Hello everyone. For a few weeks now, I've been trying to get a Fantasy League of Legends league off the ground using the podcast. Unfortunately, the site I planned to do this through appears to be down. While some parts of the site are still up, they won't be updating the site throughout the 2014 season and I can't see the members who joined. This is my fault for not vetting the site properly, and I apologize to anyone who took the time to register.*
We still want to do the league, and have moved over to a different site. If you still want to play fantasy LoL with us, click
here. As before, we are the "Last Time on Video Games" league. Unlike the league we were going to be playing in before, this league has a Fantasy Draft, that will take place at 7:00 PM
Mountain Standard Time on January 16th. The Draft should take about an hour, and Tyler has plans to do a google hang out while we draft if anyone is interested. If you can't make the Draft, you can still play in the league, but the automated draft system didn't seem that good to me.
*Editors note. Right after I finished this post, I received an email from the site we originally planned to run the fantasy league through stating they were up and ready for the coming season. I'll now be running both leagues, so if you want to participate in that one feel free to join
here.
My cohosts don't watch professional league of legends, and to encourage and help any one in the same boat participate, I've decided to write up a little bit about the pro scene, with analysis of all the players. If you're interested, hit the jump, and read what I have to say.
For total noobs who havn't played any League of Legends at all, there are five positions. Top, Jungle, Mid, ADC and Support. The map is divided into three different lanes, referred to as top, bottom and mid, and between each lane is "the jungle". The Fantasy League we'll be playing in allows you to choose three players each week to "Play". You gain points based each time one of these players earns a kill or assist, and loose points each time they die. You have to choose which players and what positions will be best each week.
Players who play "Top" tend to play very tanky champions. They don't often have a lot of kills, but have very few deaths, and if they get a massive lead, they can earn you a lot of points. However, often times they'll play conservatively and may get you nothing. Players who play Jungle roam the Jungle, taking advantage of resources within, and launching ambushes on the other players. Junglers can end up with a lot of kills, but they'll also often "donate" their kills to their allies to help the team. Mid laners tend to pick very powerful aggressive champions, and are the most likely to score a lot of points. Like Top Laners however, there's always a chance they will fail to get ahead. ADC Stands for Attack Damage Carry, and typically ADCs will be one of two players who go to the bottom lane. They will typically be joined by a Support who plays a healing character. ADC get a lot of kills, but scoring in the league has been adjusted to account for this. Supports on the other hand, get very few kills, but a lot of assists. Supports are likely to get points every game, but unlikely to have huge games where they get you a ton of points.
With that out of the way, I'm going to do some analysis on all the players available in the draft, by position. Keep in mind this is only my opinion and I've only been watching professional LoL for about a year. Still, it's likely to help at least a little bit.
Top
Dyrus
Of all the Top laners in the LCS Dyrus is probably the best pick for a fantasy league. He always preforms very well 1v1 against other Top Laners, and has historically had a very good Kill Death Ratio. The biggest risk with picking Dyrus is that many teams consider him the best player on his team, and will make sure he's in a 2v1 or even 3v1 situation to try and get him behind. However, this has given Dyrus a lot of experience, and he's one of the best players in the league when it comes to playing from behind.
Balls
Balls isn't as strong as Dyrus in 1v1 situations, however he has in advantage in that his team, Cloud 9, are considered the best in North America by a wide margin. While he's not likely to end up with as many kills as Dyrus, he's likely to have a lot more assists, which may make him the better player over all.
Quas
Quas is a new on the professional scene. His claim to fame is being from Venezuela and still regularly beating top level American players despite the lag there. His few Pro level games havn't impressed me too much, but there's a lot of hype around him and he may be a strong pick.
Zion Spartan
Zion Spartan is my "darkhorse" pick for the top lane. He's been playing League since it started, and been on the edge of the pro scene for most of that time. When he's on his game, he's amazing, he lead his team to a 2nd place finish in the Spring Play Offs last year and has been dominant of late. Unfortunately when he's off his game, he really struggles. Zion Spartan is a risky pick, but one that could be very profitable.
Benny
Benny has proven himself to be a passable top laner over the past year, helping his team take third place in both the spring and summer championships. However, he plays rather conservatively, and isn't likely to have explosive results.
Nientonsoh
Nientonsoh is the replacement for long time CLG Top Laner and founder Hotshot GG. While he's only had the position for half a season, he hasn't been very impressive thus far. CLG as a whole seems pretty shaky, I'd recommend avoiding him.
Cruzer the Bruzer
Cruzer is the new top laner for Dignatas, replacing former Top laner KiWiKid. It's a little hard to evaluate Cruzer, as he's only had two games in the pro scene. Neither have inspired confidence from me however, and I'd say skip him.
Innox
Like the other top laners I have at the bottom here, Innox is new. His team, Evil Geniuses has the most potential to be disruptive force in the season, and the games he's played in the pro scene make him look pretty good. However, he's definitely the weak link on EG, which I think hurts him as a pick.
