The first day of the LCS Lock In Tournament had so many storylines. As we see different teams shape out during this tournament, it will be fascinating to see players rise to the occasion or fail to meet expectations. For this slate expect more of a strong showing from 100 Thieves and Evil Geniuses while we see Cloud9 bounce back from their loss on Friday. This run down will cover both the early slate and the late slate games. What a steal! 

Game #1: Immortals v Evil Geniuses (Early Slate)

Cann’s Pick: Evil Geniuses

Game #2: Golden Guardians v Team Solomid  (Early Slate)

Cann’s Pick: Team Solomid

Game #3: Cloud9 v Flyquest  (Early Slate)

Cann’s Pick: Cloud9

Game #4: Immortals v Team Dignitas  (Late Slate)

Cann’s Pick: Immortals

Game #5: Counter Logic Gaming v 100 Thieves  (Late Slate)

Cann’s Pick: 100 Thieves

Captain

Favorite: Perkz (C9: $11,400) Let’s get out in front of Perkz 4-7-2 scoreline from his first LCS match. Cloud9 is obviously experimenting with their new additions but I don’t think they throw this cash paying tournament. When looking at that match we need to understand is that this game fell apart because his top laner (Fudge) could not hold his own. Palafox (FlyQuest) was embarrassed by the roster made up of up and comers in Dignitas. While Dignitas has a lot of upside, FlyQuest should have taken care of them. Perkz doesn’t make a spicy pick here but instead moves to a solid team fighting champ. 

Value Pick: Deftly (EG: $11,400) Deftly put on an absolute clinic in EG’s win over Cloud9. He went 9-2-7 and outclassed Zven (C9’s ADC) multiple times. Deftly has been trying to establish himself into the pro scene and now with Bang returning to the LCK, he is taking the reigns as the top ADC for Evil Geniuses. I have faith in Deflty because he comes from the Cloud9 organization who more than any other NA team knows how to develop young players. Immortals is a complete disaster and while they have upgraded their roster some, with what we saw from Evil Geniuses on Friday it won’t be enough. 

Top Lane

Favorite: Impact (EG: $6,000) Impact put Fudge in a box last night. Some of that is because Evil Geniuses designed their strategy around putting him behind but some of it still does rest on Impact to get the job done. He went 4-1-11 on Renekton last night and was up 25 CS at the end of the game to Fudge’s Ornn (which should have been a strong and easy enough champion to play in your LCS debut). Into Revenge, Impact should have more success seeing as the greatest accomplishment that Revenge has is winning Tyler 1’s meme tournament for streamers and high ranking solo players. I see this getting ugly. 

Value Pick: Licorice (FLY: $5,600) For the second day in a row, I think Licorice’s opponent (Fudge) is wildly overpriced at $6,400. I think Licorice is more talented than his replacement for Cloud9 (*storyline alert*) and last night showed it when Fudge went 1-2-5 on Ornn. With that said, Licorice also had a poor performance on one of the most simple champions to play, but that stems from a horrific FlyQuest draft. If they stick Licorice on tank duty today, I am going to start worrying about him throughout this split. Licorice is one of the most mechanically gifted players from North America… put the man on a carry top. 

Jungle

Favorite: Blaber (C9: $7,200) Blaber’s 3-4-3 score line is very misleading. He was wildly ahead of Svenskeren for most of the early game. The problem for Blaber in this game was his top laner (Fudge) and mid laner (Perkz) were major deficits for the team as a whole. And the champion Blaber had chosen (Lillia) has serious limitations when just carrying on her own. I didn’t mind the pick at all for him but when your two solo lakers have a combined death count of 9, it makes the game really hard. I am expecting a big bounce back game here. 

Value Pick: Svenskeren (EG: $$6,800) Sven showed a lot of promise in the first day of matches. While he got behind Blaber in farming (which should not happen on the Champion he had chosen, Graves) he did transition very well into the mid game. Sven looked to follow up on engages and he went mid-frequently to ensure that Perkz never had the chance to get into the game. Against Potluck and Immortals, he should have an easier time getting and staying ahead. 

Mid Lane

Favorite: PowerOfEvil (TSM: $7,800) I think people will sell their stocks on Team Solomid far too quickly after yesterday's game. Oddly enough, as a Packers fan, that match yesterday reminded me a lot of the Packers/Bucs game this year. There are times in sports and competition where you fall too far behind and your opponent can have their way with the game because there are no clear paths back into a game. This is what happened with 100 Thieves. They played clean in the early game and TSM made a lot of mistakes and by the time they started getting items it was too late. While Golden Guardians looked good on Friday, I think TSM bounces back hard. It will take a while for the team to really synergize and play well together. Also, POE does not lay back to back duds. He will not go 0-3-1 today.  

