Welcome to RotoBaller's coverage of League of Legends DFS for FanDuel and DraftKings. Hopefully, you've been following our coverage of the LPL/LCK overnight slates on DraftKings. Today, I will be focusing on the LEC and LCS playoffs slates that are available on both FanDuel and DraftKings.
Both FanDuel and DraftKings are finally on the same page here and have the same games on this Sunday slate. I am going to break down all three matches and try my best to explain how I will approach each of the slates individually. One important thing to note is that these matches are now "bo5" (best of five) series which changes things quite a bit from the usual single-game format of regular-season matches.
Today we'll be bringing on our top League of Legends advice, analysis, and picks, for the LEC/LCS playoffs combo slate on FanDuel and DraftKings on Sunday, April 5th at 11:00 AM. Follow me on twitter @ThunderDanDFS and definitely make sure you're following my LoL mentor and our RotoBaller lead ESports analyst @Mr_Malmanger, too!
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League of Legends DFS Basics
I am stealing most of these tips from our lead analyst, Jason Malmanger. Since LEC contests are being offered on both FanDuel and DraftKings, it's important to note some pricing discrepancies from site to site, but the roster slots, scoring, and roster construction rules are almost entirely identical with the only exception being that FanDuel forces you to roster at least one player (or team slot) from a third team, while you can play only two teams among your seven roster slots on DraftKings.
- . Stacking in LoL DFS lineups is very important. 4-3 stacks are the order of the day (on DraftKings) with 3-3-1 becoming more popular (and necessary on FanDuel) as people try to differentiate their lineups in these suddenly large-field GPPs.
- In LoL DFS, it is very important to focus on players from winning teams. Think in terms of baseball, one side of the matchup is like a pitcher and the other side the batter. This means there is a very negative correlation between teams in the same match. Players score by accumulating kills, which costs the other side points in deaths. Just like earned runs bring down your pitcher’s score.
- Along with this another mistake I see beginners making is trusting average scoring. Players' scoring potential is only realized in games that are won. If player X averages 50 DKP, that likely comes from scoring 70 in a 2-0 win and 30 in an 0-2 defeat. What this means is that someone who looks like a value at $4800 suddenly might not end up being such a great point-per-dollar play.
- Finally, you're going to want to do your best you fill your captain slot with an ADC or MID. Depending on which teams and players you decide to stack that might not be feasible. The order of preference for your captain slot is generally ADC, MID, JNG, TOP, SUP. Some players in some positions may stand out above the others so consider stats like kill share before you make your final decision.
NOTE: An important detail to note in regards to scoring is that both teams and players can get a double bonus for sweeping their opponent 3-0 in the best of five format. Each player receives 20 extra points in a 3-1 series victory, while teams get 15 additional points. That becomes 40 points per player in a sweep and 30 points per team. Both DraftKings and FanDuel both have the same scoring rules for this bonus.
LEC Losers' Bracket
11:00 AM: Misfits (-145) vs Rogue
Here we have the fifth-seeded Misfits taking on the sixth-seed Rogue squad in an elimination game. The winner will take on Origen in the losers' bracket and live to fight another day. These two teams faced each other twice during the regular season with Rogue winning both of those matchups.
Both teams limped into the playoffs as Rogue dropped their last four matches while Misfits lost four of their last five. This game is pretty much a toss-up, and the odds reflect that. I lean to the Rogue side here, based on their statistical advantages in first tower rate, gold difference in first the 15 minutes, and first blood rate.
These teams have very similar fighting stats, and this one has the potential to go four or five games, which would give the players from the winning team a ton of upside on this slate. Rogue is priced very affordably on FanDuel and grabbing a few pieces makes it a lot easier to fit a three or four-man C9 stack.
Top Rogue Stack:
- Inspired - JNG (7900 FD, 6400 DK)
- Larssen - MID (8200 FD, 7200)
- Hans sama - ADC (9400 FD, 7400 DK)
- Favorite Captain = Hans Sama
Top Misfits Stack:
- Dan Dan - TOP (8300 FD, 6200 DK)
- Bvoy - ADC (9600 FD, 7600 DK)
- Razork - JNG (8200 FD, 6600 DK)
LCS Round One
4:00 PM: Cloud 9 (-2000) vs 100 Thieves
Cloud 9 has been the class of the LCS all season, rolling through the rest of the league on their way to a 17-1 record. They beat 100T in both head-to-head matchups and in convincing fashion. I know we saw an improbable upset of G2 in the LEC yesterday, but that seems unlikely to happen here as C9 is just that much better than the rest of this league.
The winner of this game advances to round two of the winner's bracket which virtually serves as a semifinal with the winner of that series going straight to the finals. It's very easy to fit a four-man C9 stack on DraftKings with their pricing and that should be the chalk build. It's hard to get away from that because C9 is going to score a ton of points whether they win 3-0, 3-1, or 3-2.
If you think they sweep, then stack them with one of the teams from the LEC game, but if you think 100T can push the series to a fifth game then a game-stack is viable here as we saw the MAD-G2 game-stack go crazy on Friday.
Top C9 Stack:
- Blaber - JNG (9000 FD, 7000 DK)
- Vulcan - SUP (8200 FD, 5600 DK)
- Zven - ADC (10300 FD, 8000 DK)
- Nisqy - MID (9300 FD, 7800 DK)
- Favorite captain = Blaber
Top 100T Stack:
- Cody Sun - ADC (9200 FD, 6800 DK)
- Ssumday - TOP (7900 FD, 5400 DK)
- Ryoma - MID (8800 FD, 6600 DK)
Summary
- Yes, we saw a crazy upset yesterday of G2, but C9 is an even bigger favorite today and it's hard to get away from them in any format.
- I lean Rogue over Misfits in their series, but it's worth hedging.
- I think we have to consider some game stacks on these two match slates with the potential for some crazy numbers in five-game series from both teams in the same match.
Be sure to check back throughout the week as we'll be publishing daily ESports DFS articles, analysis and lineup picks for League Of Legends, Counter Strike, Rocket League and eNASCAR. Thanks for reading, and good luck RotoBallers!
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