League of Legends European Championship January 16th, 2022
Published: Jan 16, 2022
League of Legends European Championship
January 16th, 2021
(+110) BDS Esport v Misfits (-145)
(-300) Team Vitality v Excel Esports (+220)
(-400) Rogue v Astralis (+275)
(+325) SK Gaming v Fnatic (-500)
(-130) MAD Lions v G2 Esports (EVEN)
We are almost through this marathon of a weekend for League of Legends. While it is entirely too early to make any real assumptions about where these teams are but we can surely say that there has been some thrilling games thus far. Team Vitality (the heralded European Super Team (that was going to bring Europe their second World Championship) is currently sitting at the bottom of the league at 0-2. Teams that had chosen to go unproven talent, like G2 Esports and the MAD Lions, are sitting at the top of the LEC.Some explosive matches are on the horizon and we need to look at some players who are poised to drop big points. Let’s dive in!
Game #1: BDS Esport v Misfits
Cann’s Pick: BDS Esport
Game #2: Team Vitality v Excel Esports
Cann’s Pick: Team Vitality
Game #3: Rogue v Astralis
Cann’s Pick: Rogue
Game #4: SK Gaming v Fnatic
Cann’s Pick: Fnatic
Game #5: MAD Lions v G2 Esports
Cann’s Pick: G2 Esports
Fantasy Value Breakdown
Captain
Favorite: Comp (RGE: $11,700) Rogue has had a quietly good start to the split. None of their wins have had explosive kills numbers but they have been able to avoid any major slips and even more impressively, it appears that Rogue has found a great replacement for Hans sama in the ADC role. Comp has 15 kills and 13 assists in the first two days. He has limited his deaths to only 3 and has a whopping 90% team kill participation. While these numbers are going to be really hard to continue to produce, it does show that Rogue has not lost a beat from their dominance in 2021.
Value Pick: Perkz (VIT: $11,100)
Top
Favorite: Armut (MAD: $6,400) I had a lot of doubts about Armut after 2021. He was a good laner and could be great if he was on the right champion. I noted multiple times last year that I believed he could only play with a lead but we got to see a deeper playstyle from him. While MAD lost on Saturday he was really good at not needed all the resources from Elyoya. I think this match against G2 is going to be a bloodbath and if Armut can continue to hold his own and play champions that are needed for the comp rather than himself, he could be racking up huge points in both kills and assists.
Value Pick: HiRit (MSF: $6,200)
Jungle
Favorite: Elyoya (MAD Lions: $6,800) I am going to go out and say that Elyoya is going to be crowned best jungler in the LEC by the end of the Spring Split. When you watch the MAD Lions play, you would swear there are multiples of him. The speed and efficiency in which he clears camps, ganks, and can secure objectives is wild. He has 12 kills and 20 assists which is the highest kill participation for junglers when looking at the raw numbers. There is going to be wild amounts of fighting in this game and I would say you are justified if you chose to put Elyoya in as your captain.
Value Pick: Jankos (G2: $6,400)
Mid
Favorite: Larssen (RGE: $7,600) A lot like Comp, I am picking Larssen here for his consistency. He plays with a level head and the current meta (or best possible strategy) is perfect for him. Playing control mages is the strongest thing you can play in the mid lane and Larssen puts on a master class in doing so. He has a 7.3 KDA and a 71% team kill participation rate through 2 games played.
Value Pick: Vetheo (MSF: $7,200)
ADC
Favorite: Neon (MSF: $7,200) I don’t actually like Neon as a pick for Neon’s sake, but instead it is because I think BDS’ ADC is just that bad. BDS’ ADC (xMatty) has some of the worst stats through two games with a 1.9 KDA and the lowest kill total among LEC ADCs at two. Neon on the other hand, has 7 kills and 6 assists and is sitting at a 4.3 KDA. Misfits looked especially good against Astralis on Friday and I expect this to be a fight heavy matchup because both teams seem to lack the higher levels of sophisticated strategy. What does that mean for Neon? There is going to be plenty of fighting to go around.
Value Pick: Flakked (G2: $7,000)
Support
Favorite: Hylissang (FNC: $6,000) Hylissang is averaging 11 assists per game and has an 80% team kill participation. He has such a wide champion pool but a constant is how willing he is to make the big flashy play. You will never get a passive game out of the Hylissang pick and sometimes there is a lot of value there with a support pick. Some supports it can be hard to gauge how many points you’re going to earn on a given weekend because they are so tied to their team’s success. Hylissang famously is the one who determines fights for FNC.
Value Pick: Tagamas (G2: $5,000)
Team
Favorite: Rogue ($5,400) Historically, Rogue has been one of the best performing top tier teams against those bottom of the league teams. They don’t really drop stinkers and it is because of their approach to the game. Some other top tier LEC teams like MAD Lions, G2, and FNC can depend on fighting and wanting to rack up huge kill numbers to win games. In the team category for DFS you are rewarded for more clean and objective based wins and that is how Rogue plays.
Value Pick: G2 Esports ($4,600)
Cann’s Example Lineup
DraftKings Classic
$50,000 Salary Cap
Captain (x1.5): Perkz (VIT: $11,100)
Alternate: Reeker (MAD: $10,500)
Top: Alphari (VIT: $6,600)
Jungle: Elyoya (MAD: $6,800)
Mid: Larssen (Rogue: $7,600)
Alternate: NUCLEARINT()
ADC: Flakked (G2: $7,000)
Support: Hylissang (FNC: $6,000)
Alternate: Kaiser (MAD: $5,400)
Team: G2 Esports ($4,600)