Value Pick: Insanity (IMT: $6,800) Insanity was a very pleasant surprise last year during the dumpster fire that was Immortals 2020 season. I think as this team figures out their roster, it will include Insanity. As a domestic talent, he is one of the better players NA has produced in the mid lane (North America historically likes importing this position). On an abysmal roster last year he still was able to earn a 2.71 KDA, and normally he loses the laning phase very hard. If he has cleaned this up over the break, he will be a solid mid to pick up with a cheap price tag. This is a riskier pick for saving you money elsewhere, I probably wouldn’t put this on your main lineup. 

ADC

Favorite: Zven (C9: $7,800) Zven is a pretty forgettable ADC in NA. When he started in Europe, he was a flashy player who was able to create his own openings. Yesterday he was forced onto the Lucian I believe because Cloud9 was trying to find a favorable matchup for Perkz. Today I am guessing Cloud9 settles more into the meta to pick up a few wins. This means Zven probably will play more of the Jhin or Kai’sa which are much stronger right now. While I am excited about FlyQuest's new bot lane, FlyQuest just does not have the same firepower when it comes to talent across the roster. Should be a good day at the office for Cloud9 and Zven. 

Value Pick: Deftly (EG: $7,600) I honestly think this should be the $7,800 player but hey, I’ll take the free salary capital. Over the span of the entire team, Evil Geniuses just have a better roster. If I was doing draft for Immortals today, I am banning Kai’Sa because Deflt looked lethal on it. This is a great place to save a few bucks.

Support

Favorite: IgNar (EG: $5,600) IgNar has been one of the most consistent supports in North American League of Legends for the past two seasons. The Korean support made a name for himself in the LEC and brings a combination of map roaming and in lane aggression that is really cool to watch. IgNar finds opportunities to get his ADC ahead and then roams around the map to create opportunities with his jungler. I don’t know how well Immortal’s Raes and Destiny will hold up in this matchup. 

Value Pick: Newbie (GG: $4,800) Newbie had a pretty impressive debut to the LCS on Friday night. He went 0-2-15 (7.5 KDA) and was able to successfully keep Stixxay (Golden Guardian’s ADC) alive against a CLG team that was designed to quickly burst down one single target. He knew when to roam out of lane, which I think is a skill that usually takes a while for supports to master on the competitive level. I think the benefit for Newbie this season is the fact that he is playing alongside a long time veteran in Stixxay. Stixxay is not the most aggressive of ADCs, he will teach Newbie more about the importance of wave management and playing losing lanes without losing the match. Look for Newbie to one of the shining stars in this lineup.

Team

Favorite: Team Solomid ($5,400) This is the biggest bounceback of the day. While I think Cloud9 wins, I also think FlyQuest plays better than they did on Friday. Huni and company will have their hands full with this young Golden Guardians roster, but there is just entirely too much skill to pick against them. 

Value Pick: Evil Geniuses ($5,000) Immortals is pretty widely seen as the worst or second worst team in the LCS. Unless something dramatic happens with their new botlane, I think that narrative continues.

Cann’s Example Lineup For The Main Slate

Captain (x1.5): Deftly ($11,400)

     Alternate: Perkz ($11,400)

Top: Impact ($6,000)

Jungle: Blaber ($7,200)

     Alternate: Svenskeren ($6,800)

Mid: Insanity ($6,800)

ADC:Lost ($8,000)

     Alternate: Keith ($7,000)

Support: SwordArt ($5,800)

Team: Evil Geniuses ($5,000)

Late Slate Breakdown

Captain

Favorite: FBI (100T: $11,700) Maybe only second to Tactical and Deftly, FBI won the night on Friday. He went 4-0-4 and 100 Thieves showed off how much Golden Guardians was missing.While I think at some point 100T will eventually need to move off of Damonte, FBI is an early darkhorse pick for MVP this split. Watch for how he and huhi take the next steps as a bot lane duo.

Value Pick: Insanity (IMT: $10,200) Insanity was a bright spot for a broken Immortals roster last year. You could really see how green he was in some matches, trying too hard to make a play or misplaying a laning phase. I am banking on a level of growth here for Insanity and that Immortals new bot lane brings a spark to the organization. 

