This article is part of our DraftKings League of Legends series.
DraftKings LoL: Thursday Cheat Sheet
I'm so pumped up for the 2016 World Championships. It's been a long time since we've been able to watch competitive League of Legends and the stage is set for an excellent tournament. Thursday's kickoff has some easy matchups for favorites ROX Tigers and Edward Gaming, but their players are expensive and it's hard to fit multiple members into your lineup. The close games is where I'll be finding value, including Team SoloMid vs. Royal Never Give Up, AHQ eSports vs. H2K-Gaming, and G2 eSports vs. Counter Logic Gaming. The bulk of my lineup is coming in the form of TSM players as they're as cheap as they ever will be in a matchup I expect them to win. Call it Western bias if you want, but while RNG present a considerable challenge for TSM, RNG's struggles to play as a team cannot be understated. This isn't a straightforward matchup for TSM, but they present good value and upside. In other close matchups I'd expect AHQ and G2 to win, while the favorites ROX, EDG, and Samsung should also come out on top on Day One.
Top Lane: Ziv (AHQ vs. H2K, $6,200)
Coming into the tournament, you'll hear more about carry Westdoor than Ziv, but the AHQ top laner is one of the best top laners in the world. Ziv is the most consistent player on AHQ and while Westdoor has split time with Chawy throughout the year, Ziv is a constant presence in the top lane. You could pay up for Smeb or whichever EDG top laner starts, but I would guess Ziv won't fall too far behind their scores while coming in at almost $2,000 cheaper.
Jungle: Svenskeren (TSM vs. RNG, $5,900)
I'm not in love with using Svenskeren, in fact if I had an extra $700 in my lineup I'd gladly use a cheap Trick (no pun intended) over the TSM jungler. The way my lineup is constructed however, I can't comfortably pay up for a top jungler without having zero exposure to EDG or ROX, the day's biggest favorites. So Svenskeren fits into my TSM stack at a reasonable price for his upside in a matchup I think TSM will win.
Middle Lane: Bjergsen (TSM vs. RNG, $6,900)
I don't care if TSM lose against RNG, not using Bjergsen at this miniscule salary is never the right move. Constantly lauded as one of the best mid laners in the world, he can hold his own against anyone, including Faker. Bjergsen is one of the best players, let alone mid laners, in the world and his below $7,000 price is way too low. Throw in the fact that I think TSM win this game and you have all the ingredients to include Bjergsen in your lineup Thursday.
ADC: Pray (ROX vs. ANX, $8,800)
I was between PraY or EDG's Deft ($8,900 vs. INTZ) for this slot in my lineup, but even the tiny $100 savings on PraY allowed me to finish my flex roles in a better spot than using Deft. I think both are an extremely strong bet to dominate weak teams and could finish as the day's highest scorers. I'm also using Doublelift in a flex role as part of my TSM stack at his $7,000 price. Like Bjergsen, Doublelift is too good of a player to be priced this cheap, even in an extremely tough/exciting bottom lane matchup against Uzi and Mata.
Support: Mithy (G2 vs. CLG, $5,700)
G2 have a lot to prove at Worlds after their terrible showing at Mid Season-Invitational. Mithy is the general of G2 and his addition to the roster in the summer helped G2 reach another level. Throw in his excellent synergy with Zven and I'd expect a strong performance over a CLG team that struggled at the end of the Summer Split. While it's not a guarantee, this is a game G2 must win to start Worlds on the right foot. I'm also using Biofrost in a flex role to finish my TSM stack. While I usually don't use two supports, I think Biofrost is an extremely cheap option to help round out a roster, and should put up an excellent KDA and double digit assists if TSM win.
Team: TSM vs. RNG ($4,500)
Paying down for a team is often the best course of action as they score quite a bit less than players. It's not often that we can pay down for a team that I expect to win, but if you've been paying attention I really like TSM at these reduced prices. RNG have starpower in abundance, but struggled as a cohesive unit in China's LPL and while they present an obvious challenge, TSM have the starpower and cohesion to pull off the victory.
