League of Legends DFS Playbook: MSI May 24
The final day of the League of Legends Rumble Stage is upon us with an eSports LoL DFS slate starting early Tuesday morning at 2 am ET on DraftKings. Teams have two more games to decide their fate in this Mid-Season Invitational tournament. The League of Legends squads have been fighting against the best players in the world over the last week as we've seen narratives change and teams moving in opposite directions. Before my full recap, here is a quick rundown of the standings heading into Tuesday for the upcoming League of Legends DFS slate. Good luck with your eSports daily fantasy lineups!
League of Legends MSI Standings
- Royal Never Give Up (7-1)*
- T1 Esports (5-3)
- Evil Geniuses (4-4)
- G2 Esports (4-4)
- PSG Talon (3-5)
- Saigon Buffalo (1-7)**
(RNG has locked in a spot in the final knockout round while Saigon Buffalo has been eliminated)
One of the most talked-about storylines from this round of play is the apparent collapse of the European Champions. After their 4-0 start, have dropped four straight matches and if they end tied with PSG Talon they will be automatically bumped from the tournament because of tiebreakers. Equally as shocking, a North American team has beaten Faker and T1 Esports for the first time in 6 years and has the LCS poised to make a push into the knockout round for the first time since Team Liquid’s second-place finish in 2019. The real question on everyone’s mind is, “Can anyone take the title from RNG?” Let’s dive in!
League of Legends Mid-Season Invitational Slate Overview
Tuesday, May 24th – Slate Locks @ 2 AM ET
(-650) G2 Esports v Saigon Buffalo (+400)
(-170) Evil Geniuses v PSG Talon (+130)
(+1300) Saigon Buffalo v T1 Esports (-6600)
(+405) PSG Talon v Royal Never Give Up (-650)
(+200) Evil Geniuses v G2 Esports (-275)
(-115) T1 Esports v Royal Never Give Up (-115)
DFS Fantasy Value Breakdown
Game #1: G2 Esports v Saigon Buffalo
Game Breakdown: This is both a great game to start the final day for G2 and also maybe their perfect nightmare. Without a doubt, we see that teams who have been eliminated from international play but still have games yet to play, are some of the most dangerous matchups out there. Saigon Buffalo have nothing to lose and can play with complete relaxation. G2 has all the pressure on them coming into this matchup Players like Flakked and BrokenBlade the pressure may be getting to them. Both young players have been expected to continue to play at a high level and in the last two days there has been a bit of an overcorrection to their production. We are seeing some of the flaws of G2, especially when teams can limit Caps’ ability to get out on the map and influence other lanes. The benefit for G2 is that SGB’s mid-laner (Froggy) has really struggled in the isolated lane and it will be more difficult for him to hold G2 in check.
Favorite Picks: Caps (G2: $11,700/$7,800), Jankos (G2: $7,200), Targamas (G2: $5,600)
Value Picks: Hasmed (SGB: $5,400), Shogun (SGB: $6,600)
Cann’s Match Pick: G2 Esports
Game #2: Evil Geniuses v PSG Talon
Game Breakdown: This could be the deciding factor for this group standings for the LCS. A win could all but solidify them as a lock for the next round. Unfortunately, PSG also needs this as a win because of where they are in the standings and how their second match of the day is against tournament favorites, RNG. Unified put on a clinic against G2 Esports on Monday but failed to show up against SGB on the same slate. I think Danny has a much higher ceiling in the ADC role, but it will be up to EG’s Inspired to make sure that Danny/Vulcan are getting through the first few levels without dying. I am excited to see how Impact can also build off his successes from Monday as well, being a particularly pivotal piece of EG’s win over T1.
