RADIO
Welcome back to my League of Legends DFS column here at RotoBaller! We will continue to extend our analysis for LoL DFS across different leagues and sites, bringing you the insight you need to succeed. With four more games on the docket tonight in the LPL and LCK and the LCS and LEC playoffs in full swing, it's an excellent time for ESports DFS enthusiasts like myself and the number of contests on FanDuel and DraftKings continues to grow.
We have reached the final day of the play-in stage of the EU masters tournament, and I'm sure the thought has crossed your mind, "What exactly is this?" Think of it as EuroLeague NBA meets Triple-A ball. The LEC doesn't have an academy league like the LCS does, but what they do have is a vibrant collection of national associations to use as a feeder system for new talent and a retirement home for older. Most of the winners of those domestic leagues spring playoffs moved on the main stage, which starts in a week. Those who don't auto qualify into the main stage faced off this week in the play-ins, which ends today with four best of three knockout matches to determine the final teams that advance to the main stage.
It's so awesome to see these massive contests in ESports DFS, and one can only hope that the enthusiasm for our sport continues even after the rest of the sports world resumes. Today, I'll be providing my League of Legends advice, analysis, and picks, for this EU Masters slate on DraftKings that locks at 12:00 PM on Thursday, April 9th, 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: GamerLegion (-1200) vs. Intrepid Fox
The first match of play-ins features Gamerlegion as a big favorite over Intrepid Fox. GL from the Prime League in Germany finished their regular season in sixth place in the league, only barely qualifying for playoffs. I those playoffs, they made some noise and finished third to advance to the play-ins.
The Prime League is typically powerful in EU Masters play; as such, they have two teams auto qualify for the main stage. GamerLegion will look to join their brothers mouz esports and Schalke 04 Evolution. Intrepid Fox, on the other hand, took control of their regular spring season, finishing first, but then disappointed in the playoffs by getting swept in the finals by We Love Gaming.
In the group stage, GL went 5-1 taking home first in a more challenging group while IF went 4-2 in group play to earn second place. IF plays fast and loose, they averaged over 23 deaths per loss in the tournament; their style makes this an excellent spot for Team GamerLegion.
Rabble - JNG ($7,200)
Rabble sits third on the team in KP% behind both members of his bot lane. He has played 16 different champions this split that's good for first on the side. With that kind of flexibility, it allows GamerLegion a lot of leeway in drafts to pinch the enemy jungler's champion pool.
Hjarnan - ADC ($8,000)
Speaking of flexibility, former G2 ADC Hjarnan has played 15 champions good for second on the team. He and his bot lane partner Visdom are tied for the team lead in KP%, and Hjarnan himself holds the lead in kill share. As a former LEC player, Hjarnan is one of the premier players in the EU Masters tournament, and he may be looking to showcase his skills here in hopes of getting one last shot in Europe's top league.
12:00 PM: Raccoon vs. eSuba (-185)
eSuba dominated both their domestic leagues' regular season and playoffs dropping only three games throughout both tournaments. Racoon came third in their regular season and advanced to second in the playoffs, only narrowly losing 3-1 in the finals to the regular season champs YDN.
Raccoon, though, won their play-in group with a 5-1 record, while eSuba finished second within their group at 4-2. eSuba's group was the stronger of the two, and I like the early game pressure they put out. Averaging over 80% on both first blood and first turret eSuba also focuses rift herald very hard to help secure those early leads.
I like them a lot here; they are the second biggest favorites looking at the odds, but most players are priced third, so a little bit of value there on a team I predict to score very well.
Robocop - TOP ($6,400)
With the extreme rift herald focus that eSuba tends to spend a lot of time focusing around the top of the map. Robocop has a nearly 60%KP, which is on the high side for a top-laner. He pairs well with his jungler Jejky, who I expect to maintain close proximity with him in the early game.
Random - MID ($7,400)
We've often talked about mid jungle duos as one of the better pairings you can make, and I like the top half of the map for eSuba here. Random leads the team in kill share and has a similar KP% to his ADC couple that with his huge champion pool, and he should be able to find advantages all over the map on Thursday.
