Hello there eSports DFS enthusiasts, and welcome back to RotoBaller's coverage of Call of Duty DFS contests for DraftKings! Welcome back to COD DFS! Welcome back to week three of stage 5. This is the last week of the stage and then we are back to LAN next week with Major 5! After that we have Champs and then the season is over. Last week Optic pulled off the big upset and send Atlanta packing, Paris did the same to LA Thieves, unfortunately. Let's regain some momentum before we head into the fifth and final Major of the season!
This is easily one of my favorite sports to cover here at Rotoballer because I play a ton of COD myself and I like to think I'm pretty good at it as well. I have been following the COD League for about five years now and I finally get to put all this knowledge to the test! We have a great set of games ahead of us as on Thursday we have Paris Legion vs. NY Subliners and Optic Chicago takes on London Royal Ravens. On Friday we get a great game in Florida vs. Toronto and to finish the first slate out we have Dallas Empire taking on the home team in Seattle Surge!
Today I'll be bringing you my COD DFS advice, analysis, and lineup picks for eSports DFS contests on DraftKings for Thursday-Friday, July 22nd-23rd, 2021, at 3:00 PM. Feel free to follow me on Twitter @DFSKoby or find me in the slack as I am happy to engage with readers and try to answer your questions!
Featured Promo: Get any DFS Premium Bundle for for 10% off using code BALLER! Win more with expert advice from proven winners and exclusive DFS tools. Get instant access to RotoBaller's Lineup Optimizers, Research Stations, daily picks and VIP chat rooms across 10 sports! Go Premium, Win More!
Call of Duty: Seattle Surge Home Series
Best of 5
- Paris Legion (+140) vs. NY Subliners (-180)
- London Royal Ravens (+340) vs. Optic Chicago (-525)
- Florida Mutineers (+320) vs. Toronto Ultra (-500)
- Seattle Surge (+600) vs. Dallas Empire (-1100)
Slate Overview
Things just got interesting. DiamondCon is back and oddly enough it's Clayster that is taking a break from Competitive COD. I assume this is to focus on Champs as they have locked their spot in. This makes things really close now and now that Paris has been eliminated from playoff contention and has nothing to play for but pride. They smacked around LA Thieves and won 3-1 last week and I think they have what it takes to win here. Skrapz is playing so well right now and I think he gives Subliners a run for their money. I think there is a good chance this goes to game 5 and if it does I think Paris is the better SnD team recently and makes this one interesting. The flow is off for Subliners and has lost 4 straight now. Give me Paris 3-2 with the upset.
So Optic did it. They pulled off a huge upset on Atlanta FaZe. When I said I thought they would take a map, I didn't think they would take the whole game. Envoy was on a mission and really helped lead this team to a victory over one of the toughest opponents. They now get the 11th ranked London Royal Ravens who also have nothing to play for but pride. They got the win over NYSL but they are going to have to be on their A-game for Optic. They are bringing a lot of momentum into this one and were even able to snap Atlanta's win streak on Control. I think this ends up being one of two possible sweeps. 3-0 Optic.
Toronto Vs. Florida, now I think this game is going to be a banger. Florida has been playing so much better recently and I don't think the oddsmakers are giving them much credit here. They have won 3 straight now with a big win over Dallas Empire. I do think Toronto does win this one but I do think it's going to be close and definitely not a sweep. Florida has won 8 straight hardpoint matches and so I definitely have to give them the slight edge there. The other maps though, I have to give the edge to Toronto. So I do think this one ends either 3-1/3-2 in favor of Toronto.
Ah, good ole Dallas. This one more than likely ends up in a sweep but at this point, I wouldn't put it past a Seattle team though to play spoiler and take a map or two. Seattle has looked better in SnD and I think they have a good shot to take a map there as Dallas has struggled in SnD in Stage 5 so far. Expect a sweep and expect a Dallas win for sure though. 3-0 Dallas.
COD DFS Basics
- Like in CSGO, players receive two points for a kill and are penalized -1 for dying. Therefore, the simplest stat to look at here is K/D ratio. However, players can also earn fantasy points for planting or defusing bombs (three points each) in Search and Destroy rounds, so there are some players who we can target for other skills besides their ability to kill the opponent.
- You need to roster a team slot on both sites. Teams accrue fantasy points for games won (+4), matches won (+10), and Search and Destroy rounds won (+.5).
- Teams will be playing best-of-five matches on a rotation of various game modes. Those modes and the order in which they are played are as follows: Hardpoint, Search & Destroy, Control, Hardpoint, Search & Destroy.
- In hardpoint rounds, players with positive K/D ratios are usually the highest scorers and these rounds are often the bloodiest.
- They also have changed a game mode from Domination to Control for League play. This is going to be a lot different in gameplay as it's round-based and not the first one to 200. They play first one to 3 round wins. You win by capturing both points or killing the enemy team until they run out of their lives. One team defends and the other attacks.
