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Hello there eSports DFS enthusiasts, and welcome back to RotoBaller's coverage of Call of Duty DFS contests for DraftKings! Welcome to the new year of COD! A couple of updates were made and maps were adjusted but lucky for us no roster changes yet. Had a couple of solid days and a few rough ones to start the season so hopefully here on out we can get some lineups going. Like I have said before feel free to reach out to me if you ever have questions as I'm happy to help whenever I can!
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 six years now and finally get to put all this knowledge to the test! First up we have the LA Guerrillas taking on the Atlanta FaZe, after that we have the Seattle Surge taking on the Toronto Ultra and to cap the night off we have the NY Subliners taking on the Minnesota Rokkr!
Today, I'll bring you my COD DFS advice, analysis, and lineup picks for eSports DFS contests on DraftKings on Friday, January 12, 2024, at 3:00 PM EST. Feel free to follow me on Twitter @DFSKoby or find me in Discord as I am happy to engage with readers and try to answer your questions!
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Call of Duty: Major 1 Qualifiers
Best of 5
- Los Angeles Guerrillas (+575) vs. Atlanta FaZe (-1200)
- Seattle Surge (+150) vs. Toronto Ultra (-200)
- Minnesota Rokkr (+260) vs. New York Subliners (-400)
Slate Overview
I won't go into depth on this one too much, we all see the odds. Atlanta should handle LAG with ease. At worst Atlanta could maybe trip up in SnD as that has been LAG's best game mode early on but I wouldn't count on it. This slate will be chalky so going different within the team might be the way to go. Simp will likely be the most owned for good reason. If you want to get different maybe go to Cellium as he is expensive and people might stray away from him the most on Atlanta.
Abuzah violated some of the GAs during the first two weekends of the game and from what I understand the penalty for that is not being able to warm up before their match. This could be a big disadvantage for them and I think Toronto might slam them. I think at best Seattle could steal one map but Toronto should have this one in the bag. With that being said though, CleanX is an absolute steal at 7,800$ and should be a focal point in your lineups.
Last but not least, I'm not sure how Minnesota isn't more of an underdog they have been by far a much worse team this year than what oddsmakers are giving them credit for. So far they have only won a total of four maps this season and they are going up against the Champs from last year. If they can smoke a team like Vegas, then I don't see them struggling too much with a team like Minnesota who is struggling to find its identity as a team.
COD DFS Basics
- Like in CSGO, players receive two points for a kill and are penalized -1 for dying. Therefore, the most straightforward stat to look at here is the K/D ratio.
- 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/Control 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 the game mode from Domination to Control for League play. This gameplay will be a lot different as it's round-based and not the first to 200. They play first one to three 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 five-point team sweep. In the chance they do sweep, they also get a bonus of 20 points for not playing hardpoint and five 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 will be very crucial this year.
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COD DFS Captain Considerations
Simp: Ya... Not sure what DK was thinking here. This price is insane. He is by far one of the best players in the league right now and we are getting him for mid-price. 8k is dirt cheap for a player with top-tier capabilities. Also, the matchup is one of the best, LAG has been decent, to say the least, but I don't think they will be much of a matchup for FaZe. Simp has averaged 124 fantasy so far this season and only one of those games was a sweep. I imagine with this price Simp is highly owned but I believe you have to get him at this price.
Hydra: Hydra had a disappointing start to the season in game one but rebounded extremely well in his next two games going +39 on 163 kills in those two games. He also finished with 122 and 143 fantasy points. So I think we can officially say the MVP is back. He gets a great matchup going against the 12th-ranked Minnesota team who hasn't done much to show up all season. Hydra currently leads the league in Hardpoint K/D at 1.3. The only downside of going Hydra at captain is his price, so if you don't play him at captain I highly recommend playing him as a flex play instead.
Other captain plays: Envoy, CleanX, Abezy, Huke(GPP)
COD DFS Value Plays
CleanX: CleanX has been on quite the rampage to start the season and there aren't too many players that look better than him at this time. And we are getting him for only 7.8k! I know that is on the higher end of value but I don't think this play can be ignored. In his first two games of the season, he had 112 and 123, Toronto then proceeded to get blown out in their third match but he still finished with 86 and nearly a positive KD. If I'm looking at the board and see Scrap what he is averaging at nearly 10k and then see CleanX, I'm taking CleanX almost every time.
Drazah: 7k is pretty cheap for a player who might end up with that sweep bonus. Drazah is by no means your typical slayer but gets hill time and is an all-around team player. If you are looking for someone cheap without risking a pretty crappy player then I would go Drazah or Skyz. They will get you a solid 90 points which is probably all you need from someone as cheap as Drazah. Drazah may not be in the same role he used to be he can still have his good games this is a spot I could see it.
Other value plays: Skyz, Abuzah(GPP), Insight
COD DFS Stacks
NYSL: I think everyone is going to flock straight to Atlanta and stack them but I believe NYSL is in the best position of the three. I also have to say, Kismet is pretty cheap for someone of his caliber. For him to be cheaper than his teammate Sib seems wrong at this time. Sib is a great player but Kismets' role is what makes him more DFS-friendly. That being said I would stack Hydra and Kismet together and add on the team spot. If you don't want to go heavy on NYSL then Kismet and Skyz is a solid pairing as well.
Other Team Plays: Atlanta FaZe, Toronto Ultra, Seattle Surge(GPP)
Summary
TLDR: FaZe 3-0, Toronto 3-1, NYSL 3-0
- FaZe: All
- LAG: Estreal(GPP)
- Toronto: All
- Seattle: Abuzah, Huke
- NYSL: Hydra, Kismet, Skyz
- Minnesota: Vivid(GPP)
More eSports DFS Analysis
More DFS Lineup Picks and Analysis
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