LPL Spring Split Day 12 

Invictus Gaming v eStar Gaming

Suning v Rare Atom

LCK Spring Split Day 6

Liiv SANDBOX v Afreeca Freecs

DRX v Nongshim RedForce 

This is a shorter slate with big implications. There have been some serious surprises thus far about which teams are succeeding and those who are failing. This slate feels a little chalky which means I can almost guarantee this is n’t going to play out like normal. Either way, we are watching the LPL which means we should expect some serious fireworks!  

Game #1 Invictus Gaming v eStar Gaming

Cann’s Pick: Invictus Gaming

Game #2 Suning v Rare Atom

Cann’s Pick: Suning

Game #3 Liiv SANDBOX v Afreeca Freecs 

Cann’s Pick: Afreeca Freecs 

Game #4 DRX v Nongshim RedForce 

Cann’s Pick: Nongshim RedForce

Captain

Favorite: Rookie (IG: $11,700) I find eStar to kind of be a sham of a 2-1 team in the LPL right now. In their 3 matches they lost 2-1 to a mediocre BLG and beat RW and OMG, who both are horrific. With two fluff matches the mid laner for eStar (irma) still only has a 5.1 KDA. Invictus Gaming is 1-2 and has played JDG, Team WE, and LNG (the last two teams are in the top 3 teams of the LPL). With facing the top teams in the league, Rookie has a 5.8 KDA with only getting the counter pick 29% of the time. Rookie is probably in the conversation for top 3 mid laners in the LPL and I see him stacking quite a few kills against irma in the mid lane.  

Value Pick: Bay (SUN: $11,100) Much like Invictus Gaming, I think Nongshim RedForce are victims of their early schedule. They faced the top of the league talent and 2020 World Champions in DWG in their second match which does nothing to help your stats. Looking at his scoreline from playing LSB (who is pretty equatable to DRX, maybe a little worse) he had a 2-8-13 series (1.9 KDA0 and scored 42.04 FPTS. I think against DRX’s SOLKA, he should be closer to this scoreline.  

Top Lane

Favorite: bin (SUN: $6,600) I normally say such a big pricetag for top laners is not usually worth it. With the changes to how top lane plays and just the skill level of bin on this slate… go for it. His opponent from Rare Atom (Cube) has a staggering 1.1 KDA into his own 7.4 KDA and the main reason is Cube faced Top Esports and could not play into his advantages. In both matches Cube should have been able to at least hold his own if not win. Instead he went a collective 4-7-4 and was completely useless in both games moving into the late game. On the other hand, in Suning’s 3 game loss to RNG Bin still managed to go 6-4-16 with a KDA of 5.5. I think bin should be well worth the cash here. 

Value Pick: Kiin (AF: $6,000) Among the four possible choices for top laners in the LCK on this slate Kiin is a sneaky good pick. He currently has a KDA of 3.9 and has played DRX and BRO. Admittedly BRO is horrible, but he showed up which is important. Afreeca Freecs should be favored here with an overall better roster so Kiin should be a safe place to save some cash. 

Jungle

Favorite: SofM (SUN: $7,000) I think SofM had such an amazing series into Top Esports and then fell flat on his face against RNG. Playing into Rare Atom, he should be able to get his footing again. The RA jungler (Aix) has a KDA of 1 in his match into Top Esports. While Top Esports is a good team, they are inconsistent throughout a match and many times leave openings for you to take control. SofM did it when they played TES and Aix was just not skilled enough to do so. My guess is RA goes 0-2 after being swept by Suning.

Value Pick: Dread (AF: $6,400) I think Dread falls into the same category as Kiin. I think Dread is sneaky good, even if it is just against the bottom of the league. I may not pick Dread into players like Canyon or Cuzz, I will pick him gladly into the LSB jungler Croco. 

Mid Lane

Favorite: Rookie (IG: $7,800) Check my Captain analysis. Rookie is just the best overall player on the slate. DraftKings put the ADCs from IG above him but I think that is more reflective of how many points ADCs are picking up, not how much better they are. If IG struggles at all, Rookie will retain his points and he will STYLE on irma. Ts & Ps for irma. 

Value Pick: Angel (SUN: $7,600) Angel is similar to Rookie in the sense that you 100% know what you get from him. He surprisingly has more kills than he is known for (21 kills through 5 games) he is really the rock for Suning because he does not die (8 deaths through 5 games). Not losing points is undervalued by DFS players for League of Legends. You negate half a kill every time they die which can toss away the benefit from a lot of kills from aggressive players if they constantly die. Great pick up here at a great rate. 

ADC

Favorite: huanfeng (SUN: $7,800) This man has a 10 KDA. That is nuts. Through 5 games (including a 3 game series loss to RNG) this man has 23 kills, 6 deaths, and 37 assists. ADCs are so insanely strong right now and the game between Suning and Rare Atom is an absolute ocean. The saddest part is iBoy at one point was seen as a top 3 LPL ADC and a hopeful LPL star. He is trapped on a subpar team and in two games played he has a 0.6 KDA. While I expect him to bring that up through the season, probably not tomorrow.  

Value Pick: Bang (AF: $7,400) Bang feels like the LCK option to huanfeng. He has a 8.3 KDA and the lowest number of deaths compared to the other LCK ADCs with only 6 deaths. He is starting to feel his stride again (as a previous World Champion) with 23 kills and 27 assists through 5 games. LSB’s ADC isn’t terrible (Route) and has a respectable KDA of 3.7, but he is not on the same skill level of Bang and I think LSB as a team will struggle to get advantages in this match.   

Support

Favorite: Baolan (IG: $5,800) Of all of the IG players to have their stats most negatively impacted by their early schedule, Baolan is hit hardest. Baolan’s playstyle is aggressive and looks for flashy engages both in lane and in later teamfights. I think there are some decision making issues here but he has the mechanical skill to follow it up. The problem is when you do this and your team is behind, you tend to just feed (hence his 30 deaths in 7 games). Into eStar, I expect ShiauC to come down to earth a little bit and IG should begin their climb towards top 5. 

Value Pick: Lehends (AF: $5,200) I love Lehends. Much like Baolan, he is an aggressive engager who makes opportunities for his teammates. He has 48 assists in 5 games and even more impressively only has 11 deaths. I love his ability to read the map and be where he needs to be. He will roam, find intelligent times to make plays, and focus protecting his carries. Quality player and should have a good day at the office.  

Team

Favorite: Invictus Gaming ($5,600)  I think the bounce back big time this week. They have a team KD into three top tier teams. Their schedule begins to get easier from here and I think the resurgence of TheShy and Rookie will take the LPL by storm. 

Value Pick: Nongshim RedForce ($5,200) Much like IG, I think NS is a victim of playing a top tier team early and their stats look far worse. You have DWG behind you and now you get the chance to beat up on DRX. These two teams are pretty equal so I could see it being 2-1 either way, but the difference here is that NS will have more of a fighting chance to play well. This is a good pick up if you are short on cash here.  

Cann’s Example Lineup

Captain (x1.5): huanfeng ($11,700)

     Alternate: deokdam ($10,800)

Top: TheShy ($6,400)

Jungle: Dread ($6,400)

Mid: Rookie ($7,800)

     Alternate: Bay ($7,400)

ADC: Bang ($7,400)

     Alternate: Wink ($8,000)

Support: Lehends ($5,200)

Team: Afreeca Freecs ($5,000)