Thursday’s match between Cloud9 and Evil Geniuses should be one of the most intriguing matches of the playoffs. Cloud9 have fallen to the lower bracket early on for the second year in a row after dominating the spring split. Evil Geniuses were tied for first in record during the summer split and were 3-0 against Cloud9. Whoever loses will be eliminated from playoffs and therefore eliminated from worlds contention which would be a disappointment for both teams.
Here’s a core lineup of two players who are looking to bounce back after tough losses for FanDuel on August 19
| MVP | ||
| STAR | Jiizuke | $13,500 FD, $6,800 DK |
| UTILITY | ||
| UTILITY | Zven | $15,500 FD, $7,600 DK |
| UTILITY |
Jiizuke’s ($13,500 FD, $6,800 DK) improved play as been the primary reason for Evil Geniuses rise to the top of the crop in the summer split. Jiizuke had an up and down series against 100 Thieves looking great in some games and weak in other. He remains Evil Geniuses most important player for playoff success because of how different Evil Geniuses performs when he’s behind.
Zven ($15,500 FD, $7,600 DK) seems to be the first Cloud9 player other than Fudge who’s back at one hundred percent after a rough summer split. Zven has looked solid against both Team Liquid and Golden Guardians but has often been playing bot lane solo due to Vulcan’s continuous roams. Zven was the best AD carry in spring split working well with Vulcan in laning phase to get large advantages for Cloud9 through bot lane. Since Vulcan has gone on these roaming missions it has been difficult for Zven to make his presence known in these games. Cloud9 needs to revert to their old bot lane playstyle if they want to shut down the surging Danny.
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• Which position to avoid for one team
• Strategy on how to build your lineups for the different FanDuel and DraftKings roster formats
• Bonus picks for Friday’s LEC match between Fnatic and Misfits
For Thursday’s fantasy games, FanDuel follows the single game format. DraftKings follow the classic format, however, it includes the LCS series on Thursday, Friday and the LEC series between Fnatic and Misfits on Friday. Listed below will have some quick insight about those LEC picks if you don’t watch the region.
MVP Picks
It’s hard to ignore Danny’s ($14,500 FD, $10,500 [MVP] DK) MVP potential after his amazing series against 100 Thieves. Danny almost single-handedly carried Evil Geniuses to a victory after making the play of the year in game four with his Tristanna one versus five. Danny stood up to the strong laning of the 100 Thieves bot lane and was dishing out massive damage in teamfights. Cloud9’s bot lane of Zven and Vulcan play a more passive lane style, playing for map pressure rather than kills/tower plates. Additionally, Vulcan has the lowest duo proximity (time spent close to the AD carry) in the playoffs thus far leaving Zven exposed at times.
Blaber ($12,500 FD, $11,100 [MVP] DK) looked strong in a loss against Team Liquid and dominant against Golden Guardians. He seems to have added another champion to his already large champion pool with Trundle. Blaber has previously struggled against Evil Geniuses during his “die for scuttle crab” phase. In the back half of the summer split Blaber had a more measured approached in early game resulting in less deaths. Plus, with Cloud9 and Evil Geniuses being the most volatile teams in the league a best-of-five gives Blaber the leeway should he make a game deciding mistake.
Tier One Picks
Fudge ($9,500 FD, $7,000 DK) remains Cloud9’s most consistent player and one whom they like to play through in the early game. Fudge is capable on any top lane playstyle but is best on carries which makes him a strong pick. Fudge has done a great job of learning from his mistakes during the season which was proven by him winning the FTX most improved player of the year. Fudge’s great laning should give him the edge against Impact but the real challenge will be transitioning that into advantages for the rest of his team.
IgNar ($8,500 FD, $4,800 DK) has been criminally underrated throughout the entire summer split. There was little talk about him the whole season and how well he worked with Danny to make him one of the best AD carries in the league. He was snubbed from the all-pro teams and has been given little praise in Evil Geniuses two playoff series. He’s the cheapest player pick on both FanDuel and DraftKings which gives immense value for your team.
Tier Two Picks
It’s difficult to judge Perkz’s ($14,500 FD, $7,600 DK) form thus far in playoffs. He looked weak against Team Liquid who seem to be the best team in the league right now and strong against Golden Guardians who were the lowest seed in the playoffs. Perkz and Jiizuke’s volatility makes this mid lane matchup very interesting and could hinge on jungle ganks in the early game to swing the matchup. With Evil Geniuses’ uncertainty at the jungle position, it could give Perkz the advantage he needs to get back into form.
Impact ($8,500 FD, $6,200 DK) had an all-around bad series against 100 Thieves. He has weak in lane against Ssumday, who is a weak laner by nature, and had minimal influence in the mid to late game. Impact normally acts as a neutralizer to his lane opponent but was rendered useless the entire series after falling so far behind in each laning phase. Impact is normally a player you don’t need to worry about but after a performance that bad it’s difficult to not knock him down a few pegs.
Gameplan
The jungle role for Evil Geniuses is still up in the air. After starting the entire against Dignitas in the first round of playoffs, it was thought that Contractz was going to remain the starter for the remainder of the season. However, after Contractz was pulled in game five against 100 Thieves due to repeated poor performances and Svenskeren came back in. This leaves us questioning who the starter will be when the series begins, and will we see them benched if their performances aren’t up to par.
Bonus LEC Picks
Upset (N/A FD, $7,800 DK) is the best player in this series and the perfect fantasy player if you’re looking for big points in wins and losses. In major statistics in the LEC Upset is first in KDA, second in kills per game, and second in least deaths per game among all starting players. Many were worried what would happen to Fnatic after losing Rekkles but Upset has been a perfect pair with Hylissang.
HiRit (N/A FD, $6,000 DK) looked great against Odoamne in a razor thin loss to Rogue. Hirit has been the surprise of the Misfits roster and a big reason behind their rise in the standings in summer. Hirit is almost an exclusive carry player with high risk and high reward. His opponent in Adam only joined the LEC right before the start of summer and is very up and down in his performances.
Bwipo (N/A FD, $7,200 DK) made the transition from top lane to jungle between spring and summer after a disappointing spring split on Fnatic. He instantly found success in his new role and has looked great in the already difficult jungle player pool in Europe. Despite being the “rookie” in his matchup against Razork it should be a competitive matchup between two differing playstyles.
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