LCS Friday

(-650) Cloud9 v CounterLogic Gaming (+400)

(+120) Evil Geniuses v TSM (-155)

(-185) 100 Thieves v Immortals (+145)

(-325) Team Liquid v Team Dignitas (+230)

(+175) Golden Guardians v FlyQuest (-230)

LCS finishes its last week until mid-season showdown, starting on Friday: Cloud9 looks to take another win off CLG, TSM looks to secure their standings by taking down a shaky Evil Geniuses, 100 Thieves looks for success with their new mid laner, Ry0ma against a team on the periphery of play-offs in Immortals, Team Liquid and Team Dignitas face off in an extremely exciting and close match-up, and FlyQuest try to prove they’re not doomed for next season by taking down last placed Golden Guardians. Let’s get into the picks.

Captain

Josedeodo ($10,200)

Josedeodo is the only player on the swamp that is FlyQuest. Palafox has been underwhelming, Licorice hasn’t lived up to his hype, Johnsun has been average, and Diamond has looked like one of the worst supports in the league. Fortunately, Golden Guardians is a train wreck that is on fire that is having an oil slick poured on top of it. Josedeodo should defeat Iconic in the jungle handedly, and snowball through the rest of the Golden Guardians with ease. He comes in cheap too, and you won’t have to compromise much elsewhere. For a different choice, I’d pick up C9’s mid laner Perkz who should get an easy game against Pobelter.

Alternatives to consider: Perkz ($11,700)

Top Lane

Huni ($6,400)

TSM’s Huni is the perennially coinflip player, he can look like one of the best players one day, and literally look like one of the worst the next. To call him an “emotional” player is an understatement. Fortunately for TSM, they’ve hit their stride and look relatively well off, and while EG’s Impact is one of the best top laners in the league, the squad as a whole have looked shaky and primed for Huni to run through them. If you prefer a more stable presence, I think Ssumday versus Revenge is clearly Ssumday favored and despite 100 Thieves’ grievances, they should secure the win versus Immortals.

Alternatives to consider: Ssumday ($6,600)

Jungle

Blaber ($7,600)

Blaber is an early contender for MVP in my opinion: he crushed Spica on Sunday before TSM miraculously came back to defeat Cloud9, and he’s looked like the absolute best jungler all split. Getting him at a relatively reasonable price point is a steal, and he has a great match-up versus Broxah. He has solid laners across the board, despite a relatively average top laner; which shouldn’t be a massive issue against Finn. For a second choice, I’d pick up Closer versus Xerxe; Closer has had a decent second run too, but I’d do my best to secure either Blaber or Josedeodo.

Alternatives to consider: Closer ($7,200)

Mid Lane

Perkz ($7,800)

The Perkz experiment has worked out well for Cloud9; while first is something to be excited about, I think Cloud9 hasn’t been the powerhouse we expected in the off-season. That being said, Perkz versus Pobelter is a one sided match-up you’d have to wait for worlds to witness, but now, you get to see it several times a year: I’d prefer not to, because it’s typically a slaughter. On Friday, I expect more of the same, Perkz crushing Pobelter as always. For a cheaper option, I think PowerofEvil has been a key component in TSM’s resurgence, and against Jiizuke he’s an obvious option.

Alternatives to consider: PowerofEvil ($7,000)

ADC

Lost ($7,200)

Deftly has been disappointing despite his high KDAs, he seems as limp wristed as I remember him from his first two splits on Golden Guardians. His laning is still solid, but he isn’t punishing or aggressive, and doesn’t stand up well in teamfights. Meanwhile, Lost has improved considerably over the split, and he defeated Deftly handedly last time they met. For a second choice, I’d pick up Johnsun who gets a free ride against the worst bottom lane in the league in Golden Guardians: even an average Johnsun is a great choice against a truly horrendous Newbie and Stixxay.

Alternatives to consider: Johnsun ($7,400)

Support

Vulcan ($6,000)

To complete the Cloud9 stack, support Vulcan against Smoothie is a solid best: Smoothie is the “coinflip” player on CLG, in my opinion, and support is a pretty horrendous place to have a flipper unless his highs are absolutely insane like Hylissang. Unfortunately for CLG, Smoothie’s highs are “top 5 in the league” as opposed to “top 5 in the world”. Vulcan should crush Smoothie and snowball the map even on a good day for Smoothie, racking up points all the way. For a second option, complete the TSM duo and pick up SwordArt who mirrors playstyle with support IgNar.

Alternatives to consider: SwordArt ($5,000)

Team

Team SoloMid ($4,800)

Team SoloMid versus Evil Geniuses definitely would have looked differently at the beginning of the season, but TSM have shown clear improvement in the integration of their bottom lane, and I think they will defeat EG just as they did in the first round robin. Otherwise, I think Cloud9 and FlyQuest are both solid choices: Cloud9 will definitely beat CLG, while FlyQuest is a better “value” choice, in my opinion.

Alternatives to consider: Cloud9 ($5,800)

Stacks

Blaber & Perkz

Cloud9’s mid-jungle has been the success story for them in the league: Blaber has gapped junglers left and right and Perkz has been a solid, albeit underwhelming considering his reputation, mid laner. That being said, he’s well worth the cash against a weak team like CLG. Don’t miss out on these two.

Lost & PowerofEvil

The carries for TSM are a logical choice: both Jiizuke and Deftly will be incapable of punishing the chosen style for each TSM player. Both players are scalers who are relatively risk averse, whereas both EG laners prefer to cut down more proactive players who make movements across the map. Jiizuke in particular is completely coinflip and will likely fall to the more stable PoE.

Josedeodo & Johnsun

For a value choice, I’d recommend the jungle and ADC for FlyQuest: they’re put in the drivers seat against last place Golden Guardians, who have little upside on their roster and are on a 6 game losing streak. That isn’t expected to change on Friday, despite FlyQuest being out of play-off contention, I’m sure they’re eager to prove they’re worthy of their starting spots on the team.

Top Picks: Perkz, PowerofEvil, Blaber

Cloud9 and TSM round out the top picks, for good reason too: Liquid and Dignitas are tied up in a battle of the ages, and 100 Thieves looks pretty inconsistent. Perkz and Blaber comprise the best mid-jungle 2v2 in the league, and PowerofEvil is a solid resource sponge that’s capable of putting up big numbers with the tools he’s handed.

Top Value: Josedeodo, Lost, Aphromoo

Despite the fact that I refuse to call it: I do think Dignitas will defeat Liquid. It’s impossible to tell from where though: but part of me thinks Dardoch will work some magic alongside Neo and Aphromoo to take the win, but with that aside, I’d recommend grabbing FlyQuest’s jungler in their match-up versus Golden Guardians, and combining him with Lost who can outperform Deftly in teamfights, the point of the game where players usually accrue the most points.