After two weeks of play in the North American League Championship Series, three players have picked up 180 or more points using the scoring system for Fantasy LCS. And just as we expected, those players are Hai "Hai" Lam, Trevor "Stixxay" Hayes and Galen "Moon" Holgate.
Actually, no one projected these players to lead the LCS in fantasy scoring. The players ranked fourth and fifth (Soren "Bjergsen" Bjerg and Nicolaj "Jensen" Jensen) were top-ranked preseason picks, so not everything is out of order. But there have been a lot of surprises in North American League of Legends this season, and there will almost certainly be more to come.
With that in mind, here are your picks and passes for Week 3's fantasy schedule.
Picks
Everyone on Cloud9
C9's opponents this week are Team EnVyUs and Echo Fox, teams that rank in the top four in points allowed to every position with two exceptions (FOX aren't quite as bad against mid laners and supports, but aren't tough against them, either). This combination of matchups is as good as you'll get all season, and means any and all C9 players you can get in your lineup should be there in Week 3.
In fact, at this point, I would consider trading anyone for a C9 replacement if a leaguemate is willing. Does someone value Zaqueri "Aprhomoo" Black over Andy "Smoothie" Ta? Trade for C9's support right away. Does someone want your Kim "ssumday" Chan-ho in exchange for their Jung "Impact" Eon-yeong? Make that trade without delay.
Even if someone wants to offer you Jensen for Bjergsen, make the deal. The torch has been passed. The best mid laner in North America wears blue and white, and you should react accordingly in fantasy.
Kim "ssumday" Chan-ho, Top, Team Dignitas
After a rough week for Dignitas -- once viewed as a contender for the top three, now sitting near the bottom of the standings -- it would be easy to bench ssumday.
But you shouldn't. This week he'll get to face Counter Logic Gaming, the team that has allowed the most points to top laners, while also lining up against FlyQuest's weakest position from a points-allowed standpoint. And with the team looking a bit shaky in Week 2, I look for them to lean on their best and most talented player in Week 3.
Let ssumday carry your fantasy team as his team hands him the resources in the week ahead. (Unless someone wants to trade you Impact for him, of course.)
Chres "Sencux" Larsen, Mid, Splyce
Although he's not the best Danish mid laner mentioned in this article, he might be the best for fantasy LCS purposes in Week 3. Splyce are one of two EU teams on a two-match week (along with Fnatic), and one of those matches is against struggling Origen. Origen allow more points per game to mid laners than any team other than Immortals across both leagues, so that matchup alone should get plenty of points for Splyce's mid.
Fnatic's Rasmus "Caps" Winther, also Danish, and also very good with good matchups ahead, is worthy of consideration in Week 3 as well.
Passes
Eugene "Pobelter" Park, Mid, Immortals
The season has started off poorly for Pobelter and Immortals, and things won't get any easier in Week 3. Matchups with Phoenix1 and FlyQuest mean IMT will be tasked with scoring fantasy points against the second- and third-toughest teams against the position in the LCS. With savvy veterans and aggressive junglers on both P1 and FlyQuest, look for Pobelter to have a rough time this weekend. Either of the EU options listed above can be started in his place.
Matt "Akaadian" Higginbotham, Jungle, Echo Fox
Last week Akaadian featured as a "pick," but this week he'll end up in the ban phase of the fantasy proceedings. In an interesting schedule quirk, Team Liquid, Cloud9, Phoenix1 and Echo Fox only play each other in some combination this week, and the Foxes get the short end of the stick. With TL (fifth-best against junglers) and C9 (fourth-best against junglers) ahead, Akaadian will go up against Juan "Contractz" Garcia and Kim "Reignover" Yeu-jin. Both will be happy to punish Akaadian's aggressive style (he has the third-most deaths at the position across both leagues) and he's best left on the bench. Consider Jonas "Trashy" Andersen of Splyce as an alternative.
Lee "Chaser" Sang-hyun, Jungle, Team Dignitas
The 15th-best jungler so far in terms of fantasy points per game, Chaser will face two tough matchups as FlyQuest and CLG are on the schedule. FLY have allowed the fewest points to opposing junglers in North America this season, while CLG are sixth-best, but that's an improvement upon most of their other stats. Jake "Xmithie" Puchero is a consistent, smart jungler who will keep Chaser at bay, just as others have done through two weeks. Plus, as mentioned above, this feels like a "let ssumday carry" kind of week.