Favorite Picks: Danny (EG: $10,800/$7,200), Inspired (EG: $6,600), Impact (EG: $5,800)
Value Picks: Bay (PSG: $6,600), Kaiwing (PSG: $5,000)
Cann’s Match Pick: Evil Geniuses
Game #3: Saigon Buffalo v T1 Esports
Game Breakdown: The best thing for the Korean Champions was losing to Evil Geniuses. I think the pressure that they have been carrying based on national expectations and the fact that the tournament is taking place in their country has been a lot for them to carry. Losing these games now, especially since they have all but locked up the next round, can help them work through some of those mental blocks. I love Zeus and his performance during this tournament. He has played with agency and can require very little in terms of jungle proximity. Oner will need to focus on making sure that his young ADC (Gumayusi) does not have another slip up game and give up kills needlessly.
Favorite Picks: Zeus (T1: $6,400), Oner (T1: $7,400), T1 ($5,200)
Value Picks: Shogun (SGB: $6,600)
Cann’s Match Pick: T1 Esports
Game #4: PSG Talon v Royal Never Give Up
Game Breakdown: This feels like the most one sided game of the day. In the first matchup RNG’s mid-laner (Xiaohu) and jungler (Wei) completely outclassed the entirety of PSG. I think RNG continues to avoid putting too many resources into their bottom lane and instead allows them to win the 2v2 on their own. Instead, watch for Xiaohu and Wei to either put pressure on Juhan in the jungler/around objectives. My sneaky pick for big showing is actually bin, who had a quiet game in their last matchup but came up huge against EG on Monday.
Favorite Picks: Xiaohu (RNG: $11,400/7,600$), Gala (RNG: $12,000/$8,000), Wei (RNG: $6,800), Royal Never Give Up ($5,000)
Cann’s Match Pick: Royal Never Give Up
Game #5: Evil Geniuses v G2 Esports
Game Breakdown: This is the sixth meeting between the two teams, with G2 winning all five previous meetings. You have to think that at some point, this matchup will break the other direction. Unfortunately for G2, I think it will happen at the worst possible time. If G2 found a way to lose their first match on Tuesday and EG/RNG lost to PSG, G2 could see this as an elimination game for them. I don’t think either piece of this puzzle will take place, but it is shocking to see a team who was 4-0 at one point now staring down the barrel of a 5th place finish. I think the biggest point of panic for G2 has to be in their top lane. In four matches BrokenBlade has one game with over 3 kills and a 7 kill, 10 death, and 11 assist scoreline (1.8 KDA). What was once a point of pressure on the map has quickly become a liability. We have also seen teams focus heavily on keeping Caps in lane and EG’s young mid-laner (jojopyun) has done a much better job in lane as of late. If EG keeps it simple and Danny can carry late game, you could see a dagger here.
Cann’s Match Pick: Evil Geniuses
Game #6: T1 Esports v Royal Never Give Up
Game Breakdown: The first matchup here was very close on paper but how it played out looked so one sided. T1’s top laner, Zeus, picked up early advantages in lane but the bottom lane quickly spiraled out of control. Xiaohu kept T1’s Faker in check and just out pressured the Korean legend. Gala played at a World Championship level as he went 12-0-6 and iced the late game teamfights. On Tuesday, we should fully expect the bottom lane to be a flaw for T1 and another place for Wei to focus on. The T1 win condition has to be escalating the early game and getting Gumayusi out of the laning phase as quickly as possible. Let Zeus apply pressure in side lanes and hopefully Oner can keep up with Wei’s map movements.
Cann’s Match Pick: Royal Never Give Up
Cann’s Example Lineup
DraftKings Classic – $50,000 Salary Cap
Captain (x1.5): Gala (RNG: $12,000)
Alternate: Danny (EG: $10,800)
Top: Impact (EG: $5,800)
Jungle: Wei (RNG: $6,800)
Mid: Xiaohu (RNG: $7,600)
ADC: Danny (EG: $7,200)
Alternate: Shogun (SGB: $6,600)
Support: Targamas (G2: $5,600)
Team: Royal Never Give Up ($5,000)
Alternate: Evil Geniuses ($4,600)
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