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LCS Fantasy Draft Preview

KnightFalling··2 votes·1,136 views

Welcome to my fantasy LCS draft preview. I will review all the teams and rolls of the draft. I will rate each on a 1-10 scale not only to compare within each category also to compare between positions overall during drafting.

Team Analysis

Your examination of the teams is THE most important part of your fantasy draft. This is not because of the importance of team points (which are still important) but because a team’s performance overall in the league will drastically impact its players ability to perform. The perfect example is Creaton who was leading the league in kills until he broke his hand in the EU LCS last year but when the new season came around he was unable to produce because of team issues. Keep these things in mind as you draft individual positions. The NALCS has always been top heavy but this year it seems like it is even more so with 4-6 teams that will be world class. The EULCS is always a mess it seems as this year it is differing shades of gray where any team can beat any other on any given day.

Cloud 9 - (9) The only reason Cloud 9 is not a 10 is because of the health issues of Hai. It worries me slightly that he might not be able to perform early. That is the one and only issue however as Cloud 9 has been a machine crushing the NALCS. It has set records for wins and shown complete domination. Despite the NALCS having what may be the strongest top end teams in the league I expect them to still be near or at the top all year.

Fnatic – (8) Fnatic the kings of your Europe have looked vulnerable. Soaz who was once the undisputed king of the top lane has not seemed as dominant. Xpeke used to win lane on a regular basis but now seems to go even as often as not. One thing to keep in mind however is Fnatic are always innovating and are the most veteran team in EU now that Gambit has lost Alex Ich. When they win, they win big and stat stuff. When they lose it tends to be close. I have them as my top European pick for this reason.

SK – (8) If Fnatic is 1 in Europe then SK is 1A. They won the spring split and came up just short of Fnatic in the playoffs. They have strong lanes good rotations and just seem to find ways to win. They are consistent if not flashy.

Alliance – (7) Hailed as a super team Alliance went through growing pains but emerged as a real threat for playoffs. Alliance has solid players all around but Froggen seems to be the only world class standout. Alliance as time goes on may find its synergy and rival teams that have been together longer but until they do they remain third on my list of EU teams.

TSM – (7) TSM went through major changes and on the outside it seems that it will improve the team. History in fact shows that TSM is very good about improving their team when they make changes. Any team has growing pains however and TSM I believe will have major ones. One of the biggest may be shot calling as two major voices have now left the team. You also have to wonder is gleelglarbu is going to transition to the stage well. That being said this squad may have picked off two of the best players at Europe and has always consistently been top three. DO NOT OVERPICK THEM HOWEVER. TSM has a massive fan base and many will pick them far too early. If they fall to you pick them but pick with your head not your heart.

CLG – (7) Could this be the year the CLG breaks through and overcomes their TSM jinx? CLG just might on the strength of their new imports Dexter and Seraph. The difference between having Dexter and not was easily seen as CLG was far more cohesive. The same CLG showed its face in the playoffs again though as TSM managed to pull victory out of CLG’s hands in game 2 and romp them in game 3 of playoffs. Could Seraph be the missing link? Say Korean and most Leaguers quake in their boots but who knows if it will be a good fit? TSM has questions but CLG has just as many but both are looking very good.

Roccat – (7) Roccat was an absolute force in EU but as time went on their Cloud 9 like ability to team fight their way out of any situation seemed to lessen and teams caught up to them. Roccat is still a force and its unusual ability to function highly as a team will keep them near the top of the EU but unless something changes they will be unable to break into the elite world class level. That being said they are still the fourth best team in Europe versus a NALCS which is highly volatile. You could justify picking them ahead of most NALCS teams or behind them depending on your belief in said teams.

