RADIO
Jason Malmanger's expert League of Legends (LoL) DFS advice and DraftKings lineup picks for KeSPA Cup on 12/22/20. His top LoL value plays and esports DFS recommendations.
Welcome back, RotoBallers, to my League of Legends DFS column! The League of Legends pre-season is upon us, and we here at Rotoballer have got you covered. Afreeca was embarrassing yesterday, as were my lineups. RedForce and DWG was the takedown lineup for 5k, and amazingly, it was a solo win with just those two teams. Hopefully, whoever built that beautiful lineup can pick up some lovely Christmas treats for their adorable babies 😉
Again, we'll have a format similar to the world's group stage. If you don't recall, the players you roster will accumulate points for both games they play throughout the day. Instead of my regular match breakdown format, I'm going for a more general overview of Group B teams. I think this might be necessary to help us reacquaint ourselves with these teams.
Today, I'll provide my League of Legends advice, analysis, and lineup picks for the KeSPA Cup 2020 slate on DraftKings that lock at 1:00 AM ET on Tuesday, December 22nd, 2020. Make sure you follow me on Twitter @Mr_Malmanger as I often post starting lineups when I see them and other useful info for the slate.
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Fredit Brion
Formerly known as HyFresh Blade and Brion Blade, this team has been a staple at the top of Challengers Korea for a few years now. They could not break through via promotions like some of the other top CK teams did, but with franchising now in the LCK, they could acquire a spot in the top league, sadly though their roster retains many elements of a CK squad.
An uninspired collection of rookies and over the hill vets makes Fredit Brion a threat to finish dead last spring 2021. Their support Crescent is probably the highest-ranked prospect on the roster. He was once a trainee on both T1 and Gen G, so he comes with a high pedigree. Hoya, the top laner, was a backup on Griffin back when they were good, but we've never really seen what he can do at the LCK level. Umti, Chieftan, and Lava all fall under the uninspiring veteran label. We've seen these guys bounce around the LCK and LPL for a while now without much notable success. Hena, their ADC, is a bit of a late bloomer. He is 21 but with only one year of CK experience under his belt.
Fredit Brion plays a very similarly constructed KT Rolster squad and the very promising rebuilt HLE lineup on Tuesday, and I expect them to lose both. The veterans on KT are slightly higher in my eyes, but I don't see them getting over on HLE. At best, they finish the day 1-1, and I feel like that's a stretch. Welcome to a long year Fredit Brion.
Top FRB Plays:
- FADE
Gen G Academy
After letting me down big time in the quarterfinals of the world championships and losing 3-0 to G2, Gen G has rightfully decided to punish their players. Ruler and the boys will be taking a backseat and enjoying their time off while the academy roster contends for the KeSPA Cup.
Gen G won't play until the third match of the slate, and that means we won't have any confirmation of their starters. This is only a problem in the mid lane, but I would expect them to start Karis if you feel bold. They face KT and T1 academy, and they have a chance to go 2-0. I doubt they will, as we have seen Lonley and Youngjae on the LCK stage before without outstanding results. Envy, their ADC, has a 35% win rate in CK, and as such, I can't recommend them for more than salary relief.
Top Gen G Plays:
- YoungJae - JNG
- Envy - ADC
- Khael - SUP
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Hanwa Life Esports
After a rough week that saw Smeb retire, I'm happy to tell you all how good this Hanwa Team could be this year. Hanwa is the team that eventually replaced the Rox Tigers in the LCK, and as such, they will always have a tiny piece of my heart. The roster and the team's spirit may not be the same, but that tiny connection is enough to remind me of my first days watching LOL Esports and always rooting for the underdogs. Speaking of my first days watching LOL, HLE added Deft to the roster.
HLE had one of the biggest offseason of anyone adding Deft and Chovy from DRX and Morgan from Team WE. VSTA remains in the support role after converting from ADC last split, and I'm guessing CaD will get the start in the jungle since he has some LCK experience. The veteran support and the young jungler have a lot to prove, but they have an easy path to success with the other studs on this roster.
