All-Star Fantasy Picks: A Diamond in the Draft
Riot·5/15/2014, 3:41:48 AM·0 votes·693 views
When drafting a jungler for your fantasy team this summer split, look no further than the EU LCS All-Star vote. Danil "Diamond" Reshetnikov is popular for a reason, and that reason could very well earn you hefty stacks of Fantasy points. Diamond has a reputation for innovation, which makes him a prize in terms of both reliability and sparks of brilliance, but let's take a moment to remind you exactly why Diamond is a high priority draft pick.
Diamond will come out with new curve balls to throw off the opponents in some of Gambit's toughest weeks, meaning you can expect him to wreak havoc on the teams your friends foolishly stack with picks from other teams while you reap the rewards.
This split, everyone knew to watch out for Diamond's Lee Sin, but he also taught us how to play Evelynn after her changes went through. Only Diamond would think to rush Blade of the Ruined King and Randuin's on an AP assassin. Though Gambit ended the split with its worst placement yet, Diamond finished in the top half of junglers across both the NA and EU LCS in overall points, and played in 2 fewer games. In short, even when Diamond isn't spectacular, he's reliable. This means that, even if you don't choose him as a starter, he makes for a solid substitute jungler when you know your top pick will have a tough week.
POINT GETTER, WIN MAKER
I could go on and on about Diamond's ability to influence the map, find kills, get out of tight situations without dying, and bring home the win almost single-handedly, or I could just show you the following game. Diamond acted as a pest whenever Svenskeren went for a gank, turning the situation and finding kills and assists. An impressive reaction at about eleven minutes found him a Double kill and an easy snowball over Svenskeren. Diamond ended the game 5/0/10. Any player who can pull off play of that caliber is worth a starter position on your fantasy squad. Despite some of Gambit's ups and downs, we dare to say that that kind of play out of Diamond isn't so much the exception as it is the rule. Diamond is known for his ability to impact games. A lot of this is the result of his strong team play. He seldom fails to pull off a successful ultimate in a fight, and that will find him enough kills and assists for the 10 bonus. In addition, his famous counter-jungling could very well net him an appreciable amount of farm. Who says you can't have a jungler in your flex role?ALWAYS RELEVANT
While many are wowed by Diamond's Lee Sin play or recall his Shyvana fondly, Xin Zhao is a definite contender for Diamond's all-time bread-and-butter pick. His record of 11 wins and six losses since the Season 2 World Championship on Xin Zhao definitely makes him a strong pickup going into the next split, but that begs the question, when has Diamond's champion pool seemed weak? One might argue that 2013 LCS Summer was a time when Diamond scrambled to find a pick that worked for him, but his penchant for innovation generally carries him through.
Diamond will come out with new curve balls to throw off the opponents in some of Gambit's toughest weeks, meaning you can expect him to wreak havoc on the teams your friends foolishly stack with picks from other teams while you reap the rewards.
This split, everyone knew to watch out for Diamond's Lee Sin, but he also taught us how to play Evelynn after her changes went through. Only Diamond would think to rush Blade of the Ruined King and Randuin's on an AP assassin. Though Gambit ended the split with its worst placement yet, Diamond finished in the top half of junglers across both the NA and EU LCS in overall points, and played in 2 fewer games. In short, even when Diamond isn't spectacular, he's reliable. This means that, even if you don't choose him as a starter, he makes for a solid substitute jungler when you know your top pick will have a tough week.
