Rankings for the week factors in prior performance, strength of schedule, match-ups, and also arbitrary inclinations. Use as a guide when setting your lineups. Good luck!

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TOP

sOAZ – FNC Kev1n – MIL Dyrus – TSM ackerman – LMQ Wickd – ALL Mimer – SHC Quas – CRS Xaxus – ROC YoungBuck – CW Seraph – CLG fredy122 – SK Balls – C9 ZionSpartan – DIG Innox – EG Westrice – COL Kubon – GMB

Dyrus (vs. LMQ & COL) – Dyrus has not been performing as a Tier 1 Top laner. He, however, settles in nicely in Tier 2 with T1 upside. Both LMQ and COL are teams that are not afraid to take chances. In doing so, they give a up a lot of kills. As of end of Week 8, COL and LMQ give up the most kills in NALCS (16.3 & 13.2 average deaths/game respectively).

ackerman (vs. TSM & CLG) – Despite a relatively average finish to Week 8, ackerman has definitely showed some consistency throughout the last 4 weeks, averaging 17.28 points/game throughout that span, good for elite Top laner status. ackerman will have a tougher time against TSM. CLG is averaging 2.3 kills/game given up to enemy Top laners compared to TSM‘s 1.5 kills/game given up to enemy Top laners.

Xaxus (vs. SHC & MIL) – ROC and Xaxus have been tearing it up since Super Week. Through the last 6 games, Xaxus has averaged 16.96 points/game. Who else averages 16.96 points/game? sOAZ. ROC hasn’t been the a team to give up kills despite suffering losses. They are very similar to DIG in the sense that they play defensively and look for opportunities. However, to their credit, they have evolved their playstyle to a more aggressive style, raising ROC‘s average kills/game over 2 points over the last 6 games (from 9.4 kills/game to 11.5 kills/game). Who else is also averaging 11.5 kills/game? Cloud9. ROC remains a risky play, but considering the match-ups this week, but fantasy owners can do far worse.

MID

xPeke – FNC Froggen – ALL Bjergsen – TSM Kerp – MIL XiaoWeiXiao – LMQ Jesiz – SK Link – CLG SELFIE – SHC Hai – C9 Overpow – ROC Shiphtur – DIG VoyBoy – CRS Pobelter – EG NiQ – GMB ??? – CW pr0lly – COL

Jesiz (vs. MIL & CW) – I was a little hesitant giving Jesiz such a high rank despite a disastrous Week 8. MIL is average 13.8 deaths/game, which is 4th worst in the entire LCS aside from the obvious bottom 3 (CW, COL, GMB). Speaking of bottom 3, CW has done nothing in improving on their 18.3 deaths/game. Back in Week 2, they were only averaging 18.0 deaths/game. Needless to say, Jesiz and SK have great match-ups in Week 9. Look for SK to have a strong bounce back week.

Hai (vs. COL & CRS) – If I told you Hai’s average points/game were in the bottom 4 of all 16 Mid laners, it would be hard to believe. If you did believe it, then you would question my generous ranking. That’s due to Hai being one of the most consistent performers in his position. He will get you around 30 points every week with upside. With good match-ups in Week 9, Hai is a superb Flex starter.

Shiphtur (vs. CRS & EG) – DIG and Shiphtur needs to evaluate their play-style if they don’t want to fall any further in the standings. Their ultra conservative defensive play-style provided a solid start to the split. As teams settle in and evolve, DIG is getting slowly exposed and they are not doing anything about it. Since Week 3, DIG has been giving up more and more kills every week (6.8 average deaths/game in Week 3 vs. 9.8 average deaths/game in Week 8). On the other side of things, DIG has also been averaging less kills/game, dropping from 12.75 kills/game in Week 2 to 10.8 kills/game in Week 8 (barely edging out COL and GMB).

JUNGLE

Cyanide – FNC Amazing – TSM KottenX – MIL NoName – LMQ Shook – ALL Svenskeren – SK Jankos – ROC Airwaks – CW dexter – CLG Impaler -SHC Meteos – C9 IWDominate – CRS Kez – COL Helios – EG Crumbzz – DIG Diamond – GMB

Cyanide (vs. CW & GMB) – If you haven’t noticed a trend already, here it is: FNC is projected to have a HUGE Week 9. The only way they can mess this up is if they don’t show up for the matches or force 20 minute surrenders. It almost doesn’t warrant a practice week for them. In fact, it may be better that they skimp on practice so they will drag the games out for more points. Cyanide is the type of gank-heavy Jungler fantasy owners want in such a sweet match-up.

