RADIO
Hello there, LoL enthusiasts, and welcome back to RotoBaller's coverage of LCS for the 2020 Summer split on FanDuel and DraftKings. The LCS has been a lot of fun to cover this season and we've already seen a number of big upsets and some major improvement by some teams while others have begun to falter by the wayside.
Yesterday kicked off week 8 of the LCS summer split. That means after this week there is only one more week until playoffs. As I've mentioned in the past, the LCS is trying a new playoff format this year where 8 out of the 10 teams are going to make the playoffs. This means that unlike other leagues, no team is really out of it pending tiebreakers and such. As we go through the weekend we may start to eliminate teams but for now let's get into this slate, which might be a tough one.
Today I'll be bringing you my League of Legends DFS picks, advice, and analysis for the four-game LCS slate on FanDuel and DraftKings that locks on Saturday, August 1st, at 4:00 PM. Feel free to follow me on Twitter @Governor98. Thanks for reading, now let's get to the strategy and picks!
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League of Legends DFS Basics
Since LCS 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.
Game 1: 100T (5-9) vs. FLY(8-6) (-195)
We start off with a game between two teams who are in the middle of the pack. FLY is currently in fourth and 100T is tied for seventh. Both teams will be motivated as the shuffle for playoff seeding continues. The kill total for this one is 21, however, when looking at the teams' kills per win and deaths per loss, you get a different picture. These stats can be seen below: (KPW = Kills per win, DPL = Deaths per loss.)
FLY - KPW 16.25, DPL 15.1
100T - KPW 17.6, DPL 15.7
I think that the KPW for 100T is a little skewed as they've had a couple of games that got out of control and they poured it on late. I would give the edge to FLY in this one. They lead in both gold differential at 15 mins and have a league-leading 71% first blood percentage. They have a significant advantage in the mid lane with POE going up against the inferior Ryoma. FLY should roll this one.
Top FLY plays: PowerOfEvil, Santorin, Wildturtle, Solo, FLY team
Game 2: GGS (7-7) vs. C9 (11-3) (-575)
C9 has been dropping games left and right lately. They've not really looked like themselves recently, drafting team comps that are interesting, to say the least, emphasize on the int. They are going to need to clean it up if they want to take 1st place for the regular season and take the bye back from TL. With that being said I think they get back on track here. I just don't believe that GGS has the firepower to stay with C9 and although I really like the direction GGS is going, C9 is going to come out hungry and show that they're not chokers and they need this win to get back into the hunt for the bye.
Top C9 Plays: Nisqy, Blaber, Licorice, Zven, Vulcan, C9 team
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Game 3: CLG (5-9) vs. TL (12-3) (-345)
This game seems the most straight forward of the slate. TL has been on a tear lately and they've catapulted themselves into first place. Although they've been winning their recent matchups, they haven't put up huge kill numbers, just averaging 13.2 kills per win. They play a very controlled game where they control objectives and play macro before the one or two big fights that win them the game. My favorite play from this game is actually the TL team slot. I think that they are a good one-off for FD and I don't mind them in cash on DK. I would mostly look elsewhere I think.
Top TL plays: TL team
Game 4: IMT (3-11) vs. DIG (4-11) (-125)
This is going to be a very interesting game. These are the bottom two teams in the league but this is still a must-win game for both teams if they want any shot at sneaking into the playoffs. In most cases, when both teams have a little something to play for, the game tends to be slower paced as both teams are trying their best not to make mistakes. This is a pretty tough game to call but I think I'd go with DIG. They definitely need to quicken their pace but they have the talent to take care of this one. Look for Johnsun to have a big game if DIG comes out on top.
Top DIG plays: Johnsun, Fenix, Dardoch, Aphromoo, V1per, DIG team
Summary
- Favorite stacks: (Not a lot to love but we have to play someone, right?) C9, FLY, DIG, TL
- Oddly enough the TL game has the highest kill total but I think it goes under.
- Players are listed in the order that I prefer playing them.
I mentioned this in our RotoBaller Slack chat, but if you guys ever have specific questions I feel as though in LCS where the games are best of one, it can be very hard to look at numbers and try to correlate those numbers to successful lineups. There's a lot more variance in LCS then there is in other leagues because of the fact that teams can't mess up or it costs them a whole matchup, there's no move on to next game until playoffs. Teams play games especially slow in the LCS because of this in my opinion and we see it on the scoreboard with the long, drawn-out games with the low kill totals. But getting back to my main point of this rant, if you have questions my twitter DMs are open and feel free to @ me in the slack with anything you may have whether it's strategy or 1v1s or just general analysis. Good Luck Everyone!
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