Moon, Akaadian, Contractz, Inori… The list goes on.
Let’s get to navigating the fantasy LCS jungle:
No. 1 – Juan “Contractz” Arturo Garcia (Cloud9 – NA LCS)
Last Week
- Best Game: 58.05
- First Two Games: 77.53
Projections For This Week
- Best Game: 55-65
- First Two Games: 70-85
This should be another strong week for C9 as they take on Echo Fox and Team EnVyUs, two teams that have not looked like they can play at the level C9 has. Echo Fox potentially has a chance to steal a game and make it interesting if they keep improving at the pace they have been, though I think that’s unlikely.
Look for Contractz to have his best week yet.
No. 2 – Lee “Chaser” Sang-hyun (Team Dignitas – NA LCS)
Last Week
- Best Game: 41.89
- First Two Games: 57.17
Projections For This Week
- Best Game: 50-65
- First Two Games: 65-85
I like this week to be Chaser’s breakout week. Dignitas takes on FlyQuest and Counter Logic Gaming, two slow starting teams with relatively weak laners. Granted, Dignitas has really only seen Ssumday excel in lane, but that is where they will snowball their victories.
Darshan has always struggled against top level Korean top laners, and Ssumday is exactly that. This series will come down to how badly Ssumday and Chaser can punish Darshan, and I like those odds.
Against Balls, it is the exact same story. Look for Ssumday and Chaser to have their biggest weeks yet, and for Dignitas to win both of their series.
No. 3 – Rami “Inori” Charagh (Phoenix1 – NA LCS)
Last Week
- Best Game: 56.12
- First Two Games: 82.73
Projections For This Week
- Best Game: 45-60
- First Two Games: 70-85
Phoenix1 looks to be getting better and better each week, and they start of this week with a real test in Team SoloMid. I honestly rate both teams pretty evenly at the moment, but I think Inori and Ryu will be the catalysts for P1.
In their second series, P1 gets the pleasure of playing Immortals, which has been every fantasy player’s dream so far. P1 should be able to close out Immortals swiftly and take a 2-0 week this week.
No. 4 – Dennis “Svenskeren” Johnsen (Team SoloMid – NA LCS)
Last Week
- Best Game: 47.28
- First Two Games: 65.16
Projections For This Week
- Best Game: 40-55
- First Two Games: 60-75
With a close series against P1 looming, TSM should be locked in. They looked a lot better last week then they did in the first week of play, which is promising if you are a TSM fan or fantasy owner. I think P1 takes the series, but that does not mean that Svenskeren will not still score well. On FlyQuest, Moon lost a series last week, yet was still the top overall scorer in his role. Look for a similar situation with Svenskeren this week.
CLG versus TSM used to have a lot of hype around it, but with how lackluster CLG has been playing, this looks to be heavily favored for TSM. Svenskeren should be able to control this game and propel himself to his best series of the split so far.
No. 5 – Galen “Moon” Holgate (FlyQuest – NA LCS)
Last Week
- Best Game: 54.56 (Top scorer in the jungle)
- First Two Games: 108.87
Predictions For This Week
- Best Game: 40-55
- First Two Games: 60-75
Coming off the best fantasy week for a jungler this season, I expect Moon to come back down to Earth a bit. Against Immortals he will have a big series, I think that is as close to a sure thing as you can get at the moment. It is the Dignitas series that I am a bit worried about. DIG poses some serious problems for FlyQuest in my opinion. For example, Ssumday is on another planet compared to Balls, and that is the person who also gets the most jungle pressure for DIG. Will FlyQuest be stuck in a situation in which Moon has to babysit the top lane, thus being less involved around the map? It is a real concern, and that is why Moon falls a bit lower on this list.
No. 6 – Matthew “Akaadian” Higginbotham (Echo Fox – NA LCS)
Last Week
- Best Game: 44.9
- First Two Games: 50.83
Predictions For This Week
- Best Game: 40-55
- First Two Games: 55-70
This could be a very tough week for Echo Fox, as they take on Team Liquid and Cloud9. After reading this last sentence, you may have noticed tough week and Team Liquid together, shocking right? Well here is why.
Reignover specifically poses a new threat to Akaadian. As a jungler, Reignover is very control-based, and more focused on preventing kills and farm rather than getting kills himself. What this should mean for Akaadian is that he will have to play either from behind or come into mid game on an even playing field, which is not something he has had to do often this split.
No. 7 – Maurice “Amazing” Stückenschneider (Fnatic – EU LCS)
Last Week*
- Best Game: 17.07
- First Two Games: 21.34
Predictions For This Week
- Best Game: 40-50
- First Two Games: 55-65
This is Fnatic’s first chance at a two series week, and I expect them to take full control of that. While there is not much to base these claims off of in terms of statistics, Fnatic has shown glimpses of fantasy brilliance, along with claims from other teams saying that they are top opposition this year.
Team ROCCAT should pose no threat to Fnatic, and that is where I like Amazing’s chances at scoring highly. Then, Fnatic should also take the series against the Unicorns of Love. UoL has had a ton of shaky games thus far, and their throne seems to be ripe for the taking.
No. 8 – Nam “LirA” Tae-yoo (Team EnVyUs – NA LCS)
Last Week
- Best Game: 50.49
- First Two Games: 59.99
Predictions For This Week
- Best Game: 35-55
- First Two Games: 45-70
LirA showed signs of brilliance last week as he had one of the highest “Best Game” scores for his position. This came with almost no practice with his team, as he had only arrived in the United States on Friday. Give him a week to practice and adjust, plus a battered Team Liquid to play? This could be a big week, though it won’t start too well against Cloud9.
Best case scenario, he destroys one game with Khazix, racks up 10+ kills, and his team lets him down as they get walked on by C9. If he can do this, then have two solid showings against Liquid, he may just be a top five scorer again.
FeelsBadMan Starts of The Week
- Joshua “Dardoch” Hartnett (Immortals – NA LCS)
- Kim “Reignover” Yeu-jin (Team Liquid – NA LCS)
- Jake “Xmithie” Puchero (Counter Logic Gaming – NA LCS)
So here is the deal with these three names.
Dardoch is a hail mary, all-in, “I need a miracle,” start.
Reignover is a, “Dang, I wish I wouldn’t have drafted him so high, but there are no junglers available to pick up,” start.
Xmithie is an “I’m content with him contributing minimal fantasy points, but at least I know he will score some,” start.
*These players only played one series last week because of the EU LCS format
Who’s starting in your jungle this week? Let us know in the comments below or tweet us @GAMURScom.
