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 LEC slate starting at 11 A.M. EST.
Today went fairly straightforward except for SK surprising the world and taking down MAD lions. Fnatic and G2 both went nuts in wins, as always, and tomorrow we get to pit the two against each other. Saturday's slate is full of close matchups and fun LoL to watch.
Today I'll be bringing you my League of Legends advice and analysis for the five-game LCS slate that locks on Saturday, July 17th, at 11:00 AM. Thanks for reading, you can find me on Twitter @nvanhareDFS for more DFS related content!
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LEC Matchups
- SK Gaming(+104) vs. Excel(-127)
- FC Schalke 04(+175) vs. Misfits (-217)
- Vitality (+168) vs. MAD Lions (-208)
- Rogue (-425) vs. Astralis (+323)
- Fnatic (-106) vs. G2(-114)
SK Gaming vs. Excel
SK came out today and shocked everyone taking down MAD Lions. It wasn't a pretty win, but a win is a win. 10-6 was the final kill totals with SK having 2.3 assists per kill for sub-par kill=participation. Lillip has seemed to be a major improvement to the team and I like their chances to go 2-0 over this weekend.
Excel continues to disappoint me. I had so much hope for them today vs. Misfits and they came out strong. Much to my displeasure, they threw the game early-mid game and kept falling behind after that. Their reluctance to work together in team fights became their demise as MSF was able to pick them off one by one in the objective fights.
Overall, I'm not a huge fan of this game for DFS stacks but I'd lean slightly more towards playing SK than XL. Excel is a team on the decline and in a slump while SK is just getting started.
Top SK Plays: Treatz, Jezu
Top XL Plays: Markoon, Nukeduck
FC Schalke 04 vs. Misfits
Misfits were gifted their game today on a silver platter. They didn't play well, their opponents gave them a victory. I've never been a huge fan of the MSF team but they continue to prove me wrong time and again so I'm not ruling them out. Especially against a team like S04 where they have some severely weak links like their Jungler Kirei. They've now lost four in a row and are outmatched generally by this MSF team.
These teams play at an average pace compared to the league so I'm not expecting to see fireworks from either side in this one. I'm likely going to be considering these players in smaller stacks for the most part in my builds tomorrow.
MSF makes for a decent cash play and both sides are average GPP plays.
Top S04 plays: Nuclearint, Neon
Top MSF plays: Razork, HiRit
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Vitality vs. MAD Lions
One of two top-tier matchups we have today, Vitality takes on the MAD Lions. Lately, it's seemed more like they're the SISSY Kittens, but maybe they'll show up tomorrow and play. Both of these teams play very high pace in their wins and I'm likely to play a lot of this game in GPP stacks.
Vitality lost today to G2, but that's not something to be ashamed of. They put up a good fight and lost at the end of a long game. However, Vitality's season has been less than stellar. They have a really talented team that just hasn't gotten it together yet. I believe in Crownie and the boys and can definitely see them turning their season around. MAD Lions are also a very talented team but have played much better than Vitality has this split so far. I like Vitality to win here tomorrow but both sides are viable and make for great GPP stacks.
For what it's worth, last time out VIT won 22-13.
Top VIT plays: Crownshot, LIDER
Top MAD plays: Elyoya, Carzzy
Rogue vs. Astralis
There isn't a ton of analysis for this matchup. While Astralis has shown a bit of skill in a few of their matchups this split, overall they've struggled and are below the curve in terms of skill in this league. They're especially below the curve when compared to Rogue, a top team in the LEC.
Rogue is easily my favorite Cash Stack of the day and makes for good GPP plays as well as Astralis likes to give it up in losses, especially promisq. Long story short, don't play Astralis, play Rogue.
Top Rogue Plays: Hans Sama, Larssen
G2 vs. Fnatic
The most exciting game of every split, G2 vs. Fnatic. These are the historically best teams in the league and both play with high pace and a predilection for fighting often. These games never disappoint and always make for a great end to a day of LEC.
I wouldn't look to target either of these teams in cash, but I'd make sure to use both of these teams often in GPPs. According to sportsbooks, this game is likely to have the highest kill totals on the slate and I definitely agree. In the last 3 games, they've played the winning team had 20, 19, and 24 kills. This is not a trend that's short-lived either, the high kill total in this matchup has been going on for years.
In short, this is not a game that I'm looking to miss out on. There's massive upside for the winner and I'd make sure to get major exposure to this game in my builds.
Top G2 Plays: Caps, Jankos, Rekkles
Top FNC Plays: Bwipo, Upset, Nisqy
Summary
- SK Gaming could make some noise against Excel and I'm going to target them.
- Dont play Astralis, Rogue is far superior.
- Vitality vs. MAD looks like a game I'm going to want to target as well as G2 FNC as my main exposures.
- 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 SK, S04, VIT, RGE, and G2! Good luck to all that are playing this weekend!
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