Following week 4 I’ve now placed a note on my fridge, keyboard, headboard and anywhere else I might find myself. What does this note read you ask? “Don’t count on Origen.” Right when you think they’re back and you can start them with confidence, they flip the script and utterly collapse. I can say with absolute certainty that matchups were decided by this collapse, given that the highest fantasy score for an Origen player was 26.21.
Players I Love in Week 5
Fenix – Mid – TL
We saw this last year from Fenix, it takes him a while to get going and it seems history is due to repeat itself. The season is right around the half way point, which conversely is right around the time Fenix starts putting up the numbers.
In the past 2 weeks Fenix has put up a combined 84.91 points, and is 4th overall for the split. Liquid will first be facing C9, in what I imagine will be a fairly even match in mid. Jensen has come on quite substantially since last year, and is well positioned to give Fenix a run for his money. It’s the second game against Renegades that makes him a must start this week. Yes, Liquid ultimately lost when these 2 teams faced off in week 1, but even then Fenix netted you 23.97 points. The difference here is that TL are heating up, while REN are ice cold and haven’t won a game since that week 1 victory.
Wildturtle – ADC – IMT
Pretend to be surprised for a second that the top scoring fantasy player is on the love list. There’s very little that needs to be said because of the star status of Turtle along with his stellar performance this split, this week he has 2 fairly straightforward games against C9 and DIG. C9’s ADC Sneaky hasn’t been bad so far, it’s just that last time these teams met Wildturtle put up 37.17 points. Game 2 vs Dignitas will be the first time the teams square off this season, right after DIG were crushed by Liquid and taken down to the wire in a 43 minute game against last place Echo Fox. Their ADC Apollo has been a bit of a non-factor this year, averaging only 15.12 points per game; he is certain to be over-matched against WildTurtle.
Perkz – Mid – G2
I don’t think anyone predicted this good a season for Perkz, or G2 who are now top of the EU LCS standings. The Thursday slate has G2 taking on Vitality, who haven’t looked too bad, they did after all beat Origen in week 2, G2 have just looked better. Right now Perkz is the 3rd highest scoring mid laner in Fantasy, what’s more he’s only 7.13 points away from being the #1. I can’t see anything but complete domination in game 1 from Perkz, he’ll be facing Nukeduck who’s not having the best of splits. To quantify it with numbers he has 15 kills all split, with 38 assists, Perkz has 38 kills with 44 assists.
Game 2 is absolutely the one to watch. There’s a team tied with G2 at the top of the standings, H2k, and these teams face off against each other Friday. There’s no news yet on who’s starting at mid for H2K owing to Ryu’s visa issues, based on timelines from previous players with work permit issues, it’s most likely Selfie. If it is Perkz has a substantial advantage in lane, Selfie has only played 4 of 8 games with H2K after being acquired on loan from Echo Fox and shows some signs of being not quite in sync with the rest of the team. Even if Ryu does return for week 5, he too will only have played 4 games and likely won’t have the best synergy with the team either.
Players I Hate in Week 5
Forg1vengre – ADC – H2K
This one has everything to do with matchup, Forg1vengre is playing lights out so far and is currently the 6th highest scoring ADC in Fantasy. This week, however, has H2K against UOL and G2, both teams with ADCs who are out performing Forg1vengre. The Thursday game will be the first time UOL and H2K will meet, and Steeelback is having an outrageously good split. He’s averaging 4 kills and 5.5 assists per game. He also shows no sign of slowing down, and should be able to limit the production from Forg1vengre.
As mentioned above I think G2 will be winning mid lane which leaves limited roam support for H2K’s bot lane, where Emperor will be waiting to see if he can avenge the 5.05 showing the last time these teams met. I can see G2 putting more emphasis on supporting their bot lane this time round, and if as predicted Perkz keeps H2K’s mid at bay, then the added pressure they’ll apply may prove too much for Forg1ven. As always with a lot of these top players with tough matchups, you are most likely going to be hard pressed to find better alternatives. I just wouldn’t be banking on a 60 point week from him you do start Forg1vengre.
Alex Ich – Mid – REN
This is not the Alex Ich of old, and despite averaging 11.92 points per game, he’s still owned in almost 25% of leagues. Granted Alex could be a great stash play or valuable in a trade based on the power of his résumé, but he’s absolutely not a great start this week.
Saturday will tip with the two bottom teams going head to head as Renegades take on Echo Fox. I could see this one going fairly even in the mid lane, with Goldenglue looking set to start in place of Froggen, who is all but done for the year with eligibility issues. Although while Renegades have continued to look out of sorts, Fox have improved over past couple of weeks pushing some more prominent teams to the brink.
Game 2 on the other hand is not going to be fun for REN as they play against a red hot Team Liquid. I eluded to it before, but I see a big week from TL’s mid laner Fenix and a large part of the reason behind that is this game. Alex Ich is currently a shadow of his former self, while Fenix is playing some of the best League of Legends of his career. Adding to all that, following Remi’s departure from the team Renegades are running with a replacement support, and it doesn’t total up to a good day for Alex or his team.