Dicey’s Middle Lane Rankings for Fantasy LCS Week 3

The LCS has been as wild and unpredictable as ever so far. Echo Fox is looking strong, the Cloud9 veterans on FlyQuest are having success in 2017, Counter Logic Gaming is playing out of sync, and Phoenix1 is top three? Usually I like to weigh matchups as a deciding factor in how I rank players for the week, but we are going to lower that value this week.

Let’s get started with the mid lane:

No. 1 – Nicolaj “Jensen” Jensen (Cloud9 – NA LCS)

Last week

• Best Game format: 42.34
• First Two Games format: 77.59

Projections For This Week

• Best Game: 45-60
• First Two Games: 75-90

Since he is facing Echo Fox and Team EnVyUs this week, Jensen should be on track to continue his dominance. Sure, Echo Fox looked much improved this past week, but they are not on Cloud9’s level. Team EnVyUs is still a disaster, so that series should be clean for Jensen and company. Jensen is the clear No. 1 this week, with no competition.

No. 2 – Hai “Hai” Du Lam (FlyQuest – NA LCS)

Last Week

• Best Game: 53.63
• First Two Games: 86.89

Projections For This Week

• Best Game: 40-55
• First Two Games: 70-85

Hai is FlyQuest’s No. 1 threat, so naturally most of their game plan is centered around him. With this being said, I think this is also their biggest downfall. Anyone with decent knowledge of the game can pick up on the strategy FlyQuest implements, so other teams will as well. If teams can start to control their playstyle and force FlyQuest to adapt and implement a new focus, they will start to fall. There are similarities between this team and the C9 team that went 3-0 in the first week of Worlds in 2015. Both teams have started off really strong with a strategy, but like that Worlds team, I expect FlyQuest to struggle more as the competition progresses.

With all of that being said, Immortals is not the team that will force FlyQuest to do anything differently, so they will start the week strong. The team’s second matchup is against Team Dignitas, a team that is really all over the place at the moment, which Hai will enjoy playing against. That matchup will be the classic brain versus brawn, as FlyQuest tries to outsmart the strong mechanical skill of Dignitas.

No. 3 Søren “Bjergsen” Bjerg (Team SoloMid – NA LCS)

Last Week

• Best Game: 50.24
• First Two Games: 81.35

Projections For This Week

• Best Game: 40-55
• First Two Games: 70-85

Bjerg is always a reliable pick, you will never not start him if you have him. This week is just more of the same, as he and TSM take on Phoenix1 in my match of the week, and then Counter Logic Gaming. You can pretty much never go wrong when you start Bjergsen, no matter who he is playing against.

No. 4 – Chres “Sencux” Laursen (Splyce – EU LCS)

Last Week*

• Best Game: 31
• First Two Games: 40.14

Projections For This Week

• Best Game: 35-55
• First Two Games: 65-85

As you may have noticed, I think Sencux could score as many points as Bjergsen and Hai this week, but he comes with a bit more risk. I am not completely sold on Splyce as a team this year, and this week they have to go up against Unicorns of Love, who have looked good thus far. Against Origen, however, Sencux is almost guaranteed to score well, so at least you have a safe play in theory.

No. 5 – Rasmus “Caps” Winther (Fnatic – EU LCS)

Last Week*

• Best Game: 37.03
• First Two Games: 25.93

Projections For This Week

• Best Game: 35-55
• First Two Games: 65-85

Just as I expect Hai and Bjergsen to score basically the same amount of points, I also think Sencux and Caps should be similar in points scored for week three. Caps and Fnatic take on a very weak Team ROCCAT that has yet to take a series win, then play the up and down Misfits roster. Overall, you are in a good spot if Caps is in your lineup, as he should be a lock to score you a good amount of points.

No. 6 – Henrik “Froggen” Hansen (Echo Fox – NA LCS)

Last Week

• Best Game: 64.27 (Highest scorer in the mid lane)
• First Two Games: 73.17

Projections For This Week

• Best Game: 30-55
• First Two Games: 60-85

Froggen had a very strong fantasy week on the back of Echo Fox’s surprise performances. Whether or not they can continue this run of form is still up in the air, but I like their chances.

Echo Fox’s first series this week comes against a Team Liquid lineup that is struggling quite a bit, so I expect Froggen to be able to control the series much like he did this past week in multiple games. Kim “Reignover” Yeu-jin is the type of jungler that could really slow down someone like Matthew “Akaadian” Higginbotham. I am not saying that will happen, but with how much control Reignover likes to have, it could leave Akaadian on the back foot and in a style of play that he is not comfortable with. If this happens, Echo Fox may struggle in the series, and Froggen’s points could be in jeopardy.

Cloud9 should handle Echo Fox in the second series, but as we saw last week when CLG beat C9, they are not unbeatable. Froggen is a must-play if you have him right now, at least in your flex position. Echo Fox looks very revitalized with its new lineup, and Akaadian is playing like the jungler that Froggen has always needed.

No. 7 – Yoo “Ryu” Sang-ook (Phoenix1 – NA LCS)

Last Week

• Best Game: 39.50
• First Two Games: 63.93

Projections For This Week

• Best Game: 35-50
• First Two Games: 60-80

Ryu is consistent when playing against western teams, which is always what you want to have. I see him as a very stable pick, someone that will not top the charts come the end of the week, but will be somewhere between fifth and seventh place in terms of points earned in the mid lane.

Phoenix1’s series against TSM should be close, but Ryu gets to play the dysfunctional Immortals lineup afterwards. Look for Ryu to be the catalyst for his team against Immortals, picking up fantasy points when he pleases.

FeelsBadMan Starts of the Week

• Jang “Keane” Lae-young (Team Dignitas – NA LCS)
• Choi “Huhi” Jae-hyun (Counter Logic Gaming – NA LCS)

This is your classic risk versus safe pick scenario. Keane and Dignitas looked great in week one, but are trending down after last week. Huhi, however, has actually been very solid in fantasy this year.

Huhi currently ranks fifth in total points for mid laners, in both formats. Keane is ranked ninth in the “best game” format, and seventh in the “first two games” format. You may think Huhi is the no brainer here based on that alone, but he has TSM and DIG coming up on the schedule, so it could go either way. The decision between the two of them should come down to who you think will perform better in their series against each other, and I lean toward Keane. I think DIG bounces back this week as a whole, while CLG continues their slow trend upward.

*These players only played one series last week because of the EU LCS format

Who’s starting in your mid lane this week? Let us know in the comments below or tweet us @GAMURScom.