Shook (vs. GMB & SHC) – Shook‘s average points per game plummeted from Week 3’s high of 18.18 to a low of 14.98 in Week 8. Similar to FNC‘s match-ups, as long as ALL shows up to the games, it should mean a decent Week 9. ALL‘s average kills/game have been dipping, but the slide isn’t out of control. Look for a comeback from Shook and ALL.

Svenskeren (vs. MIL & CW) – SK‘s situation is very similar to ALL. The decrease in kills and increase in deaths and losses isn’t a trend any team would sit well with, let alone the top teams in the EULCS. Thankfully for SK, they are also blessed with winnable match-ups that have a high potential for points. If Svenskeren is unable to redeem himself in Week 9, owners may have to look for an alternative solution as his average points/game has been a brutal 13.13 (4th lowest).

AD CARRY

Rekkles – FNC WildTurtle – TSM Tabzz – ALL Creaton – MIL Doublelift – CLG Vasilii – LMQ Woolite – CW Celaver – ROC CandyPanda – SK MrRallez – SHC Altec – EG Cop – CRS Sneaky – C9 Imaqtpie – DIG ROBERTxLEE – COL Genja – GMB

Creaton (vs. SK & ROC) – Kev1n‘s elevated play has definitely allowed Creaton to have more freedom in the back line. Averaging over 20 points/game, Creaton quietly joins the ranks of elite ADCs. It isn’t a fluke either. MIl still remains the LCS leader in average kills/game at 15.7; closest are FNC at 14.8 and LMQ at 14.7.

Vasilli (vs. TSM & CLG) – Vasilli has also proved himself as an elite ADC. He would be a top 5 ADC this week if it wasn’t for the TSM match-up. Of all 16 teams in the LCS, TSM has given up the least amount of kills to enemy ADCs. However, LMQ does hold a 2-0 record over TSM in their last 2 head-to-heads.

CandyPanda (vs. MIL & CW) – CandyPanda‘s average points/game has consistently been falling since Week 4. Although he may not achieve his early season successes again, he still provides a solid Flex production. Fantasy owners in the top of their league rankings may want to close out the stretch with a better option by selling high after an easy week 9.

SUPPORT

YellOwStaR – FNC Gleeb – TSM Aphromoo – CLG Mor – LMQ Nyph – ALL nRated – SK kaSing – SHC Jree – MIL LemonNation – C9 Xpecial – CRS VandeR – ROC Krepo – EG Unlimited – CW KiWiKiD – DIG Bubbadub – COL Edward – GMB

Aphromoo (vs. EG & LMQ) – Remember when I said Aphromoo was a better real life support than a fantasy support? Looks like he has figured out how to translate that into stats. His Week 8 performance vaulted him to the top tier of supports that average 9.0+ assists/game. (YellOwStaR should be in his own god tier.) Look for more of this to continue against the two teams that have been giving up kills as of late. EG and LMQ averages 12.0 and 13.2 deaths/game respectively; good for 3rd to last and 2nd to last in NALCS.

Nyph (vs. GMB & SHC) – Nyph and ALL have been struggling for the last two weeks. Nyph‘s assist average has tumbled to 8.9 assists/game from 9.9 assists/game. All it takes to rejuvenate this team is a date with GMB, who is still giving up kills like candy. SHC on the other hand has been doing relatively well (save the FNC match). Despite their recent successes, they have done it despite giving up an above average amount of kills. Look for ALL to make a strong Week 9 comeback.

kaSing (vs. ROC & ALL) – kaSing drops out of the 10.0+ assists/game club, leaving that honor for YellOwStaR exclusively. Despite that horrible match with FNC, kaSing is still averaging 9.4 assists/game. Definitely still a high caliber starter capable of big points. Week 9 will be tough as ROC and ALL can be very strong teams if they have their heads in the game.