Don’t Overthink Fantasy Week 2
So your first fantasy week didn't quite go as planned. You were let down by Cloud9, you didn't get on the Millenium or LMQ hype trains, or maybe you believed that ROCCAT would come out of the gate swinging. Now you're sitting at the bottom of your league, stunned by the beating you just received, and panicking about the rest of your fantasy season.
This is a very common occurrence among newer fantasy players. The rush of watching your point totals rise is akin to the competitive high an actual sportsman might feel. When your opponent's point total suddenly gets higher than yours, it's a devastating blow, particularly when you think you’ve drafted the better team! The instinct may be to immediately start fiddling with your roster, dropping high draft picks for undrafted players that had a big week, swapping out your stars in concerning matchups, and other risky moves. Amidst the panic and desperation clutching your soul as you prepare for Week 2, allow me to be the calming voice reminds you: it's just one week.
Millenium
It's true that Millenium looks like a team reborn after their first week. Kerp and Creaton put on a show, and left most fantasy owners regretting many of their late round picks. However, much like LMQ in North America, Millenium had an exceptionally easy Week 1 schedule. They faced a Gambit Gaming reeling from the loss of Alex Ich, a clearly struggling ROCCAT, lost to the 6th place Copenhagen Wolves, and beat up the historically mediocre Supa Hot Crew. While owners in shallow leagues should certainly stash Millenium players on their bench, I myself need to see a lot more before I'm willing to declare anyone on Millenium a must start for fantasy.
Cloud9
As someone who drafted Sneaky and Hai in the first two rounds of his most important league, I was extremely disappointed by Cloud9's performance in Week 1. Even in their wins, the Spring Split champs offered up meager point totals. While this week was absolutely a disappointment, there is no reason to panic and start benching C9 players. The team was clearly out of sorts from not having Hai for several weeks. Cloud9 will recover, and will very likely return to form in the coming weeks.
Complexity
While there is no salve for the pain fantasy owners experienced by starting compLexity players this week, there is hope for the future. The rookies faced one of the most difficult Super Week schedules of any team, and still showed a great deal of promise in their win over Cloud9. In Week 2, Brokenshard and company get to whet their appetite for points against Evil Geniuses before taking on Counter Logic Gaming. It's probably not worth benching your star players for those on compLexity, but there is a long season left for this young team to prove themselves.
Every Other Team
Nearly every team made significant roster changes this season. While these new rosters have been practicing hard, nothing can fully prepare these teams for live competition against the best in the region. With four games of LCS film to review, every team will have a much clearer vision of where their strengths are, and what they need to focus on. The players you drafted high have a proven track record of not only winning, but overcoming adversity. Give them time to sort things out, and they will most likely reward your loyalty.
