Fantasy Love/Hate: Week 5
Team Dignitas is the real deal. Team Dignitas is the real deal. Team Dignitas is the real deal.
Say it as many times as it takes you to believe it, then go scoop up whichever players are available in your Fantasy LCS league!
For Fantasy Week 5, We Love...
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PePiiNeRo (vs. Unicorns of Love, Elements)
Giants Gaming got shut out hard by H2K last week. But who hasn't? Neither Unicorns of Love nor Elements have the same level of raw discipline and coordination to keep Isaac "PePiiNeRo" Flores in check this week.
Both teams have a history of giving up solid points to the mid laner. UoL has allowed opposing mid laners an average of 18 points per game, and Elements gives up 19. The prone-to-power-plays PePiiNeRo should have no problem extracting a respectable week from this lineup. And there shouldn't be any surprise role swaps this time... right, PePi?
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PowerofEvil (vs. Giants, ROCCAT)
Deja vu. In the past two weeks, Giants and ROCCAT have given up almost the exact same 18-19 points to enemy mid laners as UOL and Elements did. They also failed to kill the opposing mid laner in half of their matches, only managing to dish out nine mid-laner deaths total across those eight games.
Tristan "PowerOfEvil" Schrage shouldn't be your highest scoring player this week, but he's a great sub or flex on a tough week.
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Gamsu (vs. Enemy Esports, Team Dragon Knights)
I'll admit it. I've been skeptical of the gold and black, mainly because of the easy schedule they started off with this Split.
But after another 2-0 weekend, it's time for every last holdout to admit that Team Dignitas players are solid fantasy starters -- and hope we're not too late to the party to pick one up.
Top laner Yeong-Jin "Gamsu" Noh, in particular, had insanely high kill participation last week and single-handedly made me scared of Jarvan IV again. He's the #8 top laner overall (just behind Team SoloMid's Marcus "Dyrus" Hill), and he has a super squishy schedule this week that should offer plenty of opportunity for big points.
He probably won't repeat his outrageous 78-point performance of last week, but he should still break into the top five top laners list easily.
But We Hate...
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Fox (vs. Elements, H2K)
SK Gaming looked better last week -- but so did their upcoming "easy" opponent this week, Elements. SK definitely has a chance to beat them, but both teams are so unstable right now that it's hard to recommend betting on it.
In fact, if I were going to bet on anything, I would bet on H2K absolutely shutting down SK Gaming's fantasy potential on Friday. Some teams let the opposing players rack up fantasy points while beating them, but H2K is not one of them.
The trouble with losing to H2K is that they out-rotate their opponents and choke them out on objectives and split pushes. They go for the slow, sure kill, and give up very few fantasy points to their victims -- especially mid laners. In their seven wins this Split, opposing mid laners have earned a total of 41 points. A pathetic five points-per-game average!
If you're searching for a long-term payoff, maybe stash Fox on your bench. But even die-hard fans shouldn't start him yet.
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Fenix (vs. Counter Logic Gaming, Gravity)
These are going to be great games, and if you expect Team Liquid to win both of these matches, Kim "Fenix" Jae-hun could be a good starter for you. But mid laners that lose to Counter Logic Gaming and Gravity are frequently held to very low numbers -- a 12 point average in the last two weeks.
If you have a safer choice this week, take it. The inconsistency of TL and Gravity make this one too risky for my tastes.
Josh Augustine's favorite champion is Rek'Sai, 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 on EverQuest Next at Daybreak Games. He’d love to talk with you on Twitter.