Jungle
Meteos
Meteos is not only my favorite pick of the Junglers in the pro scene, he's probably the best pro player in North America right now. He plays for Cloud 9, who have been dominating the pro scene since they first arrived in July. Cloud 9's strength is in their coordination and team work rather than individual skill, but Meteos is the member who stands out the most. Even when he does poorly, which is rarely, his team will help pad out his stats. An excellent pick over all.
The Odd One
The Odd One has been playing professional League of Legends longer than any other professional Jungler. Nicknamed "The General" for the way he leads his team into battle, he's a very strong pick up. In the past few years, he's been known for his synergy with his former mid lander Reginald, who retired this year. However, many fans speculate that The Odd One's game will only improve now that Reginald isn't relying on him for back up as much.
Xmithie
Xmithie is another top tier Jungle player, and a large reason why his team XDG managed to take third place both splits last year. Often compared to top tier Korean jungler Dandy, his Lee Sin play is emmaculate. He didn't look as strong as either of the other two American junglers at the World Championship which is why I have him here, but he's still a great choice.
Crumbzz
My darkhorse jungler, Crumbzz has always been a solid player. However, his team Dignatas has really been struggling in the last year, and I think will be even weaker going forward. However, I think this will give Crumbzz a lot of opportunities to make high impact plays, and he should be a solid player because of it.
Dexter
Dexter is one of two Junglers to come over from Europe this season, and arguably he's the better of the two. However, he's joined up with CLG, who has gone through a lot of roster changes and looked rather weak lately. If Dexter can help pull CLG together he'll be a great pick, but I expect his new team to hurt him more then they help. I'd skip him.
Snoopeh
The other of the Junglers new to the American scene from Europe, Snoopeh is probably the weaker of the two mechanically. EG even tried out other Junglers in his place last season when he was struggling. However, he has the advantage of coming over with most of his team. Another risky pick.
I Will Dominate
For better or worse, I Will Dominate's legacy isn't in his ability to play, but his personality. I Will Dominate received a one year ban from professional play last year for negative attitude in game. While he's only played four games since that's expired, it looks like his time off has really hurt him. His play thus far seems to be rather weak, and most of his champion picks have been out of style for a long time. While that might help him, I feel he's the worst Jungler in the pros right now.
Mid
Mandatory Cloud
Mancloud proved himself to be the best Midlaner in North America last season, with a KDA that nearly rivaled C9's Jungler Meteos. He's also done very well on the international stage, beating Xpeke and Alex Ich, the top two midlaners in Europe. He's a very strong pick, perhaps second best behind Meteos, and the safest mid available.
Bejergson
Yet another player that played over in Europe last year, Bejergson has heavy shoes to fill, as he replaces owner and long time member of TSM as their mid laner. Bejergson was considered a strong Mid Laner in Europe, a region known for their Mid Laners, and his games with TSM thus far has shown him dominating. Unfortunately, they were games against a team that was rushed together at the last moment, and it's hard to say how well he'll actually do this season. That said, I consider him a very strong pick.
Voyboy
My darkhorse for mid lane, Voyboy has been in the pro scene for over two years now. He's always been one of his team's strongest players, however, up until now he's been a top laner. Team Curse had some major restructuring, and moving Voyboy to mid lane was a decision made so he can have more impact on the game in general. It may pay off, Voyboy has always been strong and if he adapts to mid lane it can only help his team. If he fails however, Curse isn't likely to offer him much help. Something of a risk, but one I like.
Pobelter
Another risky pick, Pobelter has tried out for a number of pro teams. He's even made the cut on quite a few, however he's still in high school, and his commitments there have made most teams decide not to pick him up despite his skill. EG decided to take a chance on him, and so far he's preformed beautifully. His time in the pro scene will be harder than anything he's done thus far, but if he keeps it up he'll be a beautiful pick.
Hai
Cloud 9's mid laner Hai was C9's weak link last season. However, he still plays for C9, and the few games he's played so far this season seems like this year he's going for "most improved". When C9 met Fnatic in the World Championship, Hai lost to Xpeke all three games. In their rematch, Hai not only beat Xpeke, he destroyed them, using Kassadin in one game, Xpeke's favorite champion. There are a lot of strong mid laners in the LCS which is why Hai rates so lowly, but he's still an incredible pick.
LiNk
CLG's mid laner is a very solid player, but he's not a stand out. Plus his team, CLG, seems to have the odds stacked against them with a mostly new roster. While he's a much better pick up than no mid laner, I think he's a bit risky and don't personally recommend him, more because his team will struggle and get him behind than because of his ability.
Shiphtur
Coast's mid laner Shiphtur is in a lot of ways like LiNk. A solid player, without a team that can really back him up. However, I believe LiNk is a better player all around, and Shiphtur's play style, while very popular last year, is starting to look a bit outdated. If he can adapt he'll be a good pick, but I wouldn't want to count on him.
Scarra
Scarra was the All-Star Midlaner for North America last year, and he just never looked like he belonged on the team to me. Since then, I feel Scarra has gotten worse, not better. While I'm sure he would kick my ass in a game, I think he's the weakest mid laner in the pro scene, and would recommend he be avoided.
