With one week of League Championship Series play in the books, we've got a bit of information to work with when setting our Fantasy LCS teams. This is the part of the season where making the right roster swaps can lead to victories down the road, as the season is only nine weeks long.
With that in mind, here are the players to pick and ban for Week 2 of Fantasy LCS action.
Picks
Matt "Akaadian" Higginbotham, Echo Fox (Jungle)
In an interview aired during the North American LCS broadcast, Akaadian told the world how he felt about being a rookie jungler in the LCS: It wasn't going to faze him. He was going to come out and play aggressive and not worry about making the big mistakes, and that led to a terrific first week for the Echo Fox newcomer. Akaadian posted 34 kills (most among all junglers) and averaged 23.2 points per game (second at the position), yet he's available in 60 percent of Fantasy LCS leagues. Go out and get him immediately if he's available, and start him over nearly any other option even with two tough matchups in Week 2 (FlyQuest, who allowed the fewest points to opposing junglers in Week 1 of NA LCS, and Dignitas, who allowed the second fewest).
Galen "Moon" Holgate, FlyQuest (Jungle)
FlyQuest's strong start to the season may continue into Week 2 as the collection of former Cloud9 talent and once highly touted jungler Moon will take on Echo Fox and a seemingly underperforming Counter Logic Gaming. While Akaadian is doing well in the jungle for Rick Fox's team, he's not preventing opposing junglers from doing their job, while CLG haven't looked on top of their game and finished their series with Team Envy with a fantasy-friendly 67 kill contest. Moon performed like a top-10 jungler in Week 1, which means he's worthy of a pickup in eight-team leagues thanks to the strong matchups in the week ahead. The same goes for any FlyQuest players still available; they're all worth a chance.
Samson "Lourlo" Jackson, Team Liquid (Top)
It might already be too late to pick up Team Liquid's top laner, but if he's still out there in your league, grab him immediately. Lourlo stepped up for TL in Week 1, becoming more of a carry in the top lane and making highlight plays on Fiora. He earned 19 kills, most among players at the position, while dying only three times, fewest per game across both leagues. Matchups with Team SoloMid and Phoenix1 don't scare me away from Lourlo, especially considering the way top laners performed against them in Week 1. TL's two Week 2 opponents were middle of the road against the position last week, and P1 was average against top laners last season, as well.
Passes
All European players on one-game matchweeks
Did you win your Week 1 matchup with Marcin "Jankos" Jankowski in the jungle? Don't get used to that feeling. H2K are among several EU teams taking a break with only one game in Week 2, as only Misfits, Vitality, Roccat and Origen have two matches coming in the next few days. There are viable options on those teams (Vitality's matchups are particularly strong), but don't leave any G2 Esports or H2K players in your lineups, they just won't score enough points.
Jang "Looper" Hyeong-seok, Echo Fox (Top)
Did you manage to pick up Lourlo already? Good, sub him in for Looper. Thought of by many as a player worthy of a top-20 pick in fantasy drafts, Looper has a very tough task this week against Team Dignitas and FlyQuest. Even if the "Cloud9 White" team comes back down to earth, Looper didn't really look like a carry in Week 1, as he's likely still getting used to working with his all-English speaking teammates. He ended Week 1 14th in points per game and faces the two teams toughest on opposing top laners last week. Leave him on your bench, and consider a European top laner like Barney "Alphari" Morris of Misfits if you can't find an NA option.
Zaqueri "Aphromoo" Black, Counter Logic Gaming (Support)
No one expected Aphromoo and CLG to look so shaky in Week 1, and they'll face a tough test in Week 2 against FlyQuest and Cloud9. FLY's veteran bot lane is unlikely to hand over big numbers to their CLG counterparts while Zachary "Sneaky" Scuderi and Andy "Smoothie" Ta of C9 look like the best duo in North America at this early stage of the season. Pick up an EU support like Ha "Hachani" Seung-chan of Vitality for this week and see if CLG can figure things out for future matchups.