Fantasy Mailbag: Week 9
Every Monday until the LCS split ends, send all your questions over to us @lolesports on Twitter. Use the #FantasyLCS tag to get a chance to have them answered and seen by all Fantasy LCS fans such as yourself. This is the last week of Fantasy LCS, so make sure to get your final rosters in now!
Week 9
WoadKing: Do I start Hjarnan or Apollo?
Jayway: Hjarnan. Even though Apollo's match against Team Dignitas looks favorable, he also draws the always-dangerous Counter Logic Gaming bot lane duo that has held opposing ADCs to just 13.6 pts/game over the past two weeks. Meanwhile, after watching last week's bloodbath between Fnatic and Unicorns of Love, Hjarnan's matchup against either team is looking a lot better now. The average player in that FNC vs. UoL game scored over 30 points! Don't let last week's slip-up against Elements deter you from starting him; expect tons of fireworks when he plays against two of the most bloodthirsty EU teams. With Playoff seeding implications on the horizon, Hjarnan should be ready to come out in full force.
Marco: Should I start Saintvicious or Porpoise8?
JW: Porpoise8. Both players have scored similarly for the split so the answer to this question will revolve around the showdown between Gravity and Team 8 on Day 2. Porpoise8 has done his fair share of carrying and has higher upside; he has gone over 45 points in three of the eight weeks so far. Saint has broken that mark just once. What's more, his comfort picks such as Sejuani and Nunu should be contested this weekend due to champion pool overlap with opposing junglers. For the split, the advantage goes to Porpoise as well; he's averaging close to 3 pts/game more than Saintvicious with double the amount of kills.
Drew: Dyrus or Impact for top?
JW: Impact. Ever since Impact's low-scoring debut week, he has quickly adjusted to become NA's best fantasy top laner of the split. He's sitting nearly 5.5 pts/game ahead of Dyrus at the moment and has shown no signs of slowing down. Over the past two weeks, Impact went over 50 points both times, and almost hit 45 points in Week 6. Dyrus has had a quiet fantasy season; he has surpassed 40 fantasy points just once this whole split -- and Impact managed to outscore him during that week anyway. Start your big-time fantasy performers regardless of matchup. I personally made the mistake of benching Huni last week in favor of an upstart Odoamne; let's not repeat the same mistake.
Yamazuya: Start Link or Fox this week?
JW: Fox. SK has a much softer schedule closing out the split against Gambit and last place Meet Your Makers. And with Forg1ven drawing a lot of focus in-game, Fox has been given more playmaking opportunities. On top of that, Team 8 and a rising Team Impulse -- two teams that Link has previously torn up -- have vastly improved since their last meeting. Slooshi8 and XiaoWeiXiao are dangerous matchups, much like Bjergsen and Shiphtur were last week. It doesn't help that Link has struggled to find fantasy points recently; the past two weeks were record-lows this split.
Uwe: H2K or UoL players?
JW: UoL. The Unicorns of Love are coming off a huge win over Fnatic and they tend to play up to their opposition (4-2 against EU's four best teams). This week looks promising when they face off against top-tier Gambit and H2K, teams reeling from losses to bottom-ranked teams. UoL has historically performed better in terms of fantasy scoring, (19.3 pts/player per game) good enough for No. 3 overall behind Fnatic and Team SoloMid for the split. Every UoL player except for Hylissang went above sixty points last week. It's difficult to pass up another opportunity at that.
Riot Jayway has been working with Fantasy LCS stats and projections since its inception. As an avid follower of both leagues and stats enthusiast, he's a valued internal resource for lolesports. With solid analysis, he'll be able to help you out on all your Fantasy needs.
