League of Legends Daily Fantasy Helper: LPL, Thursday 4/23/20

FanDuel is offering League of Legends daily fantasy, and look, if you don't know what that is, it's okay.

I have you covered with a detailed but straightforward primer to get you all set up, whether you're a DFS player looking to dig into the new sport, or a League of Legends fan ready to take your action over to FanDuel

Let's break down the LPL slate for Thursday, April 23rd and see who stands out. (Just a heads up, the slate locks at 5:00 a.m. EST.) This is the first round of the LPL playoffs featuring Edward Gaming -- the sixth seed -- and Royal Never Give Up -- the seventh seed. We should be in for a close series, along with plenty of fantasy points on both sides. They played one time in the Spring Split, and Royal Never Give Up won that series 2-1.

MVP - 2X Points

Xiaohu, Royal Never Give Up ($15,000)

For this one game slate, you want to be targeting multiple players from whatever team you think is going to win. Going with a 4-1 stack from the winning side will bring you the most upside, and if you think RNG will win, you should start with Xiaohu, their mid laner. He is the second-most expensive option on the entire slate, but we know the fantasy points come early and often for him.

During the LPL Spring Split, Xiaohu was a middle of the road mid laner for the most part. He was 10th in Kill/Death/Assist Ratio (KDA), 11th in average kills per game, 8th in total kills, and 8th in total assists among mid laners. Good, solid stats across the board, but nothing that jumps off the page at you.

In the three games he played against Edward Gaming, his stat line total 13 kills, 17 assists, and 13 deaths -- very average. So, why are we looking to roster him in the MVP spot? It gets to a point during roster construction that if you are rostering Xiaohu, he almost needs to be getting the 2x points. He is very expensive, and in order to pay off that salary, he might need the MVP spot. This is a very practical way to approach things. You can't afford to roster a player and have him not reach value, which is a boost Xiaohu needs.

Star - 1.5X Points

Scout, Edward Gaming ($14,000)

Scout is simply a better version of Xiaohu in the mid lane. He has a better KDA, a few more kills, fewer deaths -- you get the point. Scout is also a bit cheaper in price and should be a very popular option if you are planning on stacking Edward Gaming. It's also possible to do a four-man stack from RNG while having Scout as the only player from Edward Gaming.

If you are looking to do a four-man stack from Edward Gaming -- signaling you think they will win this series -- Scout should be a key part of your lineups. Going to Hope -- Edward Gaming's ADC -- should also be a high priority for most DFS players and also makes for a very viable option. In the three-game series he played against RNG earlier this season, he posted 13 kills, 11 assists, and 7 deaths.

Utility

Ming, Royal Never Give Up ($8,500)

Ming is a very involved support player, and that is what is going to help him reach or exceed value. Among supports in the LPL during the Spring Split, Ming had a 70.4% kill participation percentage -- the seventh-highest in the league -- and had the seventh-most total assists and the sixth-highest KDA.

When RNG are winning, Ming is involved and racking up the assists, which is what we want to see from our support players. It also helps that Ming is the cheapest player on RNG, helping you complete a four-man stack. He makes sense for a lot of reasons and should be very popular with RNG stacks. If you want to pay up for Xiaohu and Betty from RNG, Ming is almost a necessity in lineup construction.

XLB, Royal Never Give Up ($11,000)

Junglers can be a bit of a boom or bust type play, and XLB is no exception. When teams win in League of Legends, their jungler is often very involved in facilitating that happen. They will end with a high kill participation percentage and generally have a high number of assists.

That is exactly what we saw from XLB in the three-game series he played with Edward Gaming during the Spring Split. In the loss, he had a single kill, no assists, and three deaths -- aka horrible. In the two wins, he had 14 assists on his team's 15 kills, and then 15 assists on his team's 20 kills. That is massive involvement and presents a ton of fantasy points waiting to be grabbed.

Edward Gaming Team ($7,500)

Rostering the team on a single-series slate can do a few things for your lineups. First off, you get a ton of salary relief, and you can go for a stars and scrubs lineup approach. Jamming in the top stars can always be beneficial, but you need the salary to do so, and this is where the team comes into play. Next, it should make your grouping of players different compared to the field, offering a bit of leverage. It could be compared to rostering a kicker in a single-game contest in NFL DFS. You are building your lineups projecting a certain outcome, and this is the only time you want to use them.