Hello there eSports DFS enthusiasts, and welcome back to RotoBaller's coverage of Call of Duty DFS contests for DraftKings! We were looking so good, we had the Boston upset as well as the big wins by Toronto and Seattle! I thought we were going to sweep but Atlanta FaZe looked unbeatable as they completely dominated the LA Thieves. Luckily for us, we don't have to worry about them coming into this loser's bracket slate.
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 finally get to put all this knowledge to the test! LA Guerrillas came up short in a surprisingly close game against Seattle and now play against the Las Vegas Legion after the LA Thieves look to get back on track against an up-and-down Minnesota Rokk team. Then, we have Optic Texas looking to rebound from the beat-down they took as they take on the London Royal Ravens. Lastly, we have the NY Subliners taking on the Florida Mutineers.
Today, I'll bring you my COD DFS advice, analysis, and lineup picks for eSports DFS contests on DraftKings on Friday, March 10th, 2023, 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 Three
Best of 5
- LA Guerrillas (+105) vs. Vegas Legion (-135)
- LA Thieves (-325) vs. Minnesota ROkkr (+230)
- Optic Texas (-190) vs. London Royal Ravens (+145)
- NY Subliners (-385) vs. Florida Mutineers (+265)
Slate Overview
This one has played out twice now, both with LAG coming out on top of VL in the 3-2 fashion. LAG did keep it really close with Seattle today, but it is hard for me to pick LAG as I just don't see this roster as very good. Temp and Clayster I believe is the better duo in this matchup. If you do decide to take from this game, I would recommend taking from the Vegas Legion; otherwise, I think you can get away with fading this game and getting better players elsewhere. I'm going to say 3-2 Vegas because it feels right.
Generally, the LA Thieves are one of the best teams when it comes to LAN but they got completely dismantled when it came to today's match. However, Minnesota didn't win a single match during their five qualifiers. The LA Thieves just dominated Minnesota in a swift 3-0 during the qualifiers and I wouldn't be surprised to see something similar once again. The LA Thieves made a run in the loser's bracket last time, and I have a feeling they could do it again. It starts here with Minnesota and a win. 3-0.
I'm not sure how to attack this next one. Were the Optic just bad or is Boston this much of a threat? The odds seem quite low, but London hasn't been a great team this season and did get an upset win over Toronto, most recently. And I do want to say they are disrespecting Skrapz as they continue to price him dirt cheap and he's playing better than that. Overall, the Optic are the better respawn team and I think they come out on top of this one in a 3-1 win. They will more than likely lose in SnD as that's where they have struggled, and London has looked pretty good there.
Last but not least, this one feels like a trap just because any Florida game feels like a trap. They have the talent to make waves, yet fail to do so quite consistently. Havok, Brack, and Capsidal is a very good trio but they just haven't capitalized on it. This is the first time they will be on LAN together, however, and that can sometimes make a huge difference. It is going to be a tough outing though as Hydra and company make for a rough matchup. Their respawn is some of the best in the league and they aren't too bad at SnD either. I'm going 3-0 here but don't be surprised if Florida makes a game of this one.
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 will be a lot different in gameplay 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 granted a bonus of 20 points for not playing hardpoint and a bonus of 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
Hydra: With no Boston, Toronto, or Atlanta on the slate, it makes the top of the leaderboard look a little weak. Hydra is the only player