primed to run this rookie into the ground with his high speed and aggressive jungle style, facilitated by mid laner Damonte. That being said; Iconic also has a solid mid laner in Ablazeolive, but Closer’s near MVP status lends me confidence in his ability versus the GGS rookie. If you want a different jungle pick, I’d look for Blaber against DIG’s Dardoch.

Alternatives to consider: Blaber ($7,400)

Mid Lane

Perkz ($8,000)

Perkz wasn’t that impressive in his first week in North America, but I’m willing to give him a pass under the excuse of jetlag and getting comfortable with a new team in a new region. Out of the mid laners starting in North America, I’d wager that Soligo is likely the worst mid laner in the LCS, although we still have time to see if that’s true. Perkz should completely smash him; this is the last time I’ll put him on a pedestal though. If you’re already skeptical of the “European Golden Child” I’d try your hand at Jiizuke, who looks rejuvenated, reentering LCS.

Alternatives to consider: Jiizuke ($7,400)

ADC

FBI ($8,000)

The last pick-up from 100 Thieves is ADC FBI who’s still displayed the brilliance he’s had in summer this year in spring; he had a bit of a slip against CLG’s Wildturtle, but it’s understandable with the consideration that WildTurtle was likely first or second best ADC overall in North America, depending on where you’d weigh in on Tactical. FBI facing down Stixxay is a great match-up for 100 Thieves’ ADC due to Stixxay’s poor performance throughout 2020. If you’re trying for a different ADC, I’d point you towards Zven who matches up well enough versus Dignitas’ Neo; although saying he comes in as pricey is an understatement.

Alternatives to consider: Zven ($8,200)

Support

IgNar ($5,600)

Evil Geniuses support comes in as the last main roster picks, and for good reason: between CoreJJ, it’s likely IgNar has maintained his status as the second best support in NA despite the incoming SwordArt and the shuffling of rosters. IgNar has stood stagnant with his roaming play style with new ADC Deftly, who I share a cautious optimism with. He’s prone to racking up big on both kills and assists, so he’s a solid pick up for support. If you’re looking elsewhere, round out the 100 Thieves bottom lane with Huhi, a support who’s extremely strong in the laning phase.

Alternatives to consider: Huhi ($5,200)

Team

Evil Geniuses ($5,200)

It’s pretty easy to recommend EG, the one team who hasn’t dropped a match during the tournament. Furthermore, their match-up against FlyQuest is likely smooth sailing since the latter’s roster has been scattered due to visa issues.. EG’s been solid across the tournament, surprisingly, and they’re a good bet. If you want a different choice, I’d select either Cloud9 or 100 Thieves, with a slight bias towards Cloud9.

Alternatives to consider: Cloud9 ($5,800)

 

Stacks

Perkz & Blaber

Hey, why not? I think Cloud9 players are generally over priced, with these two exceptions: I think Vulcan may still be top 3 supports in NA if he can get back, but Blaber and Perkz do provide something unique on Friday: they’re up against Dignitas’ 2v2 which is relatively weak. Neo and Aphromoo look quite good, and Fakegod has performed admirably. Soligo is a lot better than he was on 100 Thieves, but I’d hesitate to call him anything above “the worst”, although the gap is a lot shorter than I was anticipating. Abusing Soligo is the move against DIG, and these two are the best way to do it.

FBI & Closer

It feels good to be back: FBI and Closer each have a history of being the high earners on Golden Guardians, and it’s unlikely for nothing to change on their newest squad. The addition of Ssumday has lent additional flexibility to the roster, and a powerful new lane for Closer to gank. These two get funneled econ, so consider picking them up.

Jiizuke & IgNar

IgNar is an archetypal roaming support that favors playing the map over lane; Jiizuke is similar, he’s aggressive, loves to side lane, and link with his jungler. This dynamic generates a huge threat for EG’s opponents to deal with: a 3 player roaming death ball relatively early. Svenskeren is fine, but with the multitude of good junglers to select, I’d rather take the other two members as my stack. EG is looking solid, and their strategies have appeared sound so far.

Top Picks: Alphari, Closer, FBI

Each of these players provide something solid: a good flow of gold income, well, at least we know Closer and FBI certainly will with their respective role-players of Damonte and Huhi. Alphari is a more curious case; but being up against Huni will basically ensure that you’re given a solid base of income either way. They each have strong teams, and are on the winning side of their match-ups. TL vs TSM may be closer than expected, but with Santorin in for TL, I think TL will smash the underwhelming TSM.

Top Value: Alphari, Jiizuke, Impact

Alphari is stupid cheap, to the point where it is pretty dumbfounding; Team Liquid is a legitimate super team with Santorin on the roster, and Alphari demonstrated his prowess throughout the first week of LCS. Jiizuke has been a breath of fresh air, for the second time on Evil Geniuses, and has been a highlight player alongside Impact and newcomer Deftly. Impact too needs no introduction: EG in general is pretty undervalued, so snatch several of them up while you can.