Hey everyone, good morning/afternoon, and welcome to RotoBaller's coverage of League of Legends DFS for both FanDuel and DraftKings. Be on the lookout for coverage of the LPL, LCK, and LEC as well as we have some great analysts covering all LoL leagues for the Summer Split. Today, I'll be focusing on the 5-game LCS slate starting at 6 P.M. EST.
There was a ton of drama this week in the LCS, primarily to do with CLG. CLG is owned by the Madison Square Garden Company and issues are not new for this team/ownership duo. Ex-Coach Mathew Alexander (xSojin) commented on the matter "MSG is the biggest problem with CLG," "Players in constant fear for their jobs cause MSG one week can just request a roster swap," and my favorite, "at some point, it's like "HMMM" were you really on CLG if you didn't have a mental breakdown at some point?" Clearly, there is an issue at play here, but the results of the drama for this week are a mid-swap with Pobelter being the benched player and Damonte being brought in for the starting squad.
Today I'll be bringing you my League of Legends advice and analysis for the five-game LCS slate that locks on Friday, July 16th, at 6:00 PM. Thanks for reading, you can find me on Twitter @nvanhareDFS for more DFS related content!
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LCS Matchups
- FlyQuest(+154) vs. TSM(-190)
- 100 Thieves (-368) vs. Dignitas (+284)
- Cloud9 (-264) vs. Immortals (+210)
- CounterLogic Gaming (+251) vs. Liquid (-321)
- Evil Geniuses (-246) vs. Golden Guardians(+197)
Interesting start to the weekend here, two games I really think are toss ups and 3 that are clearly lopsided in one way.
FlyQuest vs. TSM
Last weekend with their Academy team promoted to the main stage, FlyQuest went 3-0 and took down Immortals, CLG, and Cloud9. While it's not the toughest schedule for a weekend, it still looks promising for their play moving forward. They have a much tougher weekend and if they can even sneak out 1-2 wins I'll be mega-impressed with these young players. In addition to them playing well, they've also been great for DFS. They love to dictate the pace, an important tidbit when playing TSM, and they've loved to get into teamfights.
TSM is definitely a top team in the league, but it's a bo1 format and we've seen them struggle before and drop games. I'm definitely not going to be heavily playing FlyQuest but I don't hate them as a GPP stack. I definitely won't be playing much TSM though, if they get out in front here, expect a slow grueling game.
Top FQ Plays: Triple, Nxi
Top TSM Plays: PowerOfEvil, TSM
100 Thieves vs. Dignitas
Dignitas came out and destroyed CLG at the end of last weekend to salvage a 1-2 stint. They've really struggled this split and with the constant roster swaps, I don't think they get it together any time soon. 100 Thieves haven't looked wonderful this year, especially last weekend going 1-2, but I still believe they are a very talented team. I used to be a huge Dignitas fan, and they did win vs CLG, but I can't get on board with them here. 100T is a favorite of mine in both GPP, Dignitas loves a high-paced game, and in cash with their high floor/ceiling combo. If you do choose to play Dignitas I suggest doing it in large field GPPs only.
Top 100T plays: Closer, Abbedagge
Top DIG plays: Neo, Aphromoo
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Cloud9 vs. Immortals
After a 1-2 weekend last time out, C9 looks to get back on track here against a much worse team, IMT. C9 hasn't looked special this year but neither has IMT and I still have some bias towards Zven and crew. C9 and IMT both have played at moderate paces this split and given their similar styles it should stay the same here.
Immortals lost all 3 last weekend and also look to bounce back but face a tough opponent in C9. If IMT are going to win it's going to have to come through some team fight wins so they definitely have a nice ceiling in their winning outcomes. An outcome like 12-4 IMT just isn't likely.
Overall, C9 makes for a good GPP stack and consideration in cash while IMT is purely GPP.
Top C9 plays: Zven, Blaber
Top IMT Plays: Insanity, Raes
CounterLogic Gaming vs. Liquid
CLG drama this week again, for the nth time this year. This time they've decided to bench Pobelter and bring in Damonte. Now I'm definitely not a League of Legends coach, but this move seems pretty awful for this team. I don't think Pobelter was the weak link I just think the team isn't great. This week, new mid, coming against Liquid: I have no hope for CLG. I'm not going to be using them at all and I love Liquid in both GPP and cash on this slate.
Liquid has been on top of their game lately and even in their losses have looked good, except for the one game vs GG. If you're playing Liquid, Tactical is a must-play because they just funnel their whole gameplan through him. Tactical+coreJJ is a great two-stack.
Top Liquid Plays: Tactical, Armao, Jensen
Golden Guardians vs. Evil Geniuses
I've been on both the EG and GG hype trains for a while now, and now I get the battle I've been looking forward to. This is going to likely be my highest targeted game for GPPs with main stacks of both sides. Both of these teams like to fight, especially GG, and neither gives up when they fall behind. All signs point towards a good spot for DFS.
For EG, Danny has been playing out of his mind and he and Impact are my top priorities. For GG, they have such a team fight dynamic that I don't mind the use of any of them, they all have massive ceilings. I think EG comes in a bit over-owned in this spot given their recent win vs Clown9 and GG becomes an even better leverage spot for this reason.
I wouldn't use either side in Cash, but both make for great GPP plays.
Top EG Plays: Danny, Impact,
Top GG Plays: Stixxay, Ablazeolive
Summary
- CLG is in a really tough spot this week with drama, Damonte, and playing Liquid, look to avoid them.
- I don't mind shots at GG in this matchup, looks to be a high pace spot.
- I'm hoping FQ continues their dominance with this academy squad, should be a tough, but fun to watch, game for them!
- I'm not one to make predictions but I'm going to have a fun 5 game parlay each week where I post my picks here in the summary. This week I'm going with FQ, 100T, C9, TL, EG. ! Good luck to all that are playing this weekend!
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