I like HLE to go 2-0 to open the tournament. Their biggest test will be in the opener versus the T1 Academy lineup, but they have the star power needed to get over in that match. They also face off with Fredit Brion in their second set of the day, and that's a match I expect them to win easily.
Top HLE Plays:
- Chovy - MID
- Deft - ADC
- Morgan - TOP
- CaD - JNG
KT Rolster
The new-look KT comes off to me as a better version of the Fredit Squad we discussed earlier. They have some solid vets in Ucal, Doran, Zzus, and Hybrid to mix with either of the young jungle talents Bonnie or GIDEON. For me, Doran stepped up at the end of the summer split for DRX, and I'm a bit excited to see if he can build on that without the superstar backing of Chovy and Deft. Zzus is a long time vet of Challengers Korea that will finally get a shot on the LCK stage.
KT opens with Fredit on Tuesday and finishes up with Gen G academy, and they could very well go 2-0 on the day. KT retained their coaches from last year when they were one of the slower teams in the LCK. They put a lot of pressure on the shoulders of Aiming in the previous split, and they will likely focus on the ADC again though Hybrid will fill that role. Hybrid has a great spring split but fell off in the summer. If he returns to that springform, KT can surprise a few teams in the LCK this year.
I have concerns that we may see some roster swaps, possibly even after a win, as they have called up their entire academy roster and have some decisions to make. Jungle with the two competing rookies, support to find the right fit, and possibly mid if Ucal underwhelms are the spots I worry about the most. For that reason, even though I think KT could realistically 2-0, I don't know if I would roster more than a few pieces here.
Top KT Plays:
- Hybrid - ADC
- Doran - Top
- Ucal - MID
T1 Academy
Thanks to T1 and Gen G sending their academy squads instead of the main rosters, Group B contains more guesswork than Group A. This T1 academy has some more familiar names on it and only the one question mark at support.
Top laner Roach has previous LCK experience, and Mowgli returns to the LCK after a two-year absence. Mireu, you might remember from a disappointing stint with HLE. Berserker is a recent addition to the T1 family, and the rookie 17-year-old is a highly ranked solo q player. The support position is up for grabs between former DWG backup Hoit and former Brion support Asper. With T1 adding DWG coach Zefa I'd lean towards Hoit here.
T1 academy faces HLE and Gen G academy tomorrow, and I can't see them doing any better than 1-1. This collection of players is more like a third team to T1, as the backups on the main squad are where most of the talent resides. Berserker might be the best of the bunch but remains untested on stage. I think this T1 squad falls in the same category as the Gen G academy members, salary relief, and deep Gpp play. Someone has to win in the match where they face each other.
Top T1 Plays:
- Berserker - ADC
- Hoit - SUP ( if announced as starter)
- Roach - TOP
Summary
- TLDR - HLE (2-0) KT (2-0 maybe 1-1) Gen G (1-1 maybe 2-0 maybe 0-2) T1 (1-1 maybe 0-2) Fredit Brion (0-2). This group is very up in the air, and the pricing doesn't help anyone. HLE is very solidly the class of this group, with KT likely second, and if you forced me to pick one of the academy squads, it would have to be Gen G. They are cheaper than T1, and I think, have a more reasonable path to a 2-0 day.
- Keep in mind everyone, while this is a bit more serious event than the NEST tournament that we had some action for, in late November, we are still dealing with a Pre-season tournament. Much like the NBA, NFL, and MLB, we can see stars get subbed out early or not play at all. Some teams will take this very seriously as a chance to try out their new rosters, while others like T1 and Gen G, who we will see, are sending their academy rosters to play instead.
- This slate will be tough with all the moving parts, and that could make it a fun Gpp slate if all your guys play. I am looking at you, KT. The pricing is no one's friend, virtually forcing you to play pieces of one of the academy rosters. I think it will be a fascinating roster build that carries the day.
- I'm excited to be back with Rotoballer for the upcoming season of League of Legends action, and I look forward to seeing you all out there on the fantasy rift. Hopefully, we can get someone another big payday on day two!
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