LMQ- (6) The ultimate wildcard. LMQ sent shivers through the spines of teams at the bottom of the NALCS all last split. XDG were the ones to feel the monster however. The question now becomes does LMQ’s aggressive style work against the best teams in the world? The top 4 NALCS teams all seem to have gotten better. LMQ may have an early advantage as their style will take time to adjust too but as the year goes on will LMQ be able to adjust as teams adjust to them? Bet on one thing high kill games when LMQ is involved but this also means high death counts as well which as a double edges sword. I could see LMQ be anywhere between 1st and 5th but no matter what it will be fun to watch.

Dignitas – (6) Dig picked two of the best solo laners in NA that can be the best on any given day. Zion and Shiphtur give this team a major boost and the potential to be world class…if they can jell. Coast never was the best at communication and strategy and Dig lacked in these areas as well. Can this combination be superpowered or just a continuation of the same middle of the road dig?

Gambit – (5) Ohh Gambit you drive us crazy. Darrien feeding till the other team is queasy and Genja finding some new way to make us go HUH? It was great….but the honeymoon might be over. What may have been the strongest player on their team is gone and not because he is retiring but because he was tired of the team dynamic. That is a scary thing. Diamond is still world class but the rest of the team all have question marks. Gambit always seemed to win because of their synergy. Will it still be there? Will their be further personnel moves and issues?

Curse – (5) Forever fourth curse may now be fighting for their lives in the strongest NALCS ever. The bot lane shall lead them however as Cop an always underrated ADC now has the best support in NA. Curse has always been known as innovators and they will have to be as they face loaded squads above them. I believe curse will beat any team on any given day but when your bot lane is your strongest and other lanes tend to be feast or famine you are going to lose to great teams.

Millenium – (5) Millenium is my sleeper pick. Last in the spring replacing Araneae gave the team new life. Kerp is sneaky good. Kevin is solid and Creaton when on his game can beat any ADC in Europe. Look for Millenium to surprise a lot of teams this year. They may even leapfrog Gambit and Roccat if things go right.

Supah Hot Crew – (4) Supah Hot Crew has potential but as rookies they seemed to experience weekly growing pains. While showing signs of brilliance and ability to shock teams they could never be consistent. Replacing mixa should help as MRALLEZ has a ton of potential on bot but until they show they can be consistent they are headed to fight for relegation again.

EG – (3) EG was supposed to come over and make hay. Instead they struggled and fought all year. Pobelter known as feast or famine midlaner had a pretty good year. The rest of the team did as well. Pretty good is nowhere near good enough against great however and NALCS is brimming with strong teams. It will be a long year for EG.

Copenhagen - (3) Losing your two best playmakers and having inconsistency at best in your other roles does not make for a good season. Many question unlimited’s ability to be a playmaker both in lane and in team fights unless he has a hard engage champ. Youngbuck is solid but not spectacular. This team which I loved to cheer for is going to have a hard year.

Complexity – (2) A great story of a team full of leaguers that have fought and scratched their way into the LCS. They have finally achieved their goal…..but now face 6 teams that are clearly ahead of them. I expect complexity to over and over have good showings and a good fight. They are technically sound and have decent synergy but against the best in the world they are going to have to dig deep to even avoid relegation.

5 Comments

KnightFalling1 votes

Top – Top is not the most glamorous of positions but some of these players still carry and carry HARD. In general however by scoring this might be the lowest scoring of all positions. This will give you two options wait till the end and platoon or get the very best at the start. Top lane to me has very few superstars and falls off to medium players after so design your strategy ahead of time.

Ballz (10) – The most consistent top laner and the engine of cloud 9. Ballz gets repeated early ganks my meteos as well. He does not always win lane but I cannot remember the last time he lost it. Clearly the top pick in this position group.

Zion (9) – New team but the same menace in top. Zion is a scary first or second pick but there will be weeks when eh carries your whole team. He will always get farm he will always get kills but there will be days when he gets double digit deaths.

Soaz (8) – I was on the fence of ranking him higher but Soaz just has not shown the dominance in the spring that he has so long in Europe. He may make me a fool but right now he is my third top on the list.

