LCS/LEC DFS Playoff Picks (4/19/20): DraftKings, FanDuel League of Legends Daily Fantasy

Welcome to RotoBaller's coverage of League of Legends DFS for FanDuel and DraftKings. Hopefully, you've been following our coverage of the LPL/LCK overnight slates on DraftKings. Today, I will be focusing on the two-game LEC and LCS playoff slate that has contests available on both FanDuel and DraftKings.

Today's slate should be the final LCS/LEC slate we see for a while, but could be the most exciting slate yet! We have only the best teams remaining and they'll be battling it out for their respective league's championships.

Today we'll be bringing on our top League of Legends advice, analysis, and picks, for the LEC playoff slate that locks on Saturday, April 19 at 11:00 AM. Follow me on twitter @ThunderDanDFS and definitely make sure you're following my LoL mentor and our RotoBaller lead ESports analyst @Mr_Malmanger, too!

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League of Legends DFS Basics

Since LEC contests are being offered on both FanDuel and DraftKings, it's important to note some pricing discrepancies from site to site, but the roster slots, scoring, and roster construction rules are almost entirely identical with the only exception being that FanDuel forces you to roster at least one player (or team slot) from a third team, while you can play only two teams among your seven roster slots on DraftKings.

1. Stacking in LoL DFS lineups is very important. 4-3 stacks are the order of the day (on DraftKings) with 3-3-1 becoming more popular (and necessary on FanDuel) as people try to differentiate their lineups in these suddenly large-field GPPs.
2. In LoL DFS, it is very important to focus on players from winning teams. Think in terms of baseball, one side of the matchup is like a pitcher and the other side the batter. This means there is a very negative correlation between teams in the same match. Players score by accumulating kills, which costs the other side points in deaths. Just like earned runs bring down your pitcher’s score.
3. Along with this another mistake I see beginners making is trusting average scoring.  Players' scoring potential is only realized in games that are won. If player X averages 50 DKP, that likely comes from scoring 70 in a 2-0 win and 30 in an 0-2 defeat. What this means is that someone who looks like a value at $4800 suddenly might not end up being such a great point-per-dollar play.
4. Finally, you're going to want to do your best you fill your captain slot with an ADC or MID.  Depending on which teams and players you decide to stack that might not be feasible. The order of preference for your captain slot is generally ADC, MID, JNG, TOP, SUP.  Some players in some positions may stand out above the others so consider stats like kill share before you make your final decision.

NOTE: An important detail to note in regards to scoring is that both teams and players can get a double bonus for sweeping their opponent 3-0 in the best of five format. Each player receives 20 extra points in a 3-1 series victory, while teams get 15 additional points. That becomes 40 points per player in a sweep and 30 points per team. Both DraftKings and FanDuel both have the same scoring rules for this bonus.

 

LEC Championship 

Sunday 11:00 AM: G2 (-130) vs Fnatic (-110)

This is the matchup we've all been waiting for as the top two teams in the LEC face off in what should be an epic showdown. Fnatic has looked incredible in the playoffs so far, dropping only one game through their first two series, while G2 has had to battle it's way back through the losers' bracket after being upset in round one by MAD.

G2 took both regular-season matches this season against Fnatic with kill totals of 11-6 and 25-9. They are slight favorites here based on the first odds put out by Vegas and have been the better team this season in most statistical categories.

This series is the hardest one to pick on the day, with C9 being big favorites in the LCS finals, and also has the potential to be the bloodier of the two series, too. G2 led all LEC teams with 19.7 kills per game this season while Fnatic was right behind them with 15.8. Both teams also die a good bit, with G2 at 12.2 deaths and Fnatic at 11.9 deaths per game. Neither team is shy when it comes to fighting and we should see some awesome team fights in this one.

