This article is part of our DraftKings League of Legends series.
DraftKings LoL LCS: Thursday Cheat Sheet
Can you believe we're already in the final week of the LCS Spring Split? Man it's really flown by. It's actually been a pretty intriguing split in EU this year with three teams vying for the top seed (Vitality, H2K, and G2) and three teams tied at 9-7 jockeying for playoff seeding (Fnatic, Origen, and UoL). We know what teams are in the EU LCS playoffs, but there's still a lot to play for this week.
All five games Thursday have clear favorites and clear underdogs. The favorites include G2, H2K, Vitality, Fnatic, and Origen. It's impossible to make a lineup from just these five teams so we have to look for value elsewhere. That being said, I am really struggling to suggest using players from the bottom four teams today. I don't see any upside there, as each of those teams was rocked in their first meetings against Thursday's opponents, save for one. Surprisingly, way back in Week One ROCCAT actually beat Vitality, their Week Nine opponents. A lot has happened since then, including a lot of losing. Since their 2-0 start after Week One, ROCCAT has managed to win just one game since. Vitality should win this rematch easily, but I might fade this game entirely as there was only nine kills between the teams in Week One.
UoL are the underdog team to use this week. In the reverse of the aforementioned ROCCAT/Vitality matchup, H2K and UoL combined for 37 kills in their first matchup of the season. While I'm not positive we'll see that type of fantasy output Thursday, UoL kept that game close and have the best chance of any underdog to win today. H2K are the better team, specializing in the art of avoidance, but if UoL can pressure them and win team fights they can certainly push H2K to the brink. Today is probably not a day for cash games since you need to find a lot of value with the top teams priced pretty highly.
Daily Player Recommendations:
Top Lane:
Vizicsacsi (UoL vs. H2K, $5,500): We have to find spots to utilize some value today and top lane is the first area to look at. Vizicsacsi is underpriced for his upside and although I don't see a high 30+ point performance coming, I can definitely see 25-29 points if UoL win this game. In the first meeting he played extremely well going 8/6/3 on Ryze. WIth Ryze falling out of favor, expect him to play a tank or a split pusher in the top lane. Either way, if UoL win he'll probably score five times his salary.
Other Suggestions: Kikis (G2 vs. SPY, $7,500), Gamsu (FNC vs. EL, $7,300)
Top Lane Player to Avoid:
sOAZ (OG vs. GIA, $7,400): sOAZ is actually a good pick to differentiate yourself in tournaments today. But unless you fancy a top laner from one of the bottom four teams (which you should already know to avoid), I have to pick sOAZ for this category. Of the favorites, Origen have the easiest matchup against a GIANTS! team with four new members, but I still don't expect sOAZ to put up high numbers. Outside of his 50 point performance against Splyce, his game logs look terrible, as his high score in the last four weeks has barely scraped over 13 points. He's a hard pass for me today.
Jungle:
Spirit (FNC vs. EL, $7,100): Shook has been racking up the assists lately for Fnatic and his performance has been as steady as any jungler in the EU LCS the last few weeks. He lacks the upside of Trick, but he still has some terrific value thanks to an excellent matchup against Elements. I view him as a lock to get 20+ points with the potential to get 35-40 if the game goes long enough.
Other Suggestions: Trick (G2 vs. SPY, $7,200), Jankos (H2K vs. UoL, $6,900)
Jungle Player to Avoid:
Shook (VIT vs. ROC, $7,300): I'm fine if you want to use him, but the reason I put him here is because I think you can go a little cheaper with other junglers for similar production. That said, he's been pretty consistent in Vitality wins and has scored over 30 points in three of his last five games. This game could be a bit more passive than other games as well, which might limit Shook's potential upside.
Middle Lane:
Febiven (FNC vs. EL, $8,200): Fnatic is starting to hit their stride heading into the playoffs and Febiven is a big reason why. After a good performance at IEM Katowice, Febiven followed it up with 37 points against GIANTS! and 28 points in a loss to Vitality. He looks likely to score into the mid thirties again today in a matchup Fnatic should win easily.
Other Suggestions: Nukeduck (VIT vs. ROC, $8,300), Perkz (G2 vs. SPY, $8,300), Ryu (H2K vs. UoL, $7,900)
Mid Laner to Avoid:
Fox (UoL vs. H2k, $6,100): I said above, I like UoL as the underdog to use today, but you need to pick which members from UoL to use carefully. Although Fox has been pretty consistent, putting up 20+ point performances in bunches, his upside is capped compared to other mid laners. Realistically there are at least four mid laners who should score over 30 points today in Febiven, Perkz, Nukeduck, and potentially PowerOfEvil. Fox doesn't possess the upside of the other three, even at his depressed salary.
ADC:
Steelback (UoL vs. H2K, $6,200): Definitely not the top pick or the safest choice, but he's one of three UoL players I'm using in my lineups. If UoL manages to win the game Steelback will be a big reason why, as he's been the main carry for UoL most of this season. He's averaging over 30 points his last four games and like Csacsi if UoL can force H2K to fight and win this game he probably gets five times his salary as a fantasy point total.
Other Suggestions: Emperor (G2 vs. SPY, $8,300), Rekkles (FNC vs. EL, $8,200), Zven (OG vs. GIA, $8,300), Hjarnan (VIT vs. ROC, $8,400)
ADC Player to Avoid:
FORG1VEN (H2k vs. UoL, $8,000): Kind of like I said above for Shook, I have no problem if you want to use FORG1VEN today. He's the cheapest of the big five ADCs and has been playing extremely well. While FORG1VEN seems to wind up in this slot every week, it's more of due to the lack of options this week - you already know not to use someone from the bottom four teams and I also think the ADCs above probably have more upside.
Support:
Hylissang (UoL vs. H2K, $4,000): It's all about his price. Hylissang hasn't been playing as well recently compared to earlier in the split, but on a day where there isn't much value I cannot justify paying up at support. He makes the most sense out of the cheap supports because as I've mentioned I like UoL as the best underdog today.
Other Suggestions: kaSing (VIT vs. ROC, $6,400), Mithy (OG vs. GIA, $6,300), Hybrid (G2 vs. SPY, $6,300)
Support Player to Avoid:
Klaj (FNC vs. EL, $6,100): If you do want to pay up at support, I wouldn't recommend Klaj. Fnatic should win this game easily and he certainly has a shot at 10+ assists, the issue is that he also seems to die a lot at times. I think the three supports listed above are safer to use if you pay up in this role.
Team:
UoL vs. H2K (3,600): Hey guys, did you know that I really like UoL today? All kidding aside, they are the cheapest underdog with the best chance at winning. It's definitely not the safest pick, but it has the best chance of paying off. This is why I said today is a day for tournaments. It's really hard to pay up for a team and not have to use a bottom four player in at least a flex spot.
