Taking the weekly writeup down a different path, we’ll look at our top players in each position along with some takes on how to expect them each to perform next week.

 

Leading off will be the top overall player in Siki of the Renegades.  Playing against EmproX in the Oceanic region he popped off for a weekly best of 776 base, adding 87 more as an attacker.  Overall he was your top choice for any spot, being almost 80 points better than second best in every category. At a 2000 salary, he would take a significant amount of cap space, but this week would have been worth .432 points per salary in that attacking spot.

 

Looking at our second best in each position we have Retals of the Pittsburgh Knights who had the single match against G2 in North America.  The 2nd match of the day that really threw the entire region into the upside down, the Knights took down G2 convincingly 3-0 and retals led them with 741 points in either the attacker or defender role, and 691 as a midfielder. As a 1700 salary, putting him in attack or defense would’ve netted .436 points per salary, which was #1 for the week.

Finally looking at the season overall, we still have Repi as our number one attacker, averaging 733 points per game (and a second best .425 points per salary), Chicago as the best midfielder at 683 points per game or 710 points as a defender.  After a really good week two, Bluey continues to lead in the biggest bang for your buck spot at a .439 points per salary.

 

Continuing our top lineup from last week, which had 8438 points, we’re looking at swapping out two players max to get the most points possible.  With this and the salary caps in mind, the best outcome I have been able to come up with is this lineup:

Attackers:

Retals – 1650 Salary, 741 points Siki – 2000 Salary, 863 points

Midfielders:

renaN – 1650 Salary, 524 points Alpha54 – 1625 Salary, 544 points

Defenders:

Lerky – 1600 Salary, 640 points Bluey – 1400 Salary, 578 points

Total points: 3890 points week 2, 75 remaining salary. 12,328 Total points

Transactions: Drop Chicago and CaioTG1 for Retals and Siki

 

Looking forward to next week, both NA and EU have 6 matches on slate, with Cloud 9 facing their biggest challenge of the season so far in NRG.  This matchup is almost a do-or-die for Cloud 9, with losing this leaving them with a single win and G2 and Rogue still ahead. This matchup is going to see both teams pulling out all the stops, with NRG potentially trying to go to 6-0.  Expect a high fantasy scoring matchup, potentially leaning towards the defensive side as Cloud 9 hasn’t scored more than 2 goals in a game since their game one win in an eventual reverse sweep by Pittsburgh Knights, while NRG is averaging almost 3 goals per game this season. 

In a much closer EU region, we have Team Reciprocity, Veloce Esports, Complexity, and mousesports all playing two matches each.  The most intriguing matchup is Dignitas against mousesports. Both teams are in the middle four, however Dignitas is sitting at the bottom at 2-2.  A loss here would put them in a spot where they could be on the outside looking in going into week five. I can see them ticking upwards in the fantasy department against a mousesports team that could realistically be looking at going to 4-1 with a win over Dignitas.  If you’re looking for a safer bet, look into Team Reciprocity. They have favorable matchups against Complexity and Vitality, and should be on the upper hand in both, pending Chausette continuing to play at a star player level.

Down under in the Oceanic region we have a clash of the heavyweights with Renegades playing Ground Zero Gaming.  This has the potential to be one of the highest scoring matches of the week, with Renegades scoring 46 goals and Ground Zero Gaming scoring 37.  Both Siki and Misty could be good pickups in this matchup that should be a blast to watch.

Finally in the South American Region we have CaioTG1 and Caard of the undefeated Lowkey Esports playing the 2-3 Hawks.  While their salaries are high, they should be able to pull out rather high numbers. INTZ eSports are also undefeated and have favorable matchups against Lotus and The Three Sins.  While Lotus could potentially give them some trouble, the final match of the night against The Three Sins should balance out any risk in Repi or PJ.