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Welcome back RotoBallers to my League of Legends DFS column! We will continue to extend our analysis for LoL DFS across different leagues and sites, bringing you the insight you need to succeed. Thanks once again for the outpouring of support from the DFS and eSports communities. I can't thank you enough for the kind words on Twitter, and your support has afforded me the opportunity to write about something I love every day.
We're on to the knockout section of the EU Masters. The first-place teams from groups are matched up with the second-place teams from the other groups. These knockout matches will be a best of three format, and that should help our better teams to advance. Spring season is coming to a close, but there are still some massive contests posted in the FanDuel, and DraftKings lobbies, including the 15-dollar Shock Blast that pays 50k to first place!
Today, I'll be providing my League of Legends advice, analysis, and lineup picks for the EU Masters slates on DraftKings and FanDuel that lock at 12:00 PM ET on Wednesday, May 6th, 2020. Make sure you are following me on Twitter @Mr_Malmanger as I often post starting lineups when I see them and other useful info for the slate.
12:00 PM: Movistar Riders vs. Fnatic Rising (-155)
Group C's tiebreaker winner Movistar riders are the only remaining Spanish team in the draw, and they will face the second seed from Group D Fnatic Rising. The UK side has been sloppy at best, and barely squeaked by Energypot Wizards to claim their second seed.
You can see their inability to close out games that they should have won in their near comeback victory versus Mouse on the last day of groups. You can also see the talent the squad has, like in their loss to Wizards on day two of groups where they were able to extend a game that was over in 25 minutes into a 45-minute slugfest.
Fnatic has a very high dragon percentage in the tournament with 72.9%, but Movistar is right behind them with 66.7%, and actually bring a higher rate of takes on the season as a whole. Movistar has a much higher herald rate both in the tournament and on the season, they use this herald priority well, turning it into the first turret of the game in 65% of their games.
This first turret rate is significantly higher than that of Fnatic, and I expect MSR to be ahead in the early game. They will be able to match Fnatic's dragon focus later and take advantage of the English squad's sloppy play late game. I like the Spanish side here to win 2-1.
Overall I think there is more pace to the second matchup of the day, but I do like the upside FNC has if they can win.
Beansu - TOP ($5,800 DraftKings, $8,700 FanDuel)
Top lane is rarely an inspiring spot to pick from, and this slate is no exception. With none of the top-laners available here over 56.4 percent kill participation Beansu's 53.3% is perfectly adequate, and couple that with his bargain price, he can save me a couple of hundred dollars that I can spend on the second set of matches.
Xico - MID ($6,800 DraftKings, $9,000 FanDuel)
The mid-laner for Moviestar Riders does separate himself from the pack on this slate. He brings the highest kill participation and kill share of all the mids today by six and five percent, respectively. He will be a big reason the Riders win here.
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3:00 PM: GamersOrigen (-240) vs. K1ck Neosurf
The final quarterfinal brings the French champions face to face with the darling of the tournament. K1ck Neosurf, the Polish second seed, has fought all the way through the play-in stage to make it this far.
I love the way K1ck plays the game because they do it right. They are an aggressive team with a 57% first blood percentage in the tournament to go with a 71% first turret take. Those numbers are both lower than they were in the play-in portion of EU Masters. They prefer to play the game from ahead, but they have been able to use their team fighting to claw back from the few deficits they have found themselves.
The problem here is I think that GamersOrigen is a team that can handle the pressure that K1 will exert and turn them aside when they try to force the issue before they are ready. I mentioned one reason I liked K1 is their ability to fight back from games where they are behind.
GO have better players who are stronger laners, and I expect them to be able to take and hold early leads vs. K1 even though they have a slower-paced style. A wise man once said, "what good is your superior laning if you are unable to lane?"
That question holds in this matchup in so much as I believe that will be K1's main strategy will be to try to gank early and often to throw GO off their lane kingdom style gameplay. Just as K1's first blood and first turret percentages shrank from play-ins to the main stage versus better competition, I expect to see the same here.
There are ways for both teams to win here, but with the superior talent and the best of three to work with as a safety net, I like GO to take this one 2-1. I can see how K1 could steal it away from GO, and so I expect I'll end up playing a bit of both sides in GPPs.
bluerzor - JNG ($6,600 DraftKings, $8,800 FanDuel)
There hasn't been a slate yet where I've like GO to win and not touted bluerzor, and with his nearly 80% kill participation and 25% kill share, there never will be.
XDSMILEY - ADC ($7,600 DraftKings, $10,400 FanDuel)
The same lack of analysis applies here too XD as well, and with his 73% kill participation and 30.5%, there never will be. Both the jungle and ADC are positions of strength for K1 as well as GO. This similarity will put XDSMILEY and bluerzor in direct conflict with their opposite numbers Shlatan and Puki Style. These matchups will be critical, and in any lineups where I take the K1 side, you better believe I'll start with those two.
Summary
- We're all pretty familiar with two-game slates by now, so anything goes. I like the second match to be the bloodier one and more fantasy-friendly.
- The change to the best of three format takes game stacks out of play for me, but it could make an expensive one-off a good play.
- Today's matches might be the best GPP slate in a while as both matches could swing either way, even though I like GO and MRS to win.
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Looking Forward
The League of Legends DFS action never stops, and we here at Rotoballer have got you covered. EU masters are in full swing, and soon it will be summer split before you know it.
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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Readers of RotoBaller's eSports DFS articles have been winning money on DraftKings and FanDuel regularly. Some of them are winning contests daily and bringing in some serious cheddar. Check one out below and lots more here!
Did you read a RotoBaller article and win too? Send us your screenshots on Twitter @RotoBaller and we'll add it to our winners Hall Of Fame!
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