Top Lane

Favorite: Ssumday (100T: $6,600) Ssumday finally has a decent team in NA. 100 Thieves thought they put together a strong roster last year, but they were so disjointed. Enter the jungler, mid laner, ADC, and support from Golden Guardians. 100 Thieves were able to hustle the best parts of both rosters and this team could be a legitimate team moving through 2021. Ssumday put Huni in his back pocket going 3-0-1 while Huni went 1-4-0 for TSM. Counter Logic Gaming’s  top laner (Solo) comes from FlyQuest where he was their greatest weakness. If I had more faith in drafting for 100 Thieves, I may have taken Ssumday as Captain in this slate. 

Value Pick: Revenge (IMT: $5,600) This is more of a cost pickup. I don’t think Revenge is anything exceptional but he comes at such a low price point. Don’t get me wrong, not a fan of this Immortals team but that being said, I am not a fan of the Team Dignitas lineup either. This game feels coin flippy to me so I side with price on this one. 

Jungle

Favorite: Closer (100T: $7,000) I will make an absolute take-quake or a take here. I think Closer is better than Blaber. Closer is young, was stuck in the Golden Guardians organization, and had Huantzer as a top laner last year. Blaber was playing for C9 and had exceptional solo lanes that could back up his aggression. I think with Ssumday in the top lane now and a meta that could allow those two to just bury some poor top laner (maybe one named Solo?) he is going to rack up huge points. He went 2-0-7 in the 100T win over TSM which could mean a solid trajectory moving forward. 

Value Pick: Dardoch (Dig: $6,600) Dardoch was supposed to be North America’s version of Peanut. A little bit of a chip on his shoulder, talks a lot of trash, and can take over a game. He does have a huge downside of being wildly volatile and can be pretty toxic with his teammates. I like him against Potluck for just the sheer skill matchup difference, but I worry about him being able to close out the game. 

Mid Lane

Favorite: Soligo (Dig: $7,400) Now this slate will be all about which 100T players do you pick up and where. Damonte won’t be the player to pop off with 8 kills. So it may be better to spend that 100T spot elsewhere. Soligo had a great game against Palafox and FlyQuest yesterday going 5-0-4 on the flashy pick of Yone. Insanity is a decent mid player who focuses on playing for late game teamfights so flashier picks may not be as effective into him but with Soligo’s performance on Friday, it is hard to count him out. 

Value Pick: Insanity (IMT: $6,800) Take everything I said about Soligo and flip it. Insanity isn’t flashy nor does he really win laning phase. What he does, and does pretty well, is win late game teamfights. He will pick up most of his points from minutes 18 minutes on. So when you’re watching this, have faith in Insanity.   

ADC

Favorite: FBI (100T: 7,800) See my rationale in the Captain slot. Darkhorse. MVP. Book it. 

Value Pick: Neo (Dig: $7,600) I waffled back and forth between Raes and Neo. What broke it for me was the fact that we don’t know how well Raes will perform in NA. Make your best guess for the bot lane here. I think the Neo/Raes match up will determine the outcome of this match.

Support

Favorite: huhi (100T: $5,800) This actually ended up a pretty weak support pick up on Friday because TSM lost to 100T so quickly. I think wins that fast don’t happen normally and huhi will be able to pick up more than 0-1-3 in this matchup. 

Value Pick: Aphromoo ($5,400) Whether Immortals trots out Destiny or someone else as support, I will pick Aphromoo here. Aphromoo is one of the last great players from the first generation of League players. Much like a player like Adam Vinatieri in the NFL, Aphromoo is timeless but also plays in a position where his play can go overlooked. Aphromoo does the right things but a lot of times that can go without notice. Look for a solid game out of him today. 

Team

Favorite: 100 Thieves ($5,400)  Only explanation needed is that Counter Logic Gaming is terrible. Even if they had their starting jungler in Broxah, I would probably pick against them in most matches. 

Value Pick: Immortals ($4,800) I cannot emphasize enough how much of a coin flip this game feels. I think a lot of people are going to knee jerk react and pick all Dignitas because of their performance on Friday, but I think that team can lay an egg of a match just as quickly. Good price on a team in a match that could break either way. 

Cann’s Example Lineup For The Late Slate

 

Captain (x1.5): FBI ($11,400)

     Alternate: Soligo ($11,100)

Top: Ssumday ($6,600)

Jungle: Closer ($7,000)

     Alternate: Dardoch ($6,600)

Mid: Soligo ($7,400)

ADC: Raes ($7,000)

     Alternate: Neo ($7,600)

Support: Destiny ($4,800)

Team: 100 Thieves ($5,400)