This article is part of our DraftKings League of Legends series.
The LCS is back! Thursday we kick things off in Europe for the Opening Day. Day One plays host to some good games including FNATIC vs. Origen as the marquee matchup. The heaviest favorites of the day are H2k vs. GIANTS! Gaming, while Origen, Unicorns of Love, Vitality and Origen are also expected to win. Gamers 2 vs. Elements is a pick 'em game, but I'm leaning towards Gamers 2 as they have put together a solid, underrated lineup for the new season. My favorite stack of the day involves Vitality, while my favorite cheap options come from Gamers 2. In general, we want to pick players on winning teams, especially in cash game lineups.
Daily Player Recommendations:
Top Lane:
Odoamne - H2k vs GIANTS! ($7300): The most expensive top laner on the day should be worth the price. H2k are the biggest favorites of the day and have shown the ability to play through their top laner in the past. If Odoamne plays a carry champion he should make easy work of his counterpart, Atom, a rookie in his first LCS game. H2k should pick up an easy win Thursday, leading to good fantasy points across the board.
Other Suggestions: Cabochard (VIT vs. ROCCAT, $6,800) and Kikis (G2 vs. Elements, $5,900)
Top Lane Player to Avoid:
Gamsu - FNATIC vs. Origen ($5,700): The price is right for most Fnatic members and they're cheaper now than they probably will be in any other matchup. But I can't advise using
The LCS is back! Thursday we kick things off in Europe for the Opening Day. Day One plays host to some good games including FNATIC vs. Origen as the marquee matchup. The heaviest favorites of the day are H2k vs. GIANTS! Gaming, while Origen, Unicorns of Love, Vitality and Origen are also expected to win. Gamers 2 vs. Elements is a pick 'em game, but I'm leaning towards Gamers 2 as they have put together a solid, underrated lineup for the new season. My favorite stack of the day involves Vitality, while my favorite cheap options come from Gamers 2. In general, we want to pick players on winning teams, especially in cash game lineups.
Daily Player Recommendations:
Top Lane:
Odoamne - H2k vs GIANTS! ($7300): The most expensive top laner on the day should be worth the price. H2k are the biggest favorites of the day and have shown the ability to play through their top laner in the past. If Odoamne plays a carry champion he should make easy work of his counterpart, Atom, a rookie in his first LCS game. H2k should pick up an easy win Thursday, leading to good fantasy points across the board.
Other Suggestions: Cabochard (VIT vs. ROCCAT, $6,800) and Kikis (G2 vs. Elements, $5,900)
Top Lane Player to Avoid:
Gamsu - FNATIC vs. Origen ($5,700): The price is right for most Fnatic members and they're cheaper now than they probably will be in any other matchup. But I can't advise using anyone from Fnatic on Day One as they face Origen. Fnatic no doubt will end up being one of the best teams in Europe this split, but it might take some time to get there. Gamsu will have better days ahead, but I think I'm staying away.
Jungle:
Trick - G2 vs. Elements ($5,500): I often go for a cheap option in the jungle and my favorite value play of the day is definitely Trick. Coming from Korea, Trick could look to implement an aggressive style and I think Gamers 2 might be the best value bet of the day, considering I'm expecting them to beat Elements. There's no higher salary players I'd rather use over Trick.
Other Suggestions: Jankos (H2k vs. GIANTS!, $6,600) and Shook (VIT vs. ROCCAT, $6,100)
Jungle Player to Avoid:
Diamondprox - UoL vs. Splyce ($6,000): The "avoid" tag is all related to Diamondprox's salary. My favorite underdog of the day is Splyce, a team that has played together for awhile and should be comfortable with their synergistic team play going into the LCS. UoL may win this game, but they looked awful at IEM San Jose and Diamond is coming off of a terrible split. I don't think he's worth his high salary on Thursday.
Middle Lane:
Nukeduck - VIT vs. ROCCAT ($7,700): I think this could be a breakout split for Nukeduck, who on paper at least, will be joining a terrific Vitality team. It should be an easy win for VIT against a ROCCAT squad that has had to scramble to piece together a lineup just to enter the Spring Split. Nukeduck's price is also reasonable and allows for some savings to use in other roles, making him by far the safest mid laner to roster on the day. Febiven and PowerofEvil are also decent picks, but they face each other, limiting their upside a bit.
Other Suggestions: PowerofEvil (OG vs. FNATIC, $7,400) and Febiven (FNATIC vs. OG, $7,400)
Middle Lane Player to Avoid:
Ryu - H2k vs. GIANTS! ($8,300): H2k will likely win this game and Ryu will play well. So why suggest avoiding him? Two words - his price. He's the most expensive mid laner on Day One and while it's possible he could live up to the price, he faces xPepii, who is the main threat for GIANTS! If GIANTS! play through xPepii in the mid lane, Ryu could face a lot of pressure, limiting his upside.
ADC:
Hjarnan - VIT vs. ROCCAT ($8,300): Hjarnan was one of the best ADCs in Europe last split and he retains his support, kaSing, in Vitality's new line up. They face off against a weak ROCCAT team on Day One, which should provide a nice opportunity to pick up major fantasy points across the board. I'm using Vitalty's carries in all my cash game lineups.
Other Suggestions: Zven (OG vs. FNATIC, $7,800) and Emperor (G2 vs. Elements, $7,200)
ADC Player to Avoid:
FORG1VEN - H2k vs. GIANTS! ($8,800): H2k is the most heavily favored team on Thursday, which is leading to some exorbitant player pricing. There is no way I'm paying $8,800 for FORG1VEN Thursday. He is the most expensive player on the board and going back to last split, he has shown a farm heavy approach that has failed to translated into big fantasy production. Until he starts putting up big fantasy numbers or his price drops, he's a must fade for me.
Support:
kaSing - VIT vs. ROCCT ($6,100): I don't usually pay up for supports, but the way I constructed my cash game rosters for Day One left me money to pay up a little bit in the role. kaSing is the safest bet of the day for the second highest price. Vitality should pick up an easy win and kaSing retains the bot lane synergy with Hjarnan that, at times, made them look like the best duo in Europe last year.
Other Suggestions: Hybrid (G2 vs. Elements, $5,200) and Vander (H2k vs. GIANTS!, $6,600)
Support Player to Avoid:
Hylissang - UoL vs. Splyce ($5,900): Hylissang is near the top of the price range in the support role and I'm just not sure he'll be worth it. UoL looked poor at IEM San Jose. Although the team has had some time to mesh, UoL still needs to develop better chemistry. If you can, try to spend an extra $200 and grab the much safer kaSing or drop down to Hybrid.
Team:
Gamers 2 vs. Elements ($4,000): I never pay up for a team and while H2k and Vitality are the heaviest favorites of the day, using them really limits your spending at other positions. Gamers 2 is my favorite value team of the day as I think they win a close game, which could lead to more objectives and thus more points. G2 presents a strong, cheap option that could still score a respectable amount of points on Thursday.