2:00 PM: Defuse Kids (-145) vs. Sector 1
The Defuse Kids finished second in the Dutch League spring regular season but were able to best the first-place team in the playoffs to secure their berth in the play-in stage. Belgian League spring champions Sector 1 had no problem in both their regular season and their playoffs. They didn't lose a single game in either.
There aren't many team stats available for these leagues, but these two teams have some history in other regional tournaments. As is often the case for these smaller local teams, there is a lot of roster turn over, but in this case, DK's mid jungle duo of Hades and Chapapi remained he same in all the meetings with S1 from 2019.
Night has been the steady rock for S1 in the mid-lane; unfortunately, he lost every match vs. DK's Chapapi in 2019. With a game score of 13-1 in favor of Defuse Kids in the recent matches, I believe that trend continues here on Thursday.
Hades - JNG ($6,600)
I can't mention how DK has abused S1 in their recent history thanks to their mid-jungle duo without having them among my recommended players in this match. Hades is second on the team with a 66.7 KP%. Draftkings priced him as the fourth most expensive jungler on Thursday as well, so there is some value here. Chapapi, his partner in crime, is also priced down for this matchup.
Goose - ADC ($7,800)
All the money I can save on those two will immediately be reinvested into DK's new ADC Goose. Much like G2 in the LEC Defuse grabbed the best player of a rival team getting Goose from league rival Echo Zulu. He has been a stellar addition to the squad and leads the team in KP% and kill share by a wide margin.
2:00 PM: K1CK Neosurf vs. Mad Lions Madrid (-145)
The final match of the day is a close contest between a pair of squads that disappointed a bit in their spring playoffs. K1ck finished their regular season in second place and started their playoff run outright by defeating the first-place team to the losers bracket with a 3-1 series win.
Unfortunately for them, AGO Rogue fought back through the losers' bracket and defeated K1ck 3-1 in the finals. Mad Lions Madrid finished their regular season in second place but were quickly removed from the playoffs by the third-place team without even winning a game. In the play-in stage, K1ck won their group with a 5-1 record while MAD finished second in their group with a 4-2 standing. K1 is a bit better in the early game with better first blood, rift herald, and gold differential numbers.
Later on, their vision control is a bit better even though MAD has slightly better baron numbers. EU Masters is being played on patch 10.7, which is trending towards a bot focused meta. I think that gives K1ck an advantage as their ADC Puki Style will find some of his favorite champions catching buffs. I still believe this is a matchup you can hedge on DraftKings, but I think I'll go heavier on the underdog.
Puki Style - ADC ($7,200)
Puki might only have the third-highest KP%, but his kill share is out of this world at nearly 37%. His champion pool caught some buffs in the recent patch as the meta shifts more to the bottom half of the map. I would look to do the classic two-man stack with his SUP Raxxo. Rax has been playing a lot of engage champions like Rakan to set up Puki's high damage champions for success.
Shlatan - JNG ($6,400)
The jungler leads the team in KP with 72.6%; his Gragas play this spring has been superb. He is undefeated on the champion in spring. Gragas remains useful throughout the game with his ability to scale his damage when ahead and retain disengage and utility with a well placed explosive cask at any time.
Summary
I've given you my thoughts for Thursday's EU Masters play-in knockout stage. I like three of the favorites to bring home wins on Thursday and only one underdog. My favorite stack is up between GamerLegion and eSuba, but I expect GamerLegion to be very chalky as a heavy favorite.
With the play style of Intrepid Fox, I can see why ownership will trend in that direction. I'm looking forward to these matches and seeing how these play-in teams will match up on the main stage in a few weeks' time.
Looking Forward
With LPL and LCK overnight slates continuing through mid-April, we here at RotoBaller have got you covered. The League of Legends DFS action never stops. The LEC and LCS playoffs are in full swing, and EU Masters will move on the main stage.
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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