With the sports world on pause right now, we turn to esports as a place for some fantasy action, and that leads us to the LoL Pro League -- better known as the LPL. This is the pro league in China, who are now operating on with an accelerated schedule to make up for the lost time.
They too were on a break but are back now and set to continue with their regular season. Now, you might be asking, what is League of Legends? What is League of Legends DFS? If you need more info, look to numberFire's introduction piece to get a better understanding. That will give you an overview of the game itself, the position you need to pick in DFS, and some tips about stacking. At the end of the day, this is DFS, and you can learn while the other sports are on hold.
LPL Overview
The LPL is arguably the best region in the world, as they have produced each of the last two world champions. With that said, there are some very good teams in the region, but with the league having 17 teams -- the most of any major region -- there is a large drop off in quality outside of the top few teams. There are three matches every day from now until April 20th, and they play best-of-three series.
Star
Doinb, FunPlus Phoenix ($9,000)
Doinb and FunPlus Phoenix are sitting in third place right now, set to take on LNG Esports, who have the fourth-worst record in the league. Doinb comes in with a 5.94 Kill/Death/Assist Ratio (KDA), the second-best among mid laners in the LPL, according to Gamepedia. Doinb is middle of the table when it comes to Creep Score (CS) per minutes, but that is largely due to the fact FunPlus Phoenix average the sixth-fastest game time. In fact, Doinb leads the LPL among mid laners with gold per minute and the fifth-highest Kill Participation (KP%).
He comes in with double-digit assists in each of his last 10 series, along with eight kills or more in nine of these last 10 games. Doinb is a surefire pick for the Star position and should be in a spot for the 2-0 series sweep and get the bonus points for the game not played.
Top
Zoom, JD Gaming ($8,100)
The JD Gaming and eStar Gaming matchup could be going all three games today, providing extra fantasy points. Zoom recently took over the starting spot and will be back in there today. He is coming off four kills, 13 assists, and two deaths in a sweep versus LNG over the weekend. Given the matchups we have on this slate, JD Gaming shouldn't be too highly owned and present themselves as a nice stacking option. He offers a slight bit of savings overall, and with the potential leverage against the field, he is a strong tournament play.
Jungle
Wei, eStar Gaming ($9,000)
An eStar stack is one of the most expensive options on the slate, but oh boy, do they bring the upside you want. Wei in the jungle, Cryin in mid, and Wink at ADC are all the most expensive at their positions, so you will need to find some savings elsewhere. Wei comes in with the fourth-highest KP% among junglers and the third-best KDA. His most recent series was rather ugly, but prior to that he posted eight kills or more in four of his last five series, along with 26 assists or more in four of those same five.
Mid
Cryin, eStar Gaming ($9,300)
The eStar Gaming and JD Gaming matchup has both teams in the top-six, which could give us the best matchup on the slate. This is also the matchup that has high potential to play all three games, giving the players upside due to the extra fantasy points. Cryin comes in with the highest KDA among mid laners, the second-highest CS per game, and the fourth-highest KP%. Given his already strong numbers from Cryin, the third-game potential in this series are something you shouldn't be passing on.
ADC
Lwx, FunPlus Phoenix ($10,100)
Ultimately, Lwx might be the best option at ADC on this slate, but he is very expensive. FunPlus Phoenix are likely to take this series 2-0, which means getting the bonus for a game not played. That would be a big boost for an ADC, who is already among the highest-scoring players in the LPL. He comes in with the third-best KDA, with average numbers in most other areas. That is only due to the fact the games he plays in are rather fast and doesn't allow him to pad his stats -- the same situation with Donib, his teammate. He has over 10 kills and 10 assists in each of his last three series, a level of production he should reach versus a bottom-tier team today.
Support
LvMao, JD Gaming ($7,600)
LvMao is in at support for JD Gaming today and if we are expecting this series to potentially go to all three games, getting another player from this matchup brings more upside. Supports rely on assists to get fantasy points and LvMao has been showing that off in recent series. He comes in with 12 assists or more in nine of his last 10 series, making him a super consistent option at support. His 72.3 KP% -- fifth-best in the league -- will ensure he is involved in the action and racking up fantasy points.
Team
BiliBili Gaming ($7,400)
I haven't touched on the third matchup on this slate since we have BiliBili Gaming and Dominus Esports facing off -- the second- and third-worst teams in the LPL. Two bottom tier teams playing each other is never great, but as a team, they offer some salary relief. Paying up for the star ADCs and mid laners will be key on this slate, thus presenting the need for value. Three of their last four series have gone at least three games, giving them more time to rack up towers, dragons, and barons for fantasy points. This is more of a point per dollar view, but they fit nicely with roster construction today.