Two-game LPL slate, Best-of-3, cumulative scoring. Final projections and ownership are in — and they point one way: Sinian (EDG) is the slate's #1 projection (78.4) AND its highest ceiling (112.8), at just 19.7% owned, while the field's chalk captain JackeyLove is 61.5% owned with the lowest ceiling of any stud (81.8). The whole room is crowding the wrong captain. My 5 captains, 5 flex, and four cap-verified builds — confirmed starters only.
🎯 The GPP thesis — the field is on the wrong captain
DK LoL is a Best-of-3, cumulative-scoring slate: points stack across every map, so the favorite that closes 2-0 or 2-1 piles up the most. The field knows this, so it's crowding TES's JackeyLove — the −250 favorite's carry — who comes in 61.5% owned, the highest on the slate. Here's the problem: JackeyLove has the lowest ceiling of any stud on the board (81.8). Meanwhile the model's #1 projection AND #1 ceiling both belong to Sinian (EDG MID): 78.4 projected, a slate-high 112.8 ceiling — at just 19.7% owned. That is the whole slate in one line: the single best player is also the leverage play, because everyone's captaining the wrong guy. Win tonight by putting your 1.5× on Sinian (or a live WE upset dagger), not on the field's JackeyLove.
📊 Best stack from every team
EDG ⭐ (the sharp, under-owned favorite) — Sinian, Leave, Xiaohao, Zdz (−145 / 59.2%)A −145 favorite carrying the board's two highest projections (Sinian 78.4, Leave 77.2) at lower ownership than TES (Sinian 19.7%, Xiaohao 29.8%). This is the build-around: the highest-projection favorite the field is under-owning. Captain Sinian.
TES (the chalk favorite) — JackeyLove, Creme, Tian, fengyue (−250 / 71.4%)The 71.4% favorite and correct — but the field's default, and heavily owned (JackeyLove 61.5%). Creme (74.0) is the real jewel here. Use TES as a secondary stack or bring-back, and if you captain inside it, pick Creme or Tian over the chalk JackeyLove.
WE (the upset dagger) — About, Monki, Karis, Erha (+185 / 35.1%)The +185 dog — but look at the ceilings: Monki 107.8, About 105.7, Karis 99.1, all at single-digit ownership (8.3% / 11.5% / 7.6%). If WE steals the series (~1 in 3), a WE-captained stack is a near-unique tournament winner. One dagger build, not your whole card.
LGD (value & the close game) — Crisp, Tangyuan, Shaoye, Heng (+110 / 47.6%)A near-coin-flip (+110). Crisp ($5,200) is the best value on the slate — a support with a 95.3 ceiling, 20% owned — the one-off that unlocks a stud captain in every build below.
👑 Top 5 captains — ranked on real projection & ownership
CPT = 1.5× salary & points. Proj·CPT = projection × 1.5. Own% is the field's projected roster ownership — the lower it is on a high-projection player, the more a big game separates you. Ranked the way I'd actually build them.
| Player | Salary | Proj·CPT | Own% | Read |
|---|
| Sinian MID·EDG | $7,200 /CPT $10,800 | 117.6 | 19.7% | THE captain. Slate-high projection (78.4) AND slate-high ceiling (112.8) — the single best player on the board — at just 19.7% owned while the field crowds JackeyLove. Best player and best leverage in the same slot. Build around him. |
| About ADC·WE | $7,000 /CPT $10,500 | 90.5 | 11.5% | The tournament dagger — a 105.7 ceiling (2nd on the board) at 11.5% owned on the +185 dog. If WE takes down TES, an About captain is a lineup almost nobody in the field holds. The unique winner. |
| Leave ADC·EDG | $7,400 /CPT $11,100 | 115.8 | 43.4% | The safe-sharp favorite — 2nd-highest projection (77.2), 102.3 ceiling, on the −145 EDG side. Higher-owned than Sinian, but pairs with him for the EDG double-stack: a favorite captain that isn't TES chalk. |
| Monki JNG·WE | $6,600 /CPT $9,900 | 85.4 | 8.3% | The cheap upset captain — a 107.8 ceiling (higher than Leave's) at just 8.3% owned and $6,600. Same WE-upset thesis as About, even lower-owned, and it frees ~$1.5K to load the core underneath. |
| Crisp SUP·LGD | $5,200 /CPT $7,800 | 89.0 | 20.0% | The contrarian value captain — a support with a 95.3 ceiling at $5,200 is unheard-of. A SUP in the 1.5× slot is maximum leverage; when LGD's coin-flip pops, almost nobody else is here. |
⛔ The chalk to fade at captain: JackeyLove (ADC·TES) — 61.5% owned, but an 81.8 ceiling that's the lowest of any stud on the slate. He's the field's default 1.5× and the worst upside of the top tier. Roster him as a flex if you want TES, but captaining him is paying up to share the most-owned lineup in the room.
