League of Legends Daily Fantasy Helper: Mid-Season Cup, Thursday 5/28/20

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Mid-Season Cup

Normally, we be getting set for the Mid-Season Invitational (MSI) at this point in the season and ready to watch all of the regions compete in top-tier League of Legends. With no teams traveling right now, we have The Mid-Season Cup and it will feature the top four teams from Korea (LCK) and China (LPL) -- arguably, the two best regions in the world. This will take place online and will be a round-robin format, with each team playing three games on each slate.

Let's take a look at the six matchups on the slate and the win probabilities for each team.

We see T1 coming in as the favorite in two of their three matches -- with a push in the third against Top Esports. Top Esports are also the favorite in two of their three -- and a push with T1. FunPlus Phoenix are a favorite in just one of their matchups -- against DAMWON -- which leaves DAMWON Gaming as an underdog in all three of matchups.

There is a very clear hierarchy in this group, T1 and Top Esports as the favorites, then FunPlus, then DAMWON at the bottom. You should anticipate that ownership will follow along with this hierarchy.

T1

T1 won the LCK Spring Split and come in as the outright favorite to win the Mid-Season Cup. We see their players come in as the most expensive option at Top, Jungle, and Mid -- making them a clear option to pay up for. It has to be reminded, but the teams are playing three games today and you are rostering a team for all of their matchups.

Faker ($9,000) is the most expensive Mid-Laner on the slate and the fourth-most expensive player overall. He ended the LCK Spring Split with the third-highest Kill/Death/Assist Ratio (KDA) among Mid-Laners, the second-highest Creep Score (CS) per game, and the second-fewest average deaths per game. He is, of course, the greatest League of Legends player ever and an elite option on any slate.

Teddy ($9,800) was an absolute beast throughout the LCK Spring Split and comes in as the second-most expensive player on the entire slate. Teddy offers one of the highest floors, along with having a high ceiling, due to his 74% Kill Participation (KP) percentage during the Spring Split. He averaged the fourth-most kills per game, the second-fewest deaths per game, and the fourth-most assists per game -- among ADCs in the LCK. His league-leading 7.13 KDA is something you want in every lineup -- only comes down to being able to afford his salary.

Cuzz ($8,400) ended the Spring Split with the highest KDA among junglers in the LCK, the fewest average deaths per game, and the second-highest average CS per game. A T1 stack is looking like a fantastic option and combination with Cuzz should be in a good spot.

Effort ($7,300) is the support for T1 and only $300 above the minimum salary on the slate. This is the type of value you will need if you are looking to stack T1 on this slate. Don't worry, he isn't just some punt play -- he held the fourth-highest KDA among support players in the LCK Spring Split.

Top Esports

Top Esports are right at the top with T1 as a favorite in Group A, along with being a favorite to win the Mid-Season Cup outright. Another expensive team to stack, with fantastic options up and down their lineup.

JackeyLove ($10,000) is the most expensive ADC on the slate, the most expensive player on the slate -- and a player you absolutely want in your lineups. JackeyLove was brought in late in the season by Top Esports and only played six regular-season games for them -- he went on to play 13 during the playoffs, where they finished in second place.

He has a smaller sample size compared to other ADCs who played the entire season, but he is worth the price of admission and brings a high floor to your lineups.

Karsa ($8,200) is an interesting option at jungle and frankly, doesn't bring a ton of upside. I know that sounds bad, but he is more of a floor play -- bringing consistency to your lineups. It's possible he goes overlooked in favor of Cuzz -- which would make Karsa more interesting in tournaments.

369 ($8,100) is the third-cheapest option at Top on the slate and fits nicely into roster construction. Besides having a name out of a Lil Jon song, 369 and Top Esports are the favorite in two of their three games today -- yet, he is a bit of a value option overall. If you aren't stacking T1, you should be looking to Top Esports, and 369 allows you to pay up for JackeyLove.

FunPlus Phoenix

FunPlus Phoenix are the reigning World Champions and find themselves as the favorite in just a single game -- the one against DAMWON Gaming. A full-stack from FunPlus Phoenix would certainly offer leverage against the field -- which should see higher ownership on T1 and Top Esports.

Lwx ($9,400) is the most expensive player on FunPlus and the player you should start your stack with -- if you are stacking this team. He was among the best ADCs in the LPL during the Spring Split, ending with the third-highest KDA, the third-fewest average deaths per game, and the third-highest average assists per game.

Crisp ($7,000) is the absolute cheapest player on the entire slate and brings that sweet, sweet salary relief to your lineups. Pairing him with Lwx in the bot lane brings strong correlation for KP% and should allow you to pay up for one of the higher-priced stacks.

Khan ($7,800) played fewer games in the top lane for FunPlus compared to GimGoon ($8,200), but Khan played their final series in the playoffs, where they won 3-0. There is no indication as of now who will be the starter, but if its Khan, his price tag makes him interesting.

DAMWON Gaming

As noted a few times, DAMWON Gaming are the underdogs in all three of their games, and thus, a riskier play compared to the rest. This isn't to say you can't/shouldn't be rostering, you just have to know going in that they are expected to be on the losing side of things, which will cause them to have fewer fantasy points.

Players from DAMWON can be used in a one-off type situation if you are stacking two of the top teams and you need to find some value elsewhere. A player like ShowMaker ($8,000), the Mid-Laner for DAMWON, is truly interesting on this slate. He is the cheapest Mid on the slate, and if you roster him in the Mid spot, you can roster another Mid-Laner (Faker or knight) in the MVP spot.

This is an interesting strategy when it comes to actual roster construction, since you take a player from a higher scoring position like Mid lane -- but you know he is going to be on the losing team. Essentially, you are taking the best option from the worst team, hoping he can still manage his way to solid fantasy points across the three games.

The same can be said for Ghost ($,9000), who is the ADC for DAMWON Gaming. We know that ADCs have a high floor and high ceiling of fantasy points, so take the savings with him and roster him in the ADC spot, then spend up for JackeyLove in the MVP spot to round out a Top Esports stack.