Ackerman (7) – Like anyone from LMQ a wildcard but man can he carry when he gets rolling. With so few carry top’s he may be worth the risk but if your picking him earlier then third you may be in deep trouble if he does not pan out.

Freddy 122 (7) – Who? Freddy has quietly become the second best top laner in Europe. Consistency is the key as he rarely has bad games and often has great ones.

Seraph (7) – Let me repeat Who? Well the one thing we know is that he is Korean from a powerhouse team. CLG would also not be picking him up if he did not have world class potential. Like Ackerman a huge risk reward pick.

Dyrus (7) – Our favorite sleepy giant is solid if not spectacular top laner. Dyrus will get you stats but it will be rare that he will win a week for you. Do not fall into the TSM name to pick him too early. He is a 5th or six round at best.

Wicked (6) – Everyone knows the name and he has the potential to carry and stat stuff. He also gets overextended and snowballed at times. He is above average laner but nothing more.

Xaxus (5) – Solid all around and with flashes of brilliance he has potential but until it is filled he should be near the bench.

Kevin (5) – Quietly one of the best tops in Europe. A major reason I have Millenium picked as my sleeper team. Kevin will not wow you but he will help you win.

Darrien (4) – Darrien may win a week for you but he will lose you three with his feeding. I love the old Gambit but stay away.

Quas (4) – Over and over we heard about his potential but only saw flashes. A solid player on a solid team in a buzzsaw of a division Quas should do decent but if he is anything more then a bench player stay away.

Youngbuck (3) – The name has been around and the team has been around but Youngbuck has never been the one to carry. The wolves went through massive changes and this does not bode well for youngbuck.

Mimer (3) – Decent player on a decent team he might have a game or two but overall he is going to have limited stat stuffing capability. Innox (3) – Innox impressed me in the spring but his team is in for a world of hurt. Maybe he can show his brilliance but I think he will get pulled into EG’s troubles.

Westrice (3) – Good player on a rookie team in a tough bracket. Stay away unless complexity starts to surprise.

KnightFalling1 votes

Jungle – A year ago this was would have been farther down on your priority list but with jungle changes monsters are coming out of the brush in games. The top level jungles have the ability to stat stuff any game. In a six man league you should be able to get a good jungle later on but the top picks in this position could have swing your score on multiple weeks.

Meteos (10) – I actually believe that Meteos is somewhat overrated and more a function of the dominant overall team play of cloud 9 not superior individual skill. That being said he stuffs a stat sheet. Jungles have just as much if not more carry potential with the changes so this group is deeper then the top lane.

Dexter (8) – The difference make since he came over to CLG. He does not always stuff stats but he is always a factor in the game. He will give you consistent points out of the jungle.

Amazing (8) – Amazing will be the opposite of Dexter to start the year. He may be the most technically proficient jungler in both LCS’s and I expect him to have significant games. I also expect him to struggle at times as he finds synergy with TSM.

Diamond (8) – The best jungler outside of Korea for helping his team win. Diamond is an innovator and a game breaking player but Gambit looks to have a down year and Diamond while spectacular does not always stat pad.

Svenskeren (7) – A major cog in the wheel of his team and sometimes able to snowball an entire game. Svenskeren is a sleeper at the jungle position.

NoName (6) – You will remember his lack of name. He is slick and he helps get LMQ going. He is also an inherent risk because he is on LMQ. With three carries that know how to finish his stats should look good…..if people don’t catch up to LMQ’s play style.

Cyanide (6) – Mr Reliable, cyanaide will be ganking xpeke and stealing dragons all year long. He however in the mold of oddone is a support jungle and will rarely see big games.

Jankos (6) – A solid and complete player he also is a supportish jungler that will give you basic stats on a good team but should not be expected to carry.

Crumbzz (5) – Crumbzz impressed me this past year and with two new carries he could be a sleeper pick to have a huge year. However until I see consistent performance I am going to rate him as perfectly average.