🏹️ Top 5 flex — the correlated core & the value that funds your captain
| Player | Salary | Proj | Own% | Read |
|---|
| Leave ADC·EDG | $7,400 | 77.2 | 43.4% | EDG's carry and the correlated #1 flex behind a Sinian captain — the EDG double-stack. 2nd-highest projection on the board; non-negotiable in the sharp build. |
| Xiaohao JNG·EDG | $7,000 | 72.0 | 29.8% | The glue of the sharp build — EDG jungle (10.3 value) that completes the 4-man EDG stack and racks assists as the team snowballs. Under-owned for its projection. |
| Crisp SUP·LGD | $5,200 | 59.3 | 20.0% | Best value on the board (11.4) — a $5,200 support with a 95.3 ceiling. The salary-saver that unlocks a stud captain and adds a second game to your lineup. In every build below. |
| Creme MID·TES | $7,400 | 74.0 | 41.1% | TES's top projection and your bridge to the favorite. Semi-chalk (41%), but the highest floor on the 71% side — the TES piece for dual-game exposure without captaining the JackeyLove chalk. |
| Parukia SUP·EDG | $5,800 | 58.7 | 18.7% | The cheap EDG support (10.1 value, 18.7% owned) to complete a full EDG stack around Sinian — correlated, under-owned, and it keeps the whole build on the sharp side of the board. |
🏆 Four cap-verified builds — CPT + TOP/JNG/MID/ADC/SUP + TEAM, $48.5K–$50K
Optimized in code against the $50,000 cap and max 4 per team, using the real projections and confirmed starters only. Projection = total points with the captain at 1.5×; cumulative ownership shown so you can see which build is most unique. Build these (or your own) in the Lineup Builder.
🚀 A · EDG sharp (CPT Sinian) · $49,400 · proj 503.4 · cum own 218%
CPT Sinian(EDG) · TOP Zdz(EDG) · JNG Xiaohao(EDG) · MID Creme(TES) · ADC Leave(EDG) · SUP Crisp(LGD) · TEAM Top Esports(TES)
The highest-projection build on the entire board — and the captain is under-owned. EDG 4-stack + the TES mid + the LGD value support. My #1.
⚖️ B · EDG w/ TES bring-back (CPT Leave) · $49,700 · proj 502.8
CPT Leave(EDG) · TOP Zdz(EDG) · JNG Xiaohao(EDG) · MID Sinian(EDG) · ADC JackeyLove(TES) · SUP Crisp(LGD) · TEAM Top Esports(TES)
Near-identical projection to A, captain on the EDG carry with a JackeyLove bring-back for a piece of the TES chalk. Sinian slots to flex here.
🎯 C · Upset dagger (CPT About) · $48,900 · proj 480.7 · cum own 188% — lowest
CPT About(WE) · TOP Zdz(EDG) · JNG Xiaohao(EDG) · MID Sinian(EDG) · ADC Leave(EDG) · SUP Crisp(LGD) · TEAM Top Esports(TES)
The most-unique build on the card — WE's carry captained over a sharp EDG core. Your ticket if the +185 upset lands. One entry, not your whole card.
💰 D · Cheap upset (CPT Monki) · $48,500 · proj 475.2
CPT Monki(WE) · TOP Zdz(EDG) · JNG Tian(TES) · MID Sinian(EDG) · ADC Leave(EDG) · SUP Crisp(LGD) · TEAM Top Esports(TES)
The $6,600 upset captain (107.8 ceiling, 8.3% owned) frees cap for a stacked core. A second WE dagger at a different, even-lower-owned captain.
🔧 Methodology & honesty
These are the final CourtEdge projections and live ownership for the slate — not estimates. Rankings blend projection, single-series ceiling, and projected ownership for GPP leverage. Confirmed starters only: 369 & Zhuo (TES), BuLLDoG (EDG) and Tyrion (WE) are not in the confirmed lineup and are excluded from every build here — don't roster them. Reconfirm rosters right at lock; esports subs and swaps happen late. Every play graded, win or lose.