RADIO
Jason Malmanger's expert League of Legends (LoL) DFS advice and DraftKings, FanDuel lineup picks for EU Masters slates on 5/2/20. His top LoL value plays and eSports DFS recommendations.
Welcome back RotoBallers to my League of Legends DFS column! We will continue to extend our analysis for LoL DFS across different leagues and sites, bringing you the insight you need to succeed. Thanks once again for the outpouring of support from the DFS and eSports communities. I can't thank you enough for the kind words on Twitter, and your support has afforded me the opportunity to write about something I love every day.
The final group, Group D takes center stage, as each they finish up their double round-robin format in a day. Meanwhile, FanDuel has an all-day slate where you will receive points for each player for all three games that they play on Saturday, which changes strategy over there a bit. Spring season is coming to a close, but there are still some massive contests posted in the FanDuel and DraftKings lobbies, including the 15-dollar Shock Blast that pays 25k to first place!
Today, I'll be providing my League of Legends advice, analysis, and lineup picks for the EU Masters slates on DraftKings and FanDuel that lock at 12:00 PM ET on Saturday, May 2nd, 2020. Make sure you are following me on Twitter @Mr_Malmanger as I often post starting lineups when I see them and other useful info for the slate.
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Group D Slate 1
12:00 PM: Mouse (-500) vs. Energypot Wizards
Group D is another very tightly grouped competition, just like we had with group C yesterday. The Balkan's champion Energypot Wizards have thrown the group into turmoil with their defeat of Fnatic Rising last week. That upset leaves us with another logjam at the top of the group, with three teams tied at 2-1.
Are you ready for another upset? I am, and I believe that the Wizards are too. They have the means, motive, and method.
Ok, so now I have to explain myself right; first, they are unique to most teams in the tournament in that they have a MUCH higher win rate on the red side. I haven't gone into detail on this before though I have mentioned it several times.
The blue side gets the first pick/ban in the draft while red gets the final pick/ban. Blue side usually helps teams that are weaker as they are able to grab a comfort pick for their better players with the first choice in both segments of the draft. The red side, to me, with the counter pick favors teams with better coaches as they are able to use that choice to disarm what the enemy team wants to do.
So that little explanation out of the way WIZ is 11/12 on the year on the red side, their "stunning" upset of FNC was from the red side. I expect if they win that this game will go similarly to that FNC win, and we will see the more talented team winning some fights, but WIZ eventually wears them down with objective control. WIZ also has great objective numbers both in the tournament and for the whole year to date, including better vision numbers.
I went back and watched both the FNC game and the WIZ playoff series in the Balkan League. They are a smart, well-coached team with good team fighting skills. Phaxi, their coach, was a long time pro playing for Gamersorigin, among others, and has had success with this squad.
That's a ridiculous amount of words, but I thought it might take a bit to convince you to come off a -500 favorite. The smart cash play here is on Mouse still, but for GPPs, you can sprinkle some one-offs into your lineups or feel a little confident stacking a few pieces of the big dogs.
Spooky - JNG ($6,000 DraftKings, $8,000 FanDuel)
The Wizard's jungler is unbeaten on Jarvan for the year, and that's exactly the champion he employed during the takedown of FNC. My faith in Phaxi as a coach is part of my reasoning for being on the side of WIZ. Jarvan is a lower priority than he should be at the tournament, and I expect them to be able to grab this power pick for themselves.
Vzz - ADC ($7,200 DraftKings, $9,600 FanDuel)
The ADC pairs well with his jungler on Saturday, as Miss Fortune is also not being prioritized in the tournament. MF and Jarvan are a killer combo, and if WIZ can secure that or the Aphelios/Jarvan they will be very well set up. Vzz sits second on the team in KP% and first in kill share, and I expect him to score well if his team adds another notch to their belt on Saturday.
12:45 PM: Fnatic Rising (-1600) vs. Esuba
Poor Esuba has been overmatched throughout the entire main stage, and I expect that to continue into week two.
They finished the first week without a win, and with a significant advantage in every major statistical category except for vision number FNC should cruise to victory here. This is my favorite of the two games to target as Esuba surrender 20.5 kills in losses.
Dan - JNG ($5,600 DraftKings, $7,800 FanDuel)
The jungler leads the team in kill participation and first blood percentage. Jejky is one of the best players on Esuba, and shutting him down will be key to beating Esuba.
