(-285) Rogue v SK Gaming (+210)

(+135) Astralis v Vitality (-175)

(-240) Fnatic v FC Schalke 04 (+180)

(+130) Misfits v Mad Lions  (-170)

(+475) Excel Esports v G2 Esports (-800)

LEC begins its Spring conclusion on Friday, Rogue try to secure their top 2 spot by taking down SK Gaming, Vitality tries to rally to get into play-offs by taking down last place Astralis, Fnatic takes down a Schalke who has been sliding to the bottom, Misfits have hit a new stride, but need to take down a shaky MAD Lions to prove themselves, Finally, G2 looks to wipe the floor with Excel to finish their victory lap.

Captain

Caps ($12,000)

G2’s dominance over Europe is all but resolute, and they’re taking part of their victory laps right now: Excel is all but dead in the water after the ADC meta shifts while Dan is forced to do more than just AFK jungle after the nerfs to the role. Czekolad, Tore, and Dan brought down what was brought to them by Kryze and Patrik. Caps is a great choice for captain to swat Czekolad, and a certain jungler we will be including later on will complete the two-hit combo to Excel. If you can’t wait for later, or just want to buff up some places elsewhere on your roster, you can grab him now: Jankos will slam dunk Dan into the ground.

Alternatives to consider: Jankos ($11,700)

Top Lane

Odoamne ($6,400)

Rogue’s top laner holds the highest KDA in the league for his position, and while his opponent in Jenax is decidedly a solid player, I think a lot of SK’s strength comes from Treatz’s proactive mentality alongside Tynx. Top lane may be too far out of reach for Tynx to effect, whereas Blue will be tied down in the middle lane with Larssen. Jenax will truly be alone, against a top laner with the best statistics in the league, with a versatile champion pool in addition. Odoamne is a safe choice, and he comes in cheap too. His match-up is not difficult, and he’s a talented player. If you want to shell out the big bucks for a 100% deal, I’d pick up Wunder, but his price comes in steep.

Alternatives to consider: Wunder ($7,200)

Jungle

Jankos ($7,600)

As referenced in the captain section, XL’s mid-jungle 2v2 is one of the weakest in the league: weaker than Vitality, weaker than Astralis, the de facto weakest. Czekolad struggles in lane and has a one-dimensional champion pool, whereas Dan has looked completely stagnant and not LEC caliber. G2 has speed run the entire LEC, and with a weak XL next on the chopping block, the deed is as good as done. G2 players are expensive, so I recommend targeting XL’s weakest parts, and avoiding the bottom and top lane match-ups. For a secondary choice, I recommend FNC’s Selfmade, who I think has a great match-up versus S04’s Gilius.

Alternatives to consider: Selfmade ($7,200)

Mid Lane

Vetheo ($6,400)

Misfits has completely flipped the script in the 2nd round robin, and while Vetheo was a diamond in the rough for most of the split, his last 4 games have demonstrated that he can be formidable. Even against Caps, despite taking the loss, he still looked well composed and was capable of keeping his stride. This Friday, he faces off against Humanoid: a player who, in my opinion, has fallen far short of his 2020 and 2019 form. I think Razork and Vetheo will be capable of snapping Elyoya and Humanoid, despite it being close. Alternatively, I’d recommend FNC’s Nisqy alongside their jungler Selfmade: S04 has been looked on the downswing, and I think FNC can take full advantage of that.

Alternatives to consider: Nisqy ($7,200)

ADC

Crownshot ($7,200)

I said it last weekend, and I’ll say it again: Crownshot was what VIT needed to turn their season around. He’s the rocket fuel in their tank, his explosive, high econ style gives VIT a player to truly play around, and who can set the squad over the edge. The squad has already triumphed over XL and SK to take home their first 2-0 week in relatively dominant fashion, and Crownshot has looked on top the entire way. Luckily for VIT, their next opponents are the last placed Astralis with little good to their name. For an ADC with a higher pedigree with more solid teammates around him, FNC Upset will be a great choice against S04.

Alternatives to consider: Upset ($7,600)

Support

Vander ($5,000)

Finally, Misfits’ support Vander has been unleashed due to, funnily enough, the lack of focus on the bottom lane. Instead, he is free to detach from Kobbe and move around the map with Razork and Vetheo, influencing the top side of the map instead. Despite a slow start, Vander’s last four games have recaptured that impressive gameplay we’ve seen from him before, and I’m confident he can show up well against the coin-flippy bottom lane of MAD. All else, you can also consider Trymbi, who has been an impressive young support for Rogue.

Alternatives to consider: Trymbi ($5,600)

Team

Fnatic ($5,400)

Fnatic have a relatively easy time against an S04 that have slid down lower and lower as the season has progressed. S04 lack firepower aside from a mid laner that has a hard time getting off the ground, and it’s unlikely that Hylissang, Selfmade, and Nisqy will allow him to. For a secondary choice, I recommend Vitality as they look reinvigorated and primed to make a late season surge, perhaps narrowly missing play offs, but still within arms reach.

Alternatives to consider: Team Vitality ($5,200)

Stacks

Jankos & Caps

G2’s mid-jungle has been impressive this season, and against an opponent like XL, it’s likely to be a slaughter. Jankos Nidalee memes aside, Caps has been on top for as long as I can remember, and Jankos has been G2’s long time stable player, being awarded back-to-back MVPs and has been coming back nicely after a bit of a shaky summer 2020.

Crownshot & Labrov

I’m a big fan of VIT’s bottom lane: there was nothing really wrong with Comp, but I’m ecstatic to see Crownshot’s return and get back to what he’s best at: pulling noobs from out of the gutter and carrying them to victory. I still am not high on Milica, and while Skeanz has gotten better with a stronger bottom lane, I hesitate to call him anything more than “8th best jungler” in the LEC. Crownshot and Labrov are VIT’s two best players, and are worth a look against AST.

Selfmade & Nisqy

FNC’s mid-jungle 2v2 hasn’t been as explosive as I’ve preferred, but they’re still strong enough to be considered top 3/top 4. For certain, they’re way stronger than S04’s mid-jungle, who only look good at the correct times: Abbedagge being on his A-game with Gilius being able to back him up against weaker junglers. Selfmade, however, is nowhere near a “weak” jungle.

Top Picks: Odoamne, Caps, Jankos

These three are the top players in their positions with solid match-ups: Caps and Jankos vs Czekolad and Dan are no brainers, best in their respective roles versus bottom 2, or worst overall. Odoamne is amongst the best, and while Jenax is a tough nut to crack, his strong bottom lane and mid-jungle will deprive him of any support, which is precisely where Odoamne wants his opponents.

Top Value: Vander, Crownshot, Vetheo

MSF and VIT are cheap and worth their cost: while MSF may have the harder match-up versus MAD, the latter team is seriously inconsistent whereas MSF have found their secondwind. Speaking of secondwind: Vitality have been playing extremely well with Crownshot, and finally look like a cohesive unit. Versus last placed AST, it should be a done deal for Crownshot and the gang.