Welcome to RotoBaller's League of Legends DFS column. We'll continue ramping up our analysis for LoL DFS and focus on bringing you the insight you need to succeed. I'd just like to take a minute to thank all of you for reading my column on a daily basis and for all the positive support on Twitter. The LoL DFS community is truly a great one and I'm really happy to be able to provide content for this incredible sport as often as I have been.
Now having said all that, tonight gets a little tricky. About an hour before last night's slate locked, there was an announcement from the LPL. The three games scheduled on Saturday a.m. has been postponed. China is having a national day of mourning to recognize those who have passed due to COVID-19 and to thank the hard-working health care professionals who helped fight the pandemic. The LPL will resume on Sunday morning. This announcement leaves us with a bit of a surprise three-game LCK-only slate.
Today, I'll be providing my League of Legends advice, analysis, and picks, for this LCK slate on DraftKings that locks at 2:00 AM on Friday, April 4th, 2020. The odds listed are current at the time of writing and courtesy of Bovada.
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LCK Matches
2:00 AM: KT Rolster (-450) vs. APK Prince
Since losing 2-0 to APK in week three, KT reeled off eight wins in a row before losing their last match 2-0 to DRX. APK hasn't faired as well but now find themselves with a two-match win streak of their own. KT will be looking to get back on track and to get revenge.
The next match KT has after this is vs. T1, but it isn't until next Friday. They will not be guilty of looking ahead. APK will face a Griffin squad that showed some life recently on Sunday. KT is going to be a top target for me on Saturday. KT should start ahead and be able to control the game via objectives on their way to a sweep.
KT has better first blood, first turret, rift herald, gold generation, and CSM. That screams early game advantage. Their gold differential at 15 minutes is 482, compared to APK, who are at -1292. APK lead the slate tomorrow in deaths per loss, so these KT player have some upside.
Aiming - ADC ($8,200)
Aiming leads the league among ADCs with 79.9% kill participation, and 39.6% kill share. Those numbers, combined with KT's upside, make him likely to be the top raw points option on the slate.
bonO - JNG ($7,200)
Bono made a name for himself during KT's long win streak. He stands just behind Aiming on KT with a 77.1% KP. Unfortunately, he is not the value-priced option he has been recently as DraftKings pricing has begun to catch up to his production. He remains a solid play despite not being as economical on Saturday's slate as we're used to seeing him.
5:00 AM: Sandbox Gaming (-120) vs. Hanwa Life Esports
Sandbox has had a rough week so far. They faced off with DRX and GEN G. They have to face T1 in their next match after this one, but again it isn't until later next week. I liked HLE earlier in the week vs. DWG, unfortunately, DWG's hot streak continued.
HLE got off to very slow starts in both of those games that they were never able to overcome. For the season, they are tied with APK for the worst gold differential at 15 minutes. Even with such a poor gold differential, HLE has better first blood and first turret numbers than SBG. HLE should still be behind at the end of the laning phase.
SBG has better objective control than the side of HLE. Their baron takes, drake, and vision controls are all superior. With them projected to have an early lead and still be in control of the late-game objectives, this looks like an SBG win to me. HLE doesn't die as much as APK, but this is my second favorite spot on the slate.
Punch - JNG - ($7,000)
Since joining the starting lineup, Punch leads the team in KP%. He is 200$ cheaper than bonO on DraftKings and is in a similar spot to succeed. You can pair him with Summit as I'm assuming that he starts in the top lane.
Route - ADC - ($7,800)
Route sits second on the team in KP% and is first in kill share. Both of those numbers are in the top half of the league for ADCs. HLE messes around with the ADC position a lot. Recently they have been putting Zenit their starting ADC from last year back into the position. He hasn't been productive in his starts this year so far, and this increases my love for Route.
8:00 AM: Dragon X vs. Gen G (-265)
Finally, the LCK provides us with another top tier matchup. DRX and GEN G face-off here in a match that I expect to go all three games. With no GNP bonus in the offering, I expect this to be the lowest-scoring of the three matches Saturday.
Team stats point to GEN G being superior every objective stat. The two teams' vision stats are nearly identical. Even though DRX is a snowball type of team and GEN G are more grinders, GEN has slightly better early game numbers as well. I still think DRX finds a way to jump out to at least one early lead and ride that wave to completion.
Korea's playoff system is unique - it's called the Gauntlet. Five teams make it in, and in the first round, fourth plays fifth. Whoever wins advances to play number three and so on. Playoff seeding is maybe even more important here than anywhere else. These teams need to bring their best stuff. I would hedge this matchup. DRX can win here even though I prefer GEN G.
Rascal - TOP ($6,200)
The tope lane might be the best matchup across the board for the side of GEN G. Rascal's 56.4% KP isn't the best, but his price and matchup are nice. I have him slightly behind SoHwan in my ranks, but I do like this matchup for him.
Clid - JNG - ($6,800)
In the week three matchup between these two teams Clid was dominant in the two games that GEN G won. He ended with 14 and 18 assists in those two games. He's tied for the team lead in KP% Plus he's the cheapest of the three Junglers on the team I expect to win.
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 will start their playoffs this weekend, and EU Masters kicks off next week.
Check back throughout the week as we'll publish more ESports League of Legends advice, analysis, and DFS lineup picks. Thanks for reading, and good luck RotoBallers!
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