- There is a sweep bonus this year as teams and players both can get a 20 point player sweep and a 5 point team sweep. In the chance, they do sweep they also get granted a bonus of 20 points for not playing hardpoint and a bonus of 5 points for not playing the final Search and Destroy map. So that adds up in a sweep to a total of 45 extra points which are going to be very crucial this year.
Did you know RotoBaller has a Premium DFS eSports subscription?
Like what you read today? You can show your support for Koby by using promo code KOBY when purchasing an eSports Premium Pass. You get 10% off and full access to all of our Premium eSports cheat sheets, DFS research tools, and optimizer!
COD DFS Captain Considerations
Envoy: The way Envoy has been playing I'm actually surprised to see him this cheap. 9k seems so low for someone who is playing the best on his team right now. In Stage 5 he has had 122 against FaZe, 145 against NYSL, and 104 against Paris. He now gets a London team who is one of the worst in the league and I think Optic is riding some momentum right now and I want to hop on that train. Currently in Stage 5 Envoy is averaging team-highs in all three game modes at a 1.21 K/D in Hardpoint, a 1.11 K/D in SnD, and a 1.36 in Control. Optic has improved immensely in Control and a big part of that is London. This is my must-have play of the day by far. He's in an elite spot and is a good price, it's too hard to pass up.
Cammy: I was going to put shotzzy here but I decided to avoid just having players from Dallas and Optic. Cammy actually got quite the price drop surprisingly enough, he has been 10k+ for 3 straight slates and now is cheaper than Insight and is only 9,400. This should be a great matchup between Toronto and Florida and I wouldn't be surprised to see it go 4 or 5 games. Both teams are fighting for the top spot in their group and whoever wins is more than likely getting the top spot. I expect both teams to come out and play very hard which should make for a bloody and close matchup. Cammy is a player who can thrive in these situations and score very high. In stage 5, Cammy is averaging 1.00 in Hardpoint, 1.92 in SnD, and 1.58 in Control.
Other captain plays: Insight, Dashy, Skyz, Shotzzy, Skrapz(GPP)
COD DFS Value Plays
iLLeY: Lately I haven't liked playing illey but in the case of this game should be ending in a sweep, he is definitely a viable option as he has scored 97, 117, and 101 in his last three sweeps and he had a really good outing against Minnesota last week where he scored 113. Dallas should be coming out on top of this game and I just don't see Seattle pulling off the upset. Therefore Illey at 7,800 is a great value option. In their two wins in stage 5 so far, Illey is averaging a 1.31 K/D in Hardpoint, a .85 in SnD, and 1.03 in Control.
Scump: At 7,400 it's too low for me not to want to stack that with Envoy. With the high chance of there being a sweep too that just makes me like Scump even more. And I don't say I like scump very often especially with how incredibly inconsistent he can be. In sweeps, though he is definitely worth the price, in their last 3 sweeps Scump has had 99, 118, and 116. He has definitely been the bottom fragger for Optic during stage 5 as he holds the lowest K/D in Stage 5 so far but they are all positive as he averages 1.01 in Hardpoint, a 1.00 in SnD, and a 1.05 in Control. If Scump can go positive and get the sweep bonus we should be sitting pretty with a cheap Scump play.
Other value plays: Bance, Vivid, Neptune, Havok(Punt Play)
COD DFS Stacks
Optic Chicago: Optic is definitely in the best spot to outperform everyone and get a sweep here. They are also decently priced and it's not too ridiculous to stack them. I think Envoy is outplaying his entire team currently in Stage 5 and is probably the best option from Optic and is my must-have in your lineups right now. Dashy and FormaL are great options as well. Scump is a little bit inconsistent but is in a great spot where they could sweep and that benefits scump the most at his price. Optic has been the better team in all three game modes, so I don't see London having too much of a shot at winning a map. They are my most confident team to sweep by far.
Other Team Plays: Dallas Empire, Toronto Ultra, Paris Legion(GPP)
Summary
- TLDR: Paris 3-2, Optic Chicago 3-0, Toronto 3-2, Dallas 3-0
- Paris: Skrapz, Temp
- NYSL: Mack, Hyrda
- Optic: All Players
- London: Afro
- Toronto: Cammy, Insight
- Florida: Skyz, Neptune, Havok(Punt play)
- Dallas: Shotzzy, Vivid, iLLeY
- Seattle: Octane
More eSports DFS Analysis
More DFS Lineup Picks and Analysis
RotoBaller Testimonials
Readers of RotoBaller's eSports DFS articles have been winning money on DraftKings and FanDuel regularly. Some of them are winning contests daily and bringing in some serious cheddar. Check one out below and lots more here!
Did you read a RotoBaller article and win too? Send us your screenshots on Twitter @RotoBaller and we'll add it to our winners Hall Of Fame!
Had a member of slack take down the Insomnia Special last night. Pretty cool seeing that @RotoBaller logo up at the top! #Esports #LOL #Draftkings pic.twitter.com/S5FFRSUNB1
— "Thunder Dan" Palyo (@ThunderDanDFS) April 16, 2020