(+140) ThunderTalk Gaming v Ultra Prime (-180)

(-260) Royal Never Give Up v Rare Atom (+190)

 

Monday’s LPL features two teams that have been eliminated from the play-off race in the bottom tier ThunderTalk Gaming facing off against what is, in my opinion, an underrated Ultra Prime. A surging RNG faces off against another top tier team in Rare Atom where the battle of the bottom lanes will occur.

 

Captain

Cryin ($11,100)

RNG is positively soaring after handedly defeating first place EDG earlier last week, their next opponent in Rare Atom is a challenging one for sure, but their top side is a glaring weakness that can’t be ameliorated by the laning focused Fofo and iBoy. While Fofo is a fantastic middle laner, Cryin progressively has been coming back into form, and should be able to synergize with Xiaohu and Wei to smash the Rare Atom top side. For an alternative pick, Gala is a solid option to grab two ADCs, but he is extremely pricey relative to how I foresee the games carrying out, so I would feel safe to stick with Cryin as captain.

Alternatives to consider: Gala ($11,400)

 

Top Lane

Zs ($6,000)

While Zs hasn’t been the strong point for Ultra Prime, he does have a relatively calm matchup against LangX, a player who isn’t especially known for dominating the laning phase. This will allow Zs to scale comfortably, and take on the side laning role he’s known for on his team, which will grant him access to considerable resources. Xiaohu is the stronger option, but at a $400 premium, it’s not worth sacrificing elsewhere for a role that’s not known to have a massive impact in DFS.

Alternatives to consider: Xiaohu ($6,400)

 

Jungle

Wei ($6,800)

On the other hand, the jungle pick does matter a lot: H4cker is a weak jungler, and his matchup against the best player on ThunderTalk in Xiaopeng is sure to be a bloody one- it’s much better to select the cheaper Wei against Rare Atom’s weaker points in Leyan. Wei was one of the best junglers in the world at MSI, only contested by Elyoya and Canyon, each of which he defeated without much issue. Wei has been coming back into form, and it’s certainly exciting to see.

Alternatives to consider: H4cker ($7,000)

 

Mid Lane

Xiaocaobao ($7,200)

The unfortunate aftermath of taking Cryin as captain is having to select Xiaocaobao as your secondary mid laner. It’s not all bad though- Xiaocaobao has been progressively improving throughout the split, and it’s not as though Ye is a significant threat to him in the middle lane. Unfortunately, though, XCB can find himself victim to ganks from the aggressive Xiaopeng, which could be detrimental to his point yield. I’d still prefer him to Fofo and Ye, however.

Alternatives to consider: Cryin ($7,400)

 

ADC

Smlz ($7,800)

No Gala? No Gala. The RNG bottom lane is posed directly against the strong point of Rare Atom: their own bottom lane in iBoy and Hang. Meanwhile, Smlz gets to play against the absolute worst bottom lane in the LPL in SamD and Pudding. I’d unironically rather have Kelper and Zyf instead on Victory 5’s 0-12 roster. Smlz has been the strong point of Ultra Prime alongside ShiauC, so he’s well worth the small $200 upgrade.

Alternatives to consider: Gala ($7,600)

 

Support

ShiauC ($5,600)

Funded by taking ShiauC over Ming! While Ming is certainly the better overall player relative to ShiauC, the Ultra Prime support’s matchup is remarkably better, and the opposing bottom lane’s weakness can unlock ShiauC to influence the top side of the map and further punish Ye and LangX relatively early in the game. Bottom lane is the name of the game for Ultra Prime versus ThunderTalk, and together, these two make a strong investment.

Alternatives to consider: Ming ($5,800)

 

Team

Royal Never Give Up ($5,400)

RNG has been absolutely surging in the standings so far, thanks to each of their players slowly coming back into form. I can’t really criticise them at all, after defeating first placed EDward Gaming last week, alongside their consistent rise in the standings. Rare Atom is a tough opponent, but if they can beat EDward, they can beat anyone in the LPL. Otherwise, I always have to bet against ThunderTalk, without Xiaopeng popping off, they don’t accomplish much.

Alternatives to consider: Ultra Prime ($5,200)

 

Stacks

Smlz & ShiauC

As we just discussed, Ultra Prime’s bottom lane is their strongest link, and they’re playing against- what I consider- to be the absolute worst bottom lane in the entire league. SamD and Pudding are a consistent liability for their squad, and routinely lose their relatively solid top side games.

 

Cryin & Gala

The carries for RNG are not to be underestimated, despite them having difficult match-ups. Cryin has easy access to most of the map by virtue of having the stronger jungler in Wei and playing against a laning focused Fofo. Gala is a teamfight cleaner who consistently grabs big points by wiping up kills after Xiaohu, Wei, and Cryin knock the enemy low.

 

Xiaohu & Wei

While jungle and top aren’t the big point roles like mid and ADC, these two do provide some promise; since Cube and Leyan are Rare Atom’s weak points, alongside Xiaohu being one of the strongest players on the RNG roster.

 

Top Picks: Smlz, Wei, ShiauC

A good mix here: a strong bottom lane for Ultra Prime and a great match-up, alongside Wei’s great match-up against Leyan, and sporting much more active solo lanes relative to Rare Atom’s laning focused players allowing him to impact the map in the early game.

 

Top Value: Gala, Wei, Zs

Zs isn’t a star top laner, but LangX shouldn’t push him to his limits either- he’s a decent enough player with clear up sides, although he will struggle against the top tier LPL competition. Wei is one of the best junglers in the league, and gets to play against one of the weakest players on Rare Atom, and Gala is an underrated monster in the correct mindset, which he’s slowly coming around to returning towards.