This article is part of our DraftKings League of Legends series.
Top Lane: Ssumday (DIG vs. P1, $6,500)/Looper (FOX vs. IMT, $5,000)
Ssumday is too cheap not to use in my opinion. The series should be close, but while P1 have upgraded their lineup, top lane is a weak spot and Ssumday is one of the best top laners in the world. I expect him to act as the de facto main carry for DIG and will ride him in any matchup where he is cheap. Looper is in a significantly worse matchup, but is a former World Champion and his $5,000 price is laughable. Flame is a good top laner, but in a head-to-head matchup there's no reason he should be $2,300 more expensive than Looper.
Jungle: Chaser (DIG vs. P1, $6,200)/Dardoch (IMT vs. FOX, $7,200)
Like Ssumday, I believe Chaser is too cheap. He is rated highly around the world as a jungler and I'd expect Dignitas to play around Ssumday in the top lane. Throw in the fact that Chaser and Ssumday can communicate in their native language and there should be no hiccup in top lane ganks. Dardoch is expensive, but in this meta where junglers can pull out carry-type performances, I think he's worth the price in this matchup. Echo Fox improved their roster, but still have a lot to prove before we take them seriously.
Middle Lane: Ryu (P1 vs. DIG, $6,700)
I'm not in love with this pick, as outside of Worlds 2016, Ryu has never been a huge fantasy asset. The thing is, I don't really like any mid laners on this slate. Pobelter and Ninja are overpriced, I'm not confident in EnVyUs at all and Pobelter is priced like he would've been last year when Immortals were racking up fantasy points. With a new lineup I expect the points to drop a bit and I don't think Pobelter is worth his lofty price even though Immortals should win this matchup. So I'm dropping down to Ryu and would expect similar production to the high priced plays while saving a ton of money.
ADC: Piglet (TL vs. CLG, $7,000)/Stixxay (CLG vs. TL, $7,200)
I want both carries from this team as I think the series is close and both marksmen are cheap. Team Liquid will play around Piglet as he is the lone player capable of carrying them to wins so he's a must use at $7,000. CLG can use Darshan as a split pusher to win games, but Stixxay is still the carry and he's also very cheap. I'd expect this series to go to three games with similar production from both players.
Support: aphromoo (CLG vs. TL, $5,300)
aphromoo, in my opinion is the smartest support in the LCS. He is cheap, but I'd expect him to come close to 10 assists in every game that's played this series. I think it goes to three games and aphro should easily make value on his mid range price.
Team: FLY vs. EnVyUs ($3,600)
Do I think the veterans of FlyQuest are going to be a surprise team this year in the NA LCS? Absolutely not, but while they may struggle to keep their place in the league, I think they're getting zero respect in this matchup against EnVyUs. Both of these teams are going to have to fight to avoid relegation so the fact that EnVyUs are priced as huge favorites is a bit surprising. On paper EnVyUs have better laners in the top and mid position, but with a little Hai "magic" FlyQuest could easily take this series and they should make value at this extremely cheap price.
