RADIO
Mike's expert League of Legends (LoL) DFS advice and DraftKings, FanDuel lineup picks for LPL on 1/15/23. His top LoL value plays and eSports DFS recommendations.
Welcome back to another League of Legends DFS fantasy slate everyone. We were treated to some really great games to kick off the regular season. Team WE took down FPX in a tight three-game series that was back and forth. IG was the team you needed as they swept AL aside, with a back-and-forth game one and a seemingly mental collapse for AL in game two. To close it out was a highlight-filled three-game banger between JDG and BLG in which Bin got the better of 369 and Ruler got a pentakill in his first series on his new team. Unfortunately for dfs, I didn't have IG taking down AL, and should've expected a closer affair just as Vegas suggested. On to the next one, which doesn't have as appealing underdogs compared to this morning.
A lot of teams have made roster swaps, so the best way to find LPL starters before the slate locks are on Twitter. Just go into the explore tab and search LPL starters, and multiple accounts will have starters posted an hour or earlier before lock most of the time. I will also retweet the starters when posted.
I'll provide my League of Legends DFS advice, analysis, and lineup picks for this LPL slate on DraftKings and FanDuel that locks at 2:00 AM EST on Sunday, January 15th, 2023. If you have any questions about the slate or anything please reach out to me on Twitter @MAVpickems. I'll do my best to provide some useful analysis, and the odds listed are from Pinnacle. Let's jump right into the matchups, and good luck RotoBallers.
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LPL Matches
2:00 AM: RA (-249) vs. LGD (+199)
Our opening morning match features a similar RA squad from the last split but replaced their entire bot lane by adding Assum and Southwind. I would think of this as an upgrade overall for the RA team. LGD features multiple LDL prospects that have made it to the LPL and now play alongside veteran Meteor. Both teams missed playoffs last summer and sit in the lower half tier of the league. But could this one could be closer than the odds suggest?
I agree with the odds here as I like RA in this one. In my eyes, I see RA as superior or equal in every role. LGD most likely needs to play through mid and jungle to have a shot here, as I believe Assum is a promising young ADC who has a good matchup against his previous organization. This one probably projects to be the lowest kill total series on the slate but RA still has upside here. I prefer RA team slot here mixed in with small stacks because I prefer exposure to the following two series for big stacks.
Top RA plays: Assum, Cube, Leyan, TEAM
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4:00 AM: RNG (-206) vs. OMG (+167)
This next matchup features RNG with a couple of additions and OMG who kept their core except for the replacement of Cold with Ppgod. Both were playoff teams last split and hope to make another appearance this split. Both teams are also missing their starting supports in this matchup for one reason or another. OMG is a mid-tier team that usually beats the teams below them and struggles against the higher-tier teams. However, they seem to upset a higher team at least once a split. RNG lost their core member this offseason in Xiaohu but kept everyone else. Could OMG come swinging out the gates?
I would think this matchup is worth playing the underdog in. RNG Bunny is starting tomorrow and is a downgrade from Ming but is still a young player with potential. OMG will be starting Jerry at support as Ppgod may debut next match or the one after. I think OMG in this specific meta has a chance to at least take a game here. These matchups could be volatile enough for one team to snowball their lead effectively into a win. Some of Creme's best champions are currently in the meta, specifically Akali and Sylas. Even if he gets banned out in the draft, Able in the bot lane has just as much carry potential. RNG has better players and will most likely finish higher in the standings this split. However, the established synergy for OMG could mean a close three-game series tomorrow, in which I'll take a shot at the underdog. This should be a bloody matchup so I would mix in big and small OMG stacks.
Top OMG plays: Creme, Able, Shanji, Aki
6:00 AM: UP (+151) vs. NIP (-185)
The last matchup of the morning is between the newly branded NIP (formerly V5) against UP. V5 is coming off a split with a disappointing first-series exit in the playoffs to LNG, but still kept some of the team. Rookie is now on TES, Ppgod is now on OMG, and Karsa is now on WBG. This team still has a lot of talent in Dream, Zhuo, and XLB as replacements and should see another playoff appearance this split. I'm not sure I can say the same for UP currently, as they reunited two members of the IG 2018 world champion roster in Ning and Baolan. They completely swapped the entire roster in hopes of placing better than their 15th-place finish in the summer.
This NIP roster is still going to be a fun team to watch even after losing their star in Rookie. Dream subbed in for Rookie last split while seamlessly fitting in with the team and had some amazing performances alongside stud ADC Photic. XLB seemed to be the better jungler during the regular season, while splitting starts with Karsa. UP is a team that is a wait-and-see roster in terms of how I will predict their success in the future. Their roster seems like they want to play through bot side, and I would prefer NIP's bot side in this matchup. UP's roster is simply a question mark at the moment which could mean they are worth a shot as the shortest underdogs on the slate, but I prefer the established success last split from this V5 roster which really didn't downgrade too much over the off-season. Look for this to be a bloody series which is why I would prioritize NIP big stacks over small stacks.
Top NIP plays: Photic, Dream, XLB, Zhuo, Rich
Summary
- TLDR: I'll be loading up on OMG for value to fit in a NIP squad that should outscore RA in the first match. I think RA as a full stack is also intriguing tomorrow, especially if they sweep. I could see RA and NIP sweeping but NIP scoring better than RA in the process. OMG is a nice piece for value and I expect them to win in three games. LGD might be the lowest-owned team on the slate if you want the most leverage to fit in RNG.
- GPP Stacks: My favorite combinations for GPP stacks are NIP/OMG, RA/OMG, and OMG/NIP. I think NIP may be chalky tomorrow, but I will play them with OMG to differentiate. UP seems like a good leverage spot against NIP, but I can't trust this roster without seeing them first, especially since we know how good this NIP roster can look.
- Cash Stacks: For cash, I like RA with NIP.
Good luck tomorrow RotoBallers!
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