This article is part of our DraftKings League of Legends series.
GAMES (EDT)
- 11:00 a.m: SK Gaming vs. Excel Esports
- 11:50 a.m: Misfits vs. FC Schalke 04
- 12:45 p.m: Team Vitality vs. MAD Lions
- 1:30 p.m: G2 Esports vs. Rogue
- 2:20 p.m: Fnatic v. Origen
XL vs. SK
SK early game still proves to be really effective, as Jenax is crushing his lane. Moving Jenax to the top lane to replace Sacre was excellent for this team because now they have carries in all three lanes. Trick has been playing out of his mind, and this is another reason why SK are having success, as they are top of the league in first bloods. XL haven't figured out how to incorporate their new players in, and I believe this is a lopsided matchup.
Prediction: SK Win
SK Players to Target: Trick ($6,400), Jenax ($6,000)
S04 vs. Misfits
I would have leaned Misfits by a mile at the start of the season, but they look really bad as they are relying on Kobbe to carry the game when they have no initial game plan. This team is losing early game through dragon control and a lot of teams has figured out to stay away from skirmishes and just grab objectives. S04 looked decent agains G2 on Friday with the addition of the players they brought in, and if they play like they did against G2 then they have a good chance to beat Misfits. If Febiven goes back to Spring Split then they will have mid and bot priority to get the
GAMES (EDT)
- 11:00 a.m: SK Gaming vs. Excel Esports
- 11:50 a.m: Misfits vs. FC Schalke 04
- 12:45 p.m: Team Vitality vs. MAD Lions
- 1:30 p.m: G2 Esports vs. Rogue
- 2:20 p.m: Fnatic v. Origen
XL vs. SK
SK early game still proves to be really effective, as Jenax is crushing his lane. Moving Jenax to the top lane to replace Sacre was excellent for this team because now they have carries in all three lanes. Trick has been playing out of his mind, and this is another reason why SK are having success, as they are top of the league in first bloods. XL haven't figured out how to incorporate their new players in, and I believe this is a lopsided matchup.
Prediction: SK Win
SK Players to Target: Trick ($6,400), Jenax ($6,000)
S04 vs. Misfits
I would have leaned Misfits by a mile at the start of the season, but they look really bad as they are relying on Kobbe to carry the game when they have no initial game plan. This team is losing early game through dragon control and a lot of teams has figured out to stay away from skirmishes and just grab objectives. S04 looked decent agains G2 on Friday with the addition of the players they brought in, and if they play like they did against G2 then they have a good chance to beat Misfits. If Febiven goes back to Spring Split then they will have mid and bot priority to get the dragons. This is a 50/50 game, but I am going back to Misfits as I believe they can figure out their situation faster than S04.
Prediction: Misfits Win
Misfits Players to Target: Kobbe ($7,600)
MAD vs. Vitality
MAD has the best dragon control rate in the league, and they showed up against Fnatic. Vitality early game has looked good, as they made Rogue sweat a little, but when it came to mid game, they were uncoordinated in trying to choose between taking an objective or fight. MAD are looking like the best team in the league and they should smash Vitality here through team draft and synergy. This should be a bloody game, as MAD tend to draft something crazy against inferior teams.
Prediction: MAD Win
MAD Players to Target: Everyone
Rogue vs. G2
This is a close match between a team that has started the Summer Split off hot and G2, who are slow to get to the meta. G2 had some blunder early game but accelerated in the mid-to-late game due to MixyX's performance. Even though Rogue is undefeated, this is a G2 team that has the best players at their position in the LEC and a team that has shown the ability to take over any time. Their gold lead, even though they are down in kills in the early game, remains ahead against their opponents. This is because they are being proactive around other areas of the map to give the an advantage. G2 should come out smashing Rogue and making a statement that they are the best team in the league still.
Prediction: G2 Win
G2 players to Target: Everyone
OG vs. Fnatic
There is still something going on with Origen, as they still don't look like the same team from last year. Stylistically this is a nightmare for Origen, as Fnatic are very proactive in the early game, it's just they have to transition that to the mid-to-late game Even though Fnatic lost all the dragons to MAD, they are still one of the better teams that controls objectives and the map together. Fnatic are really good at grouping up in lanes and pressuring the other laner to force them to make a mistake, which Origen has a tough time managing. Origen reminds me of an LCK team that want to lane and play for late. If Origen don't change their game plan then I can see Fnatic running over them.
Prediction: Fnatic Win