Xmatty - ADC ($7,200 DraftKings, $9,000 FanDuel)
Fnatic's stud ADC is third on his team in KP%, but comes in first in kill share by nearly eight full percent. Fnatic likes to focus on the bottom side of the map, realizing the advantage that Xmatty gives them. I want to take advantage of that by adding Bravado to my FNC stacks on Saturday.
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Group D Slate 2
1:30 PM: Fnatic Rising vs. Mouse (-140)
Slate two features a showdown between the two pre-tournament favorites in this group. The first match of the round-robin was taken bye FNC, and I like them to win this one as well. FNC has great objective numbers, and they are back on the blue side in this matchup.
They have a 77% win rate on that side, and that's a trend I expect to continue Saturday. This game is the slower of the two, and the more competitive I think it makes a good hedge spot in case Mouse reverse FNC blue side strength.
Lider - MSE- MID ($7,600 DraftKings, $8,900 FanDuel)
If MSE does win this matchup, surely it will be on the back of their star mid-laner. Lider is third on the team in KP% but is the kill share leader by ten percent. That's a pretty insane stat, and he should have all advantage over MagiFelix in this one.
Dan - FNC - JNG ($6,600 DraftKings, $8,600 FanDuel)
Xmatty - FNC - ADC ($7,600 DraftKings, $8,900 FanDuel)
Bravado - FNC - SUP ($6,600 DraftKings, $8,600 FanDuel)
2:15 PM: Esuba vs. Energypot Wizards (-230)
The first matchup between these two ended up with the Wizards winning 21-13, and while I expect the same result, albeit with a more tame scoreline. WIZ will be on the red side for this matchup, which, as I mentioned before, is their preferred side.
Lukezy- MID ($8,000 DraftKings, $8,800 FanDuel)
The other big carry on the side of WIZ is their mid-Lukezy. He is only a few percentage points behind Vzz in both KP% and kill share, and will have a much easier matchup going against Random in the mid lane.
Group D Slate 3
3:00 PM: Esuba vs. Mouse (-2000)
I think that poor Esuba is going to continue their winless streak on the main stage. Mouse won the first matchup 18-7, which seems close, but it only took them 23 minutes to do so. Esuba is a bit odd as they like WIZ is better on the red side, but they are on blue for this matchup.
Lider - MID ($7,800 DraftKings, $9,600 FanDuel)
3:45 PM: Energypot Wizards vs. Fnatic Rising (-500)
The finale on Friday could be the decider of the group if my WIZ upset comes through. This will be Fnatic's chance to avenge their upset to the hands of the Wizards, and I think they do so.
The first game did more for my confidence in the side of WIZ than hurting anything I thought about FNC. It was super close, with FNC being more proactive in the early game.
Dan - FNC - JNG ($6,600 DraftKings, $8,600 FanDuel)
Bravado - FNC - SUP ($6,600 DraftKings, $8,600 FanDuel)
Summary
- On DraftKings, be prepared to change your mind a lot. In these rapid-fire slates in the past, we have had a lot of overreactions to results. Also, be cognizant of the outcomes for each team and how they impact seeding. Organizations need to finish in the top two to advance to the knock out stage.
- On FanDuel, with the bizarre choice to put everything together, I like the value of Excel. They played down in week one I'd look for them to rebound and go 2-1 today.
- Yesterday showed the power of matchups and the usefulness of game stacks in these best of one scenarios. I'm not against throwing out a few variants in the MME scene. Especially on the last slate if everything is already decided.
- Have some fun guys we're running out of these precious slates, and when the break is here, we will miss this nonstop all day long LOL sweats.
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Looking Forward
The League of Legends DFS action never stops, and we here at Rotoballer have got you covered. EU masters are in full swing, and soon it will be summer split before you know it.
Be sure to check back throughout the week as we'll be publishing daily eSports DFS articles, analysis and lineup picks for League Of Legends, Counter Strike, Rocket League and eNASCAR. Thanks for reading, and good luck RotoBallers!
More ESports DFS Analysis
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Readers of RotoBaller's eSports DFS articles have been winning money on DraftKings and FanDuel regularly. Some of them are winning contests daily and bringing in some serious cheddar. Check one out below and lots more here!
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— "Thunder Dan" Palyo (@ThunderDanDFS) April 16, 2020
