This article is part of our DraftKings League of Legends series.
GAMES (EDT)
- 4:00 a.m: DRX vs. Hanwha Life Esports
- 5:00 a.m: Rogue Warriors vs. FunPlus Phoenix
- 6:50 a.m: EDward Gaming vs. LGD Gaming
- 7:00 a.m: afreeca Freecs vs. DAMWON Gaming
For detailed player and team stats, check out the
DRX vs. HLE
Friday's games are going to be fun because this is a slate where every game could explode for DFS. This is an easy game for DragonX and a spot where I would go in cash games, though the upside is a little limited because Chovy and Pyosik are the guys with the highest kill participation rates on the team. HLE are struggling on the top side still, and even their bot lane can't carry the game. Another reason why the fantasy upside could be capped is that sometimes DragonX likes to drop a game, and when they lose they lose big. Overall, DragonX are the top team in the LCK and should have no problem handling them.
Prediction: DragonX 2-1
FPX vs. RW
Rogue Warriors are in their late-season resurgence, taking a game off each of DMO and LGD. I will dive deeper into LGD's problem later, but Rogue Warriors are facing a tough task with FPX. I have said this meta is not friendly to Doinb, even though he can play Galio and Kassadin, but if Rogue Warriors were smart they would ban him and make him play a different champion. FPX and
GAMES (EDT)
- 4:00 a.m: DRX vs. Hanwha Life Esports
- 5:00 a.m: Rogue Warriors vs. FunPlus Phoenix
- 6:50 a.m: EDward Gaming vs. LGD Gaming
- 7:00 a.m: afreeca Freecs vs. DAMWON Gaming
For detailed player and team stats, check out the
DRX vs. HLE
Friday's games are going to be fun because this is a slate where every game could explode for DFS. This is an easy game for DragonX and a spot where I would go in cash games, though the upside is a little limited because Chovy and Pyosik are the guys with the highest kill participation rates on the team. HLE are struggling on the top side still, and even their bot lane can't carry the game. Another reason why the fantasy upside could be capped is that sometimes DragonX likes to drop a game, and when they lose they lose big. Overall, DragonX are the top team in the LCK and should have no problem handling them.
Prediction: DragonX 2-1
FPX vs. RW
Rogue Warriors are in their late-season resurgence, taking a game off each of DMO and LGD. I will dive deeper into LGD's problem later, but Rogue Warriors are facing a tough task with FPX. I have said this meta is not friendly to Doinb, even though he can play Galio and Kassadin, but if Rogue Warriors were smart they would ban him and make him play a different champion. FPX and RW have the same first blood (64 percent) and first tower (43 percent) rates, but when it comes to dragon and baron control, Rogue Warriors are dead last in the LPL. Rogue Warriors win by fighting, and this is good against teams that can't punch back like a VG or DMO, teams that tend to play on the slower side. FPX have been in a funk, and this is a solid bounce-back spot for them to make playoffs and punch their ticket to Worlds since this is the last half of the split. The top four teams in the LPL in championship points are invited to Worlds, and you would expect them to come out swinging to reclaim their title.
Prediction: FPX 2-0
- FPX Players to Target: Everyone
LGD vs. EDG
I was on the LGD train and then realized that this team's numbers are way off on how they have been playing. LGD had this problem last split when their early game was the focal point in their style but they neglect any type of macro play in the mid-to-late game. They get leads and throw them away or they are so far behind that they get desperate and try to make miracle plays, which happens because they aren't resourcing their gold well enough to a carry. xiye has never been a player to take over games like Kramer, and I think the fault here is that they need to have a side to focus on getting ahead. EDG threw their last game to RNG, both maps when they had early advantages but Jiejie and their top laner were non-existent in team fights in the mid game. The fact that EDG looked good and can play the early game better than LGD makes me feel comfortable that they can snowball LGD and punish their weakness because Scout, Hope, Meiko are their hard carry veterans. This game should be pretty bloody depending on how messy the early game is and is a good spot for DFS.
Prediction: EDG 2-1
DWG vs. AF
This series is going to be fun to watch. They both play an aggressive style where they thrive off team-fighting. DAMWON Gaming has a better early game, as they have a first turret rate of 92 percent and first-to-three kills of 100 percent in all their games. Afreeca has a better first blood rate (53 percent) but have a better mid-to-late game than DAMWON. I have a strong lean towards DAMWON in this series because of how they're able to snowball early leads. The topside of DAMWON is better than Afreeca, even though Kiin has been playing well to mitigate any damage on the weak side. The bot lane is a pretty big difference, considering Mystic has a better KDA, kill percentage and gold difference after 10 minutes compared to Ghost, but DAMWON really relies on BeryL to be the main cog in the bot lane. As long as DAMWON can finish the game in under 30 minutes, their win percentage sky rockets with how Afreeca likes to throw games by fighting in unnecessary situations.
Prediction: DWG 2-0
- DWG Players to Target: Everyone
