This article is part of our DraftKings League of Legends series.
DraftKings LoL MSI: Saturday Cheat Sheet
This has been a pretty amazing tournament thus far. SK Telecom T1 (SKT) are tilting hard, but have a great matchup against SuperMassive (SM) as one of their two games today. I think they bounce back in that game at least. Royal Never Give Up (RNG) are the favorites at this point and have two interesting games vs. Flash Wolves (FW) and Counter Logic Gaming (CLG). Let's get into today's picks.
Daily Player Recommendations MSI Round One:
Top Lane Chalk: Looper (RNG vs. FW, $6,600):
RNG have been excellent throughout this tournament and Looper has been an important reason why. The two other chalk options are Kikis and Duke, but SuperMassive was able to play very close to G2's level, and SKT have been on a bit of a slide. I think when you combine those facts, Looper is the safest option, but Duke and Kikis may have more upside and potential to score more fantasy points.
Top Lane Value: Darshan (CLG vs. SKT, $4,900):
Are SKT on tilt? Picking on SKT comes with risk, but their slide over the last two days has me thinking that CLG, including Darshan at this low price, could provide major savings and upside today.
Jungle Chalk: mlxg (RNG vs. FW, $6,300)
Mlxg has been the best jungler at MSI thus far. His carry style in the jungle translates well into fantasy points in most cases. I think that he's worth using even in a tougher matchup against FW, as his upside is massive.
Jungle Value: Karsa (FW vs. RNG, $5,600):
Even though we're using mlxg as the chalk play, I'm not opposed to using Karsa in this game either. FW have been playing well at MSI and Karsa is a good player that I used a lot as a cheap jungler at Worlds last year. If the matchup scares you off, it's easy to switch to Xmithie, who's an even cheaper option at jungler, but Karsa should be able to fair just fine against RNG.
Middle Lane Chalk: Perkz (G2 vs. SM, $8,600):
Putting Perkz as the chalk is a scary proposition. He played extremely well in the return match against SM in what was a very close game. Even though G2 are struggling, I think they'll win this game and I expect Perkz to be a big reason why. Xiaohu is safer, but Perkz has the better matchup.
Middle Lane Value: Maple (FW vs. RNG, $6,600)
Maple and FW have actually been playing really well this tournament. It's crazy that Maple is only 18 and standing up against a player like Faker. RNG present a tough matchup but I wouldn't feel too bad about using Maple on Saturday.
ADC Chalk: wuxx (RNG vs. FW, $7,500)
This is a very accessible price for a player who's been performing extremely well and has Mata in his corner. This should be a good, close game, but I like RNG to win it. Just hope it doesn't turn into a total macro game.
ADC Value: Stixxay (CLG vs. SKT, $5,600):
It's always risky to pick on SKT, but Stixxay put up over 40 fantasy points in their first meeting. His low price allows you some flexibility to put whoever you want into your lineup.
Support Chalk: Hybrid (G2 vs. SM, $6,600)
Again, I wouldn't normally pay up for a support this highly priced, but he dominated with 20 assists in the first game.
Support Value: Aphromoo (CLG vs. SKT, $3,800)
The $3,800 price tag is just way too low for a good player like Aphro. Factor in his 14 assists in the first meeting against SKT and he's an excellent upside play at a low salary.
Team: G2 vs. SM ($6,400):
G2 haven't been real good at MSI and the first game against SM was extremely close. That said I still like them to pull out the win on Saturday and if it's close like the last game that gives us some upside in terms of G2 taking more objectives, thus scoring more points.
Daily Player Recommendations MSI Round Two:
Top Lane Chalk: Duke (SKT vs. SM, $8,000)
SKT have been struggling, but a matchup against SM could be just what they need to get back on track.
Top Lane Value: MMD (FW vs. G2, $6,200):
He Scored over 40 points in the team's first meeting against G2 and FW should be the favorites to win this game again.
Jungle Chalk: mlxg (RNG vs. CLG, $6,700):
mlxg is an especially great play at this depreciated price. His style suits fantasy very well and RNG should be able to beat G2. He also happened to score over 40 points in the first matchup, so we know he has the ability to put up large numbers.
Jungle Value Play: Karsa (FW vs. G2, $6,000):
He scored 52 points in the first meeting and FW will be favorites to win this game again. He's pretty cheap, but if you have the extra money mlxg might be the better pick.
Mid Lane Chalk: Faker (SKT vs. SM , $8,900):
A matchup vs. SM should be just what Faker needs to get back on track.
Mid Lane Value: Maple (FW vs. G2, $7,000)
I like xiaohu as well, but Maple is priced even cheaper. I'm not real worried about the matchup against Perkz after Maple took down Faker earlier this week.
ADC Chalk: Bang (SKT vs. SM, $8,900):
I don't care that SKT have been sliding, this matchup is too good to pass up for a player of Bang's caliber.
ADC Value: NL (FW vs. G2, $7,100):
Some risk associated with using NL as even though he's the AD Carry, he rarely is the carry for FW. That said, his only 40+ point performance came against G2 in their first meeting.
Support Chalk: Mata (RNG vs. CLG, $5,900)
Mata has been playing a very carry oriented style of support this tournament and it's working nicely for RNG.
Support Value: SwordArt (FWvs. G2 $5,100)
SwordArt is another player I used a lot during Worlds last year and he's playing well once again. Aphromoo is the ultimate cheap option against RNG, but FW should be the favorite to win against G2, which means SwordArt be the pick here.
Team: FW vs. G2 ($4,600):
I never thought we'd be picking on G2 this much but here we are. It should be a tough game on paper, but G2 have been struggling vs. teams not from the wildcard region while FW have been playing well.
