DraftKings LoL: Thursday LPL/LCK Cheat Sheet

Games (EDT)

• 4:00 a.m. SANDBOX Gaming vs. DRX
• 5:00 a.m. Victory Five vs. Royal Never Give Up
• 6:50 a.m. Invictus Gaming vs. FunPlus Phoenix
• 7:00 a.m. Gen.G vs. DAMWON Gaming

SB vs. DRX

The first game on the slate is going to be a fun one as SANDBOX get a full week in with Yamato, who is their new coach. Yamato is known for his crazy drafts and aggressive playstyle. Bringing that mindset to a young team can benefit them in the long run especially in a slower-pace league like the LCK. Unfortunately, they are running into DragonX who look to be the best team in the LCK and have an average game time of 32 minutes which is eight minutes shorter than the average games. DragonX is good in the early game and they draft for a teamfighting comp that works with their players. Chovy has been dominating in the mid lane against the likes of BDD and Faker who are among the two best laners in the league. This should be a bloody stomp for DragonX unless SANDBOX pulls a crazy draft out of their hat that might throw DragonX off.

Prediction: DragonX 2-0

DragonX Players to Target: Everyone

V5 vs. RNG

The stats show that Victory Five should win with how high their baron control and jungle control is. It certainly helps that they can adapt during the game, much less the series, which has aided in the winning streak. There have been some questionable calls for V5, but no matter what happens the team commits 100 percent into whatever play they are doing. This works on mediocre and bad teams due to the fact more of the good teams are able to punish their all-ins during fights or around certain objectives. Royal Never Give Up, after their loss to LNG, have been playing a lot better, taking down JD Gaming and eStar who are both top end teams in the LPL. Xiaohu has been excellent in the laning phase which is allowing XLB to work bot side to get Betty ahead for late game, and Betty has played a significant role this Summer Split compared to last. The damage charts after the games are usually lead by Betty and then Xiaohu, while the rest of the team is almost non existent yet they still win. RNG is the better team and have the better coaching staff, and if V5 is sloppy in their teamfights then they will lose badly this game. 

Prediction: RNG 2-1

RNG Players to Target: Betty ($8,200), Xiaohu ($7,800), XLB ($7,000)

IG vs. FPX

This is going to be a real fun game to watch between DoinB and Rookie who are both top-three middle laners in the LPL at the moment. Invictus Gaming lost a tough one to LGD as TheShy played like his old self and was not throwing his life away in Game 3. There were two fights that could of went IG's way if Rookie didn't overstep and get killed which is an uncharacteristic thing for Rookie to do. It has been over a week since FunPlus Phoenix has played and in their last match they went the distance against WE and stomped them in the last game. The one edge that FPX has over IG is their ability to group up and pressure a lane as a team. IG relies heavily on their solo laners to do most of the damage early on, but that will be a daunting task when you have a player like DoinB who acts as a second support and jungler to influence other lanes, primarily the bottom side. Khan vs. TheShy is another great matchup, but if TheShy struggles, you can basically assume Khan will run rampant. The one thing IG had on FPX is the amount of games played on stage and their ability to stall games out to let them scale which is paramount considering how IG can instantly turn around a whole game with one teamfight. This is a close series but it will come down to the more coordinated team.

Prediction: FPX 2-1

FPX Players to Target: Everyone

IG Players to Target: Rookie ($7,200), Ning ($6,000)

GEN vs. DWG

I believe this is going to be a one-sided matchup for DAMWON. Even though they haven't played anyone good, they have looked convincing in their wins. Usually DAMWON would win a series 2-1, but this split it seems like every player has figured out their role and how to synergize with each other. Gen.G hasn't looked all that good because they are still not being proactive early in some of their games and their bot lane is now a liability. Ruler and Life are playing at a mediocre level on a high-level team which is why Gen.G has been in some close matches. DAMWON's early game might be too much for Gen.G as they are averaging 27 minutes in their last four games combined. Not counting Gen.G out of this matchup because this is the toughest opponent that DAMWON has faced, but I ranked these two teams fairly close to each other and with DAMWON resolving a lot of their issues last split, it makes me feel better about this team coming into this matchup. Gen.G DPL has been around 16.5 so they give up a lot of kills in losses for LCK standard. 

Prediction: DAMWON 2-0

DAMWON Players to Target: Showmaker ($7,000), Canyon ($5,800), Nuguri ($5,800)