Fantasy Love/Hate: Spring 2016 Week 8

We only have 2 more weeks to duke it out in Fantasy LCS to secure the ultimate bragging rights of winning 1st place!

If you're in the lead, you may want to start leaning towards safer, steady picks that will prevent you from bombing out at the worst possible time. And if you're falling behind and facing stronger opponents, it's time to go all-out with those boom-or-bust risky picks to secure the upset!

With that in mind, I'm going to lean a little towards the proven players with reliable stats this week. These are the guys we can count on to get us solid -- if not astronomical -- points as we close in on the end of the Split.

For Fantasy Week 8, We Love...

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TSM's Bjergsen (vs. REN, TIP)

TSM's two-faced performances have left a lot of fantasy owners frustrated this Split, but the payoff is here. This should be their first 2-0 week since Week 5, and the matchups are so juicy that Bjergsen should be able to keep your team in the running almost singlehandedly.

Bjergsen is already the most reliable player on TSM and should have no problem against Pirean and REN's new replacement mid, Ninja. There is some risk for teams facing the new roster of REN, because we don't know exactly what to expect, but there's data for this matchup in particular to make you feel comfortable.

Bjergsen went 11/3/3 on Ezreal the last time he faced off against Ninja (Week 6 of the 2015 Summer Split), and there's plenty of footage of the new players for TSM to analyze from their Challenger matches. All signs point to a big week for Bjergsen.

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UOL's Loulex (vs. OG, EL)

Some people in the community were so used to complaining about Loulex from his time on H2K last year that they quickly blamed him for UOL's Week 7 loss to ROC. But Loulex actually ended up with solid fantasy stats that game (0/2/8) and he helped shred Splyce the next day with a 0/1/14 record on Gragas for 36 total points!

Based on that, we can expect Loulex to earn support-style points -- few kills but a lot of assists. He's not Rush, but he should be a safe bet this week against two struggling teams. EL gave opposing junglers a combined 6/1/11 record last week. OG gave up 24 deaths to G2 alone last week, and their trip to IEM Katowice didn't help boost their confidence.

As a nice bonus, Loulex is pretty likely to be available for pickup in your league right now. So if you're in a tight spot, look for there first.

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CLG's Darshan (vs. TL, FOX)

Darshan is more than a split pusher. In past seasons, his playstyle of burning down buildings across the map hasn't always led to reliable fantasy points. But this year, he's been more confrontational, which has made him a steady fantasy producer you can rely on.

He doesn't steal the spotlight on fantasy teams, like Jensen and Perkz do. You won't be bragging about his insane high score to your buddies. He's never even been in the top 5 at his position in fantasy points for a given week.

But here's what Darshan does offer. He gives you invaluable consistency that's especially worthwhile if your roster has a lot of boom-or-bust players in other positions. Outside of CLG's painful Week 5, Darshan has always been between the #6 and the #11 top laner every single week this Split, with a steady 14 points/game average.

He should be able to pull another solid ~25 points out against these two struggling teams this week.

But We Hate...

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NRG's Impact (vs. IMT, TL)

I didn't want to believe it. I love Impact, but it's time to face the facts: he's averaged less than 10 points/game since Week 4. NRG has struggled to find their identity in the LCS, but they seem fairly confident that whatever their ultimate gameplan will be, it doesn't revolve around Impact playing carry champions.

And that's bad news for Impact owners. His relegation to tanky supports has taken a toll on his fantasy points, and this week's super tough schedule makes me doubt that this will be the week he transcends his current trend.

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FNC's Spirit (vs. GIA, VIT)

Based only off of stats from LCS matches, this actually doesn't look like an awesome week for Spirit. Yes, he scored 17 points against GIA previously, but VIT has been near-perfect at shutting down opposing junglers. Spirit only managed to score 2(!) points against them previously, and that's not unusual for VIT's opponents lately (they haven't lost since Week 4).

When we look outside LCS matches, things get more optimistic. FNC really came together at IEM Katowice last weekend, toppling everyone except the unwavering SKT. Spirit ended IEM Katowice with decent stats that would've earned him great fantasy points, and he should be able to carry some of that momentum into the LCS this week.

But, here's the catch for me. If I'm going to gamble on FNC against VIT, I'd much prefer to go with one of their carries or support. Spirit is consistently the lowest, or second-lowest fantasy scorer on their team each week, so the ceiling is lower here than with his teammates. Go with them, if you can.

Josh Augustine's favorite champion is Vladimir, he's never enjoyed a Darius, and he will always go for the kill, even when he knows he shouldn't. He currently works as a game designer at Daybreak Games. He’d love to talk with you on Twitter.