This article is part of our DraftKings League of Legends series.
GAMES (EDT)
- 3:00 a.m: Vici Gaming vs. Victory Five
- 4:00 a.m: KT Rolster vs. DAMWON Gaming
- 5:00 a.m: FunPlus Phoenix vs. Rogue Warriors
- 6:30 a.m: Suning vs. Royal Never Give Up
VG (6-9) vs. V5 (0-15)
Poor V5 still haven't found their first win, but this could be the game it happens. V5 stuck with the same lineup heading into the BLG matchup, and even though BLG won 2-0, V5 put up a great fight and looked like they had somewhat of a plan. Their drafts in both games were good, as in Game 1 they had a mini gold lead at one point and in Game 2 they were trailing at 4K gold MAX. This is quite impressive against one of the most disciplined teams in the LPL. VG should smash them with the slow type of League of Legends they play, but VG is another team that tends to struggle when under pressure. I don't know if V5 can do that, but we have seen VG get caught out in fights that ultimately hurt them. Both teams have nothing to play for, and I'm not sure where VG's focus is after missing a chance to fight for playoffs, but I don't mind V5 in this spot. It's very risky, but this should be a clown fiesta on both sides.
Prediction: VG 2-1
Bets: V5 ML (+650)
Players to Target: Everybody. Reminder: Mole is their ADC filled in the Top lane spot, y4 is playing support
FPX (11-3) vs.
GAMES (EDT)
- 3:00 a.m: Vici Gaming vs. Victory Five
- 4:00 a.m: KT Rolster vs. DAMWON Gaming
- 5:00 a.m: FunPlus Phoenix vs. Rogue Warriors
- 6:30 a.m: Suning vs. Royal Never Give Up
VG (6-9) vs. V5 (0-15)
Poor V5 still haven't found their first win, but this could be the game it happens. V5 stuck with the same lineup heading into the BLG matchup, and even though BLG won 2-0, V5 put up a great fight and looked like they had somewhat of a plan. Their drafts in both games were good, as in Game 1 they had a mini gold lead at one point and in Game 2 they were trailing at 4K gold MAX. This is quite impressive against one of the most disciplined teams in the LPL. VG should smash them with the slow type of League of Legends they play, but VG is another team that tends to struggle when under pressure. I don't know if V5 can do that, but we have seen VG get caught out in fights that ultimately hurt them. Both teams have nothing to play for, and I'm not sure where VG's focus is after missing a chance to fight for playoffs, but I don't mind V5 in this spot. It's very risky, but this should be a clown fiesta on both sides.
Prediction: VG 2-1
Bets: V5 ML (+650)
Players to Target: Everybody. Reminder: Mole is their ADC filled in the Top lane spot, y4 is playing support
FPX (11-3) vs. RW (6-8)
FPX and RW both need this win to influence the standings, as they have one more game to play after this. Rogue Warriors have a shot at the last playoff spot with a win, while an FPX win can secure second place or even first if IG loses to LNG on Sunday. The way Rogue Warriors wins is to deal with the top side of FPX, which is a daunting task as we just saw GimGoon with his best game of the split. FPX is a hard team to play against because every lane has the capability to carry a game, and with a wide champion pool for DoinB, it makes it even harder during drafts. Rogue Warriors love to play through bot lane, but the problem is Crisp has been sneakily the best support player all split, leading the LPL in KDA, GPM and APG, which makes it hard for teams to dive onto them. Crisp is their win condition to stop Zwuiji from getting ahead, and FPX can easily do that in this matchup. This should be a very bloody game that I will love to target.
Prediction: FPX 2-0
Bets: None
FPX Players to Target: DoinB (MID $8,000), LWX (ADC $8,200), Crisp (SUP $6,000)
SN (6-9) vs. RNG (8-7)
SN should have lost to VG, as VG took a game-too-early lead and couldn't execute in the late game as SN drafted Wukong and was able to carry for the win. SN has been getting lucky with these drafts because Wukong is the most broken champion right now, SofM can only play J4, and nobody bans miss fortune, which Huanfeng can only play. Huanfeng played aphelios two times, kaista four times, and the rest were miss fortune. He played MF 10 out of the 14 games this week, and he is able to carry in late game, which teams still don't get. RNG took a tough loss to DMO, who looked really good against JDG, and this is more about a team improving and trying different things, unlike SN who have been getting lucky through draft phase. Mata, who is the coach for RNG, has made some questionable draft calls, but he is too smart in this important matchup to let MF or Wukong get through. RNG has the players to be a top team, but it comes down to how smart they want to be during drafts, and then play the champions they draft on how they are supposed to be played. XLB is the most important player, as he has been significantly under-performing in recent games.
Prediction: RNG 2-1
Bets: None
RNG Players to Target: Xiaohu (MID $7400), Betty (ADC $8000), Ming (SUP $5800)
KT (10-8) vs. Damwon (9-9)
KT lost a heart breaker to GenG after taking ocean soul, which regenerates your health at a faster rate than normal, making them almost impossible to kill in team fights. KT has been playing well, and this comes from a bunch of veterans who are punishing the young players in the LCK who think they can bully teams through sheer fighting. Damwon is one of those teams that should be better, but the way they play has been sloppy all year. Damwon is going to be chalk for some odd reason, as the only positive thing they have shown us is that they can team fight themselves out of situations they shouldn't be in the first place. A majority of their games is Nuguri getting caught out and Canyon falling down with him trying to get him out of sticky situations. Damwon are Invictus Gaming 2.0, but the players aren't at that level yet and they tend to think they are, which is the mindset of young players. KT always has a plan, they play by the books with their 60 percent dragon rate and 56 percent first tower rate, which is better than damwon by a lot. Damwon shouldn't be chalk in this matchup but people like them to fit FPX. Give me all the KT.
Prediction: KT 2-1
Bets: KT ML (-114)
KT Players to Target: Aiming (ADC $7600), TusiN (SUP $5200)
Stacks to Consider
Cash: KT/FPX, RNG/FPX, KT/VG, KT/RNG
GPP: V5/FPX V5/RNG