This article is part of our DraftKings League of Legends series.
DraftKings LoL: Saturday Cheat Sheet
Today on DraftKings' there is a special $5k Critical Strike tournament with first prize taking home a cool $1,000. This is a good thing for daily fantasy eSports as it marks one of the first large prize pool tournaments since sites started hosting DFS for eSports. Looking at Saturday's NA LCS slate, Immortals, Echo Fox, and Team Liquid go into the day as heavy favorites while Apex look to be the closest underdog in their match against NRG. Another thing to note is just how cheap Cloud 9 players are based off of their tough matchup against IMT. I'm not sure Cloud 9 will win the series but it is hard not to take a shot on some of these players at such cheap prices.
Top Lane: Huni (IMT vs. C9, $7,400)
It's hard to really recommend anyone else as the top play when Huni is on the slate because he always possesses the highest upside. That upside comes with a price, but he usually lives up to his high salary. I don't think C9 will just roll over for IMT, but Immortals are the biggest favorite on the board. If you want to go cheaper I like Seraph on the lower end of the price spectrum while KFO should see any easy series against Phoenix1.
Top Lane Player to Avoid: Lourlo (TL vs. nV, $7,300):
I like Lourlo and would expect Team Liquid to win this matchup, but I'm not sure he can return enough value at his salary. Seraph is a good player and will present a tough lane matchup for Lourlo, while nV should not be taken lightly. Through in the fact that the Lourlo/Dardoch synergy we saw in the Spring won't be available Saturday and Lourlo may not have the best of series, even if TL win.
Jungle: Shrimp (Apex vs. NRG, $5,600)
If you aren't paying up for Reignover then the jungle is kind of a mess today. Shrimp is my suggestion based off of pure value, but if you wanted to take a shot on Hard I wouldn't mind either. I think Apex can give NRG a run for their money and Shrimp has shown an aggressive style in the past that translates well for fantasy.
Jungle Player to Avoid: Moon (TL vs. nV, $7,100):
The matchup looks decent for Team Liquid and I'd expect them to win, but the issue comes with the lack of time Moon has had with Team Liquid. With Dardoch only being suspended last week, the new jungler hasn't had a ton of opportunity to mesh with his new team just yet. For a jungler this can be tough to coordinate gank timings without the synergy in place with your laners. If I'm paying up I'd find a way to get Reignover into the jungle for $100 more.
Middle Lane: Fenix (TL vs. nV, $8,000):
Mid lane actually feels pretty stacked today with Fenix, Pobelter, and Froggen at the top and strong value plays like Keane and Jensen at a ridiculously low $5,500. I like Fenix the best of the bunch even though Ninja is a formidable opponent in the mid lane. If Team Liquid take this series it'll be through Fenix and their bottom lane and Fenix has shown he can carry in the past.
Middle Lane Player to Avoid: Pobelter (IMT vs. C9, $8,100)
Pobelter is finally starting to get the respect he deserves after an excellent split with Immortals in the Spring, yet here I am telling you to avoid him. I think he's actually a fine play, but if you want to use Immortals it's hard to fit a lot of their roster into your lineup based on how expensive they are. Pobelter is one of the IMT players I'd avoid as his matchup with Jensen isn't the best despite what the price difference on DraftKings presents. I'd rather get Huni, WildTurtle or Reignover into my lineups if I'm spending up on Immortals.
ADC: Piglet (TL vs. nV, $8,100)
Like I said about Fenix, if Team Liquid win this series look for Piglet to be a big reason why. nV could surprise but the Liquid bot lane has the most favorable of the lane matchups in the series and will need to dominate Lod and Hakuho to give their team a big advantage. I think WildTurtle is a fine play at the top and also like Keith, while Sneaky presents great upside at only $5,600 in a tough matchup.
ADC Player to Avoid: OHQ (NRG vs. APX, $7,300):
OHQ played ok last night against nV, but not well enough to take a series win. I think that APX could be in line to shock an NRG team that are still looking to mesh with their new lineup. NRG should be stronger as the season rolls along, but may continue their bumpy start. I would rather play Keith for $200 more than take a shot on OHQ today.
Support: Xpecial (APX vs. NRG, $4,900)
I'll be up front and say that I am playing tournaments only today and don't have Xpecial in either one of my rosters, but I think if you're playing cash he's an excellent punt at support. Matt and Adrian are the best plays at the top, but I can see Xpecial finishing with multiple 10+ assist games in the series against NRG and at this low salary that would be incredible value. Using Xpecial allows you to pay up elsewhere and get similar upside potential that the top two supports have.
Support Player to Avoid: KiWiKiD (NRG vs. APX, $5,500)
On the flip side I do not think KiWiKiD is worth using even at a cheap price. He's prone to making mistakes at times and while most will think NRG should take this series, I'm not 100% sure they will. If you're going to spend down I like going for a cheaper Xpecial.
Team: Echo Fox vs. P1 ($5,100):
Although none of their players headline any of my rankings above, you'll notice in the analysis that I like Echo Fox in what should be an easy series against Phoenix 1. Echo Fox came together well towards the end of last season and while I don't view them as a top four team, they should be middle of the pack while Phoenix 1 is destined for relegation.