ADC
Sneaky
C9's AD Carry is perhaps their second best player after Meteos. Traditional wisdom is that North America has better AD Carries than mid laners, so he's a good target for an early pick as well. His stat line was actually incredibly close with Meteos as well, however, Sneaky has a lot more competition in the bottom lane than Meteos does in the jungle, and there are a lot of good players that can shut him down. Still he's a solid first pick.
Wild Turtle
Former Cloud 9 ADC Wild Turtle may be even better than Sneaky. Wild Turtle was able to go blow for blow against the bottom lane of World Championship winners SKT1, a chance Sneaky never got. His team seems a lot stronger this season as well, with their new mid laner, Wild Turtle is expected to get more support from his Jungler. It's a tough call between Wild Turtle and Sneaky, both are great.
Doublelift
Lift lift was for a long time considered to be the future of CLG. He's also had the title of "best ADC in America" for quite some time. However, he's now the oldest member and mentor of CLG, a team that's made up mostly of new players. CLG's success is going to depend largely on Doublelift's ability to step up into a leadership role. How will this effect him as a pick? Well "feed Doublelift" has been CLG's primary strategy for 2 years now, which means his numbers are always super impressive. However, the worse his team does, the worse he will do, making him the riskiest of the "top tier" ADC picks.
WizFujiiN
In addition to having one of the most fun names in the pro scene, WizFujiiN is my darkhorse ADC. He's on Team Coast, a team I've bad mouthed a fair amount even though I think most of their individual players are ok. WizFunjiiN is sort of in the same boat, he's the newest member of Coast, and while he's only played a few games they've really impressed me. He's a gamble to be sure, but one I'd consider.
Cop
Cop is the only player on Curse to retain his spot from last year. Cops critics say that he plays too passively for an ADC and doesn't get enough kills. His fans point out that he plays smart, never dying when he doesn't have to. He's been a consistent player, but never a flashy one, which makes him hard to pick given the scoring system the Fantasy League has. Add on the fact that his team is likely to struggle, and I think he should be skipped.
Yellowpete
The only ADC to come over from Europe, I don't actually know that much about Yellowpete. Traditional wisdom is that North America has stronger ADC players in general, while Europe has stronger Mid Lane players. He's definitely an ok pick, but not one I can give much analysis on.
Zuna
XDG's Midlaner Zuna is in many ways the opposite of Cop. Well known for his aggressive playstyle, Zuna tends to make huge plays, or die trying. The die trying part lead to a number of losses for his team last season. I may have him rated a little low, but honestly I think most of his success comes from his Jungler and Support helping him out. I'd pick him up, but only if options were slim.
Imaqtpie
Imaqtpie is Dignatas's ADC and like most of the team, I think he's over rated. Add in the fact that he's got a new support, KiWiKid, that I think is one of the worst in the league, and you can probably guess that I'll tell you to avoid him.
Support
Xpecial
As a support player myself, it's a little hard for me to rank Pro Support players, I have a ton of respect for all of them. Picking a stand out is tough, but I think Xpecial is at the top. His plays are always incredibly impressive, and he and Wild Turtle were able to stand up to the bottom lane of World Champions SKTT1 in two games. If you have your pick of the lot, Xpecial is the one to go for.
Lemon Nation
Lemon Nation is in many ways a stronger player than Xpecial. He knows the game better than perhaps any other Pro in North America. However, mechanically he just isn't as impressive. I think that will translate to a slightly worse score. It's really close however, and he's a great pick up.
Blood Water
Another Support player I have mad respect for, Blood Water joining XDG lead from them being "just another team" to taking two third place titles in a row. The only reason he's rated under Lemon Nation and Xpecial is that his ADC, Zuna, isn't nearly as talented as Sneaky or Wild Turtle. He's still a top tier pick though.
Krepo
EG's very vocal support is one of the most popular players in the pro scene, and for good reason. He's a very charming individual with keen insight into the game. He also loves to make big plays. However, I think his champion pool is a bit smaller than the supports I've ranked above him. He's still a player I have mad respect for, and a good pick, just not quite as good as the others.
Daydreamin
Daydreamin is a clear step down from the other support players, but he's still really good. His favorite champion is Thresh, and when he gets to play him he's on par with the others. However, when he has to play anyone else he preforms lower. Not a bad pick, but not some one I'm hoping to grab.
Zekent
Zekent is the only support player who's new to the pro scene. Honestly, it's a little hard to judge him, he's only played a few games, and while he's played alright, he hasn't done anything too impressive. I think he's better than the players I rank below him, but he's not great.
Aphromoo
I said before that I have a lot of respect for most pro supports. Aphromoo is sort of the exception to that rule. A former pro ADC, Aphromoo was picked up by CLG to play support at the start of Season 3. However, he didn't work out, his heart wasn't into playing the position and he always played too aggressively, too much like an ADC. CLG let him go, but as they again find themselves without a support, have given him a second shot. One I'm not sure he deserves.
KiWiKid
I struggled weather or not I should rate KiWiKid or Aphromoo higher, but in the end decided Aphromoo at least has some experience playing support. KiWiKid is Dignatas's former top laner, who they've moved down to support. Like most of Dignatas, he hasn't impressed me.