I will be hedging my bets here a little in this matchup, but I can't help but like G2 a bit more and I think they end up taking the series 3-2. They are simply too good and while Rekkles and Caps are pretty evenly matched as the two best ADC's in the league, G2 has the advantage talent-wise in nearly every other position. How these teams draft and how what in-game strategies they end up utlilizing in this series will be huge. Fnatic is playing so well that they absolutely could beat G2 here, especially with their ability to play well in the early game. They're priced as the second cheapest team on the slate on both sites, which makes them great GPP plays.

I still lean G2 here, and they are my top stack on the day based on how well they should score in a win. I wouldn't rule out a game stack here and I would definitely grab a piece on FanDuel from whichever team you predict to lose as your "one-off" since you need exposure to a third team. G2 is priced cheaper than C9, making them easier to fit as a four-man stack and I think they have more upside based on the potential for huge kill totals in this series.

Top G2 Stack: 

• Jankos - JNG (9200 FanDuel, 6200 DraftKings)
• Caps - ADC (10400 FanDuel, 7600 DraftKings)
• Perkz - MID (9500 FanDuel, 7400 DraftKings)
• Mikyz - SUP (8100 FanDuel, 5400 DraftKings)

Favorite Captain/MVP: Caps 

 

Top Fnatic Stack:

• Bwipo - TOP (8200 FanDuel, 6000 DraftKings)
• Selfmade - JNG (8400 FanDuel, 6600 DraftKings)
• Rekkles - ADC (1000 FanDuel, 7400 DraftKings)
• Hylassing - SUP (7300 FanDuel, 5000 DraftKings)

 

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LCS Championship 

Sunday 4:00 PM:  Cloud9 (will be favored) vs Flyquest

This game might end up being a bit anti-climatic after the LEC series as Cloud9 is going to be a heavy favorite here. They ran their way through this league with only one regular-season loss and have only dropped one of seven games this postseason, racking up a 2.56 K/D rate as a team and averaging 18.7 kills per game. Most impressively they're averaging only 28 minutes per game, showing they have been dominating their opponents early and finishing them off quickly. They handled FQ in both of their head-to-head matchups this season and I expect them to sweep or worst-case scenario win 3-1 in this series.

The only issue here are their prices and the potential for them to win too easily. The LCS tends to be a slower, more objective-focused league and C9 only averaged 16 kills per game this season. C9 players are all the most expensive at their positions on DraftKings with the exception of Vulcan.

On FanDuel, Nisqy and Zven do come at a little discount off Perkz and Caps. It will be finding the right pieces from C9 that may make or break your lineup, but I definitely don't think you have to try to fit a full 4-man stack. While they should pick up some bonuses for winning in less than five games, those extra points might not be enough to justify their prices if G2 or Fnatic players end up playing 4-5 bloody games in their series.

The Cloud9 team slot is the most expensive on both sites but could be worth paying up for as they could end up with a huge score. C9 should dominate towers, dragons, and rack up 15-30 bonus points for finishing their series early.

Top C9 Stack:

• Blaber - JNG (8900 FanDuel, 7000 DraftKings)
• Nisqy - MID (9200 FanDuel, 7600 DraftKings)
• Zven - ADC (10300 FanDuel, 7800 DraftKings)
• Vulcan - SUP (7800 FanDuel, 5200 DraftKings)

Favorite captain/MVP: Blaber

FlyQuest - FADE

 

Summary

1. I'm rolling with the two best teams in their respective leagues, G2 and C9. G2 has the talent to win out over a five-game series and C9 should handle FQ in three or four games.
2. Don't fade Fnatic! They can win that series and if they do, you'll need 3-4 of them in your lineup to cash.
3. I'll be fading Flyquest, here. It's been a great run for them in the playoffs but it's about to come to an end against a clearly superior C9 team.

 

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— John Deacon (@Jdeacdfs) April 10, 2020

 

 

Looking Forward

Be sure to check back throughout the week as we'll be publishing daily ESports DFS articles, analysis and lineup picks for League Of Legends, CounterStrike, Rocket League and eNASCAR. Thanks for reading, and good luck RotoBallers!

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