IWilldominate (5) – He may be the confidence engine of curse but his play doesn’t always back it up. I feel while he doesn’t let his team down he is consistently outplayed and out rotated but top tear NA junglers.

Shook (4) – Hailed as a big part of a super team he was banned out far to often and never really showed up as a carry jungler.

Impaler (4) – Showed skill and bravado but also got himself too deep often. A wild card and a possible pick for a matchup against a good team but besides that not someone your going to start every week.

Kottenx (4) – A step up from Aranaea but that wasn’t saying much considering his awful year. He has carry potential on Kha but beyond that I really haven’t seen him wreck a game.

Airwaks (wolves) (3) – New to the LCS on a team that will have synergy issues and lost its two best players. Not a good combination,

BrokenShard (3) – Highly touted but on a team I fear that will be overwhelmed. I am hope I am wrong and will watch for him but I can’t recommend him.

Snoopeh (3) – He has flashes but no consistency and is on a team trending down in a tough league. He is also battling for a roster spot….do I need to say more?

KnightFalling1 votes

Mid – The playmakers and risk takers, the quarterbacks that bring home the bacon and take home the prom queen. We have the best players in the world here. The one caution I have is that we have a LOT of them. You may be able to pick a really REALLY good mid in the second or third round because most of these guys will be lighting up the scoreboard.

Froggen (10) – Best player in the EU and consistently beating other mid’s either in lane or on the final score. Plus did you see him on anivia at words????? He won’t be falling of any time soon.

Bjergsen (9)- What more can I say the man is a beast. He can carry a game by himself against the best competition in the world. No one gets more 1v1 lane kills then this man. Two reason he doesn’t top the charts. One he has new teammates and might take time to adjust. Two he has much stiffer competition in the mid lane in America.

Link (9) – Finally getting the recognition he deserves and on a team that is consistently winning. The only thing that might hold him back is his champion pool and/or champ selection by CLG. I feel sometimes they don’t play to his strengths.

Shiphter (8) – On a team that might finally let him show how he can single handedly destroy a game….maybe… if it works out. Regardless he will have a stat stuffing year.

XiaoWeiXiao (8) – He has almost become a legend or the boogyman coming out of challengers but now has to prove it. I think he will and show that he should be on the same state as the other great NA mids.

Hai (8) – He might be higher if not for the injury scare. I know I know it isn’t that big of a deal….but if it was? He doesn’t often beat his mirror in lane but very often impacts the game at a higher level and winds up with better stats.

Xpeke (7) – One year ago he is a 9 and world class but he has shown chinks. Even when Fnatic was on their run he did not look great. A good second mid pick but don’t rely on him as a carry for your team.

Jesiz (7)– Talented and on a good team this man can definitely carry hard. I can’t see him doing it consistently though as much of the farm on his team is fed to candy.

Overpow (6) – solid player on a good team. He will give you stats every game and roccat will never go down easy but it is rare that you see him explode a game.

Kerp (5) – Like anything on Millenium a sleeper pick. Kerp is better then you think he is and sometimes he shows it violently against the other team.

Voyboy (5) – An innovator and occasionally a carry but I can’t see him doing well in NA against the murderers row he is facing.

Pobelter (4) – talented but streaky and on a team headed in the wrong direction.

Cowtard (4) – The man that will miss Amazing most of all. He didn’t often win lane on his own but when Amazing got him rolling he could shove it down the other teams throat.

Selfie (3) – I was not that impressed with him since he came on. He did fine in relegation but has yet to have that OHH WOWW game.

Niq (3) – I don’t know much about him but unless he can synergize right away and not be focused by the other team I feel he is in for a rough early ride.

Prolly (1) – The man who will have the hardest time dealing with the step up in competition. I wish him well but expect to be turning away in horror.

Timelyshadow1 votes

KnightFalling, i love your analysis. Find me in game: Timelyshadow

Rohkye1 votes

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