DFS LoL MSI Rumble Stage Day 1 Picks for May 14, 2021

The rumble stage is where MSI unofficially begins. There are some great matchups on the first day which should set the tone for how the rumble stage will go. The first match of the day pits Damwon against RNG where the winner will most likely be viewed as the favorite the rest of the way. The last match of the day is Cloud9 against the MAD Lions which is an even match on paper and will be crucial for any potential tiebreaker scenarios down the line.

Here’s a partial lineup of strong picks which performed well in the group stage for FanDuel and DraftKings on May 14

Despite Damwon losing to Cloud9 and almost losing to Detonation FocusMe, Canyon ($8,500 FD, $6,600 DK) showed that even in loses or games where the team falls behind early Canyon dominates his opponents. In both games against Cloud9 he completely destroyed Blaber in the early game and in the close match against DFM saved his team many times with clutch black shields. Ghost ($9,700 FD, $11,100 [MVP] DK) was Damwon’s most consistent player. Across six games he had a score line of 31/6/31 and has taken over as one of the carries of Damwon after losing Nuguri and acquiring Khan.

MAD Lions ($7,900 FD, $5,200 DK) have the easiest schedule for the first day of the rumble stage. They have a one sided affair against Pentanet for their opening game and what most people say would be a 50/50 match against Cloud9 in the last game of the day.

FanDuel is broken up into two sections, early and main. The early slate contains the matches of: RNG vs DK, PGG vs PSG, and MAD vs C9. The main slate contains the matches of: PGG vs MAD, DK vs PSG, and C9 vs RNG. Whereas the DraftKings lineup includes both matches from each team and their points will accrue over both games.

FanDuel Lineup for May 14 – Early

Carzzy ($9,700 FD, $12,000 [MVP] DK) was racking up points in the group stage due to all the hectic games that went on in Group B. Their opponents in Pentanet were doing the same thing over in Group A to create chaos against RNG and the Unicorns of Love. Both of these teams love to fight, and this game should be no different. Carrzy had the highest average points per game among the MAD Lions players and therefore makes the most sense for MVP.

The current top lane meta at MSI is exactly what made Armut ($7,900 FD, $6,600 DK) so successful in the spring split of the LEC. His most played champion in Gnar continues to be one of the highest priority champions in the game. Plus, the addition of Lee Sin solo lane has brought another bruiser that Armut can show his mechanical skills on. BioPanther played majority tanks in the LCO but has shifted to the bruiser style at MSI. Armut’s one versus one pressure should get the ball rolling for MAD Lions in this matchup.

Perkz ($8,500 FD, $6,600 DK) stepped up for Cloud9 in the second half of the group stage. He’s the perfect mid laner to slot into this expensive roster of Damwon and MAD Lions’ players. Perkz is the second cheapest mid laner for the early slate due to Cloud9’s tough matchup against RNG. However, RNG was not tested in the group stage of MSI and with Cloud9’s strong end, Perkz is the perfect wildcard that could come up huge against RNG.

Kaiser ($7,400 FD, $5,800 DK) was one of two players who I would have picked as the MVP for the group stage at MSI. The MAD Lions aggression in the early game comes from Kaiser’s ability to work with Carrzy in the early game to unlock roam timings for Kaiser to fish for plays around the map. Kaiser’s Nautilus was his best champion in the group stage as an engager but still fantastic performances on disengage champions like Tahm Kench and Thresh.

FanDuel Lineup for May 14 – Main

Just like the MAD Lions in the early slate, PSG Talon has the good fortune of playing Pentanet on the first day of the rumble stage. Hanabi ($7,400 FD, $5,600 DK) was the rock for PSG Talon in the group stage as he won his lane every single game with little to no jungle assistance.

Just like Worlds 2020 maybe people thought that PSG Talon would struggle due to them having a substitute player. However, you could argue that Doggo ($9,400 FD, $7,000 DK) has been one of PSG Talon’s best players so far at MSI. After a tough first game against the MAD Lions, Doggo has improved over the course of each game and had a combined score line of 28/5/28 in their next five. Doggo has shown the ability to play aggressive with Tristana but also scale with Kai’sa and Aphelios so whatever Pentanet decide to throw at him, he’ll be ready.

PSG Talon ($7,100 FD, $4,400 DK) is the cheapest team in the main slate of game which makes them the perfect pick. They have the perceived easiest matchup among those games and their thriftiness allows you to pick up some big time players for the rest of your lineup.

DraftKings Lineup for May 14

It’s hard to get a grasp on RNG after the group stage. They had a very easy group as the VCS representative wasn’t able to attend MSI and therefore only had two other easy teams in their group. While Damwon did look vulnerable in a few of their games in Group C, there is value is making mistakes early on in the tournament and being able to fix any issues. As opposed to facing relatively easy opponents and not learning much from the games. I’ve decided to roll out an almost full Damwon roster adding in both Khan ($7,900 FD, $6,200 DK) and ShowMaker ($9,400 FD, $7,200 DK). Every single Damwon pick is only the third most expensive for each role. Damwon’s value allows to pick their entire roster if you chose, but it also gives you flexibility to add in any other players from any other team and you will still slide under the cap.

Let us know about your wins on Twitter (@FantasyDFSX). We love to hear from you. Best of luck and have fun!