League of Legends: DraftKings Semifinals Notes

League of Legends: Semi-Finals DraftKings Daily Fantasy Notes

SK Telecom (SKT) vs Origen (OG)

Fnatic (FNC) vs KOO Tigers (KOO)

SKT vs OG

The general consensus on this game is: Origen will need some luck to take more than a game off of SKT. I expect Origen can win a game if they execute very well and enable Niels. He will be the catalyst that his team depends on to get ahead of Bang and push that advantage in the mid-game. The conflict of styles (OG prefers longer games, SKT dominant in the early/mid game) will be important to watch. From a fantasy perspective, one would think if SKT gets their way, the games could snowball out of control and SKT will win easily. If it gets too late game, I expect there will be very little bloodshed and only a handful of kills before 20 minutes. Any sort of Origen stack (or even just one player) is a serious risk because three losses can be damning to the bottom line score. Niels is the only OG player I value highly.

Value plays I love:

• Bengi – Jungle – SKT – $7,000 – Probably the best value per dollar of all SKT players.  Amazing (jungler for Origen) has struggled applying much pressure and his fantasy scores are an indication of that.  Look for bengi to head mid and help is buddy Faker/Easyhoon early and often.

• Bang – ADC – SKT – $8,700 – You will have to pay up to get him but he is almost a must play in cash games. Even if you pair him with his opponent Niels in the flex I like both of their values. Bang leads ADC’s at Worlds in almost every statistical category and he has combined for at least 8 combined kills and assists in every game, often finishing well above that total. If SKT finishes the series in 3 games those 20 point bonuses will be a loss of value for Bang, but he should perform well enough in the games he does play to put up huge fantasy numbers. He also has the highest floor of anyone in the tournament so you get the safety of that when you pay up to get him.

 

Players I’ll avoid:

• SoaZ – Top – OG – $4,700 – You will get what you pay for here. Certainly a reasonable price for roster flexibility but the floor is quite low.

• Faker – Mid – SKT – $8,200 – There are more rumors that Easyhoon will be starting (as there was last week) so we will continue to suggest avoiding him until there is some more clarity. I really don’t even like Easyhoon for the price and I think Xpeke will match up much better against him. In fact, if Easyhoon does start, I can see myself using Xpeke in GPP games possibly in the flex spot.

 

Worth a flyer:

• Niels – ADC – OG – $5,600 – Flyer is the perfect word for playing Niels.  You can slot him in the flex nicely with that salary and he has the upside to carry a game or two to rack up points.  Flex play is about all I’d consider him at this point.

 

FNC vs KOO

This is definitely the premier matchup of the day. Both teams trying to prove they are elite after they both put in dominant performances in the quarterfinals. I hope this will be our first series that goes the distance because if this one doesn’t, will there be any? Keep in mind, Fnatic has secured first blood in every single game they have played. If they fail to do that and don’t snowball an early lead, they could be exploited as they are not very accustomed to playing from behind. KOO knows that game and I think they will be better at adapting. From a fantasy perspective I think the Fnatic players are generally safer but they cost more and have lower ceilings. Players like Kuro and Smeb have price tags that just beg you to put them on your roster because they have massively high ceilings. I think I personally, will take the risk in GPP’s and go with KOO stack along with some SKT players but for most cash games, you can’t go wrong with the studs on Fnatic.

Value plays I love:

• Febiven – Mid – FNC – $7,400 – I agonized over this one for a while between Kuro and Febiven. They are very close in most statistical categories and I’d say from a fantasy ceiling perspective Kuro may have the slight edge. I’m going with Febiven because I just want the safety and security. Generally, I am willing to pay up for that in cash games and considering mid lane is such a premium, I think you have to consider the floor of the player before investing. His 143 points in the series against EDG was the most among all mid laners and though I don’t expect that level of dominance, he presents excellent value and someone to build your team around.

• Smeb – Top – KOO – $6,000 – Top lane is extremely difficult to evaluate for DFS purposes. MaRin seems like the obvious choice but from a per dollar value standpoint, Smeb is the best option. He needed some help from Hojin to take down Ssumday a few times in each game but once he got ahead, he really flourished and carried the game. Even if he doesn’t play Fiora again he is capable of playing like that again and dominating the game. Huni is certainly a formidable opponent and I have no problem going that direction. I’m not building my team around my top laner so a cheaper option like Smeb is a great choice considering his upside.

Players I’ll avoid:

• Rekkles – ADC – FNC – $7,800 – He is the second highest salary ADC ($7,800) and he has his toughest matchup yet in the bottom lane. Gorilla and Pray have been playing very well and they really shine in teamfights as well. Rekkles has been playing well and full credit to him but I expect KOO to slow down the Fnatic pace and that could prevent the early kills and snowball that Fnatic loves in the early game. I don’t hate Rekkles I just like all the other ADC options a bit more.

Worth a Flyer:

• Gorilla – Support – KOO – $5,400 – I am putting a lot of eggs in the KOO basket, but I believe they just present some great upside based on per dollar value.  KOO has a very legit chance to upset Fnatic and Gorilla is playing better than he has all year.  He also has shown he can play many different champions and has only played 1 champion twice so Fnatic will have a tough time banning him out in that phase.

• Reignover – Jungle – FNC – $6,200 – Thus far he has proven to be a pretty solid option and his price is reasonable enough to extract some very good value out of him. He has basically the same number of kills and assists as Bengi for SKT so the deaths are the only thing that bring the value down. Fnatic as a team does a great job of covering weaknesses and didn’t allow EDG and Clearlove to bully Reignover. Not to say he is a weakness but Clearlove has the upper hand as a jungler but the teamplay of Fnatic negates that. I really do think/hope this series is drawn to 5 games. Certainly worth the price.

 

Good luck with your DraftKings lineups this weekend and make sure you subscribe!  Also check out our other writers info on AlphaDraft if you plan on double dipping this weekend on a few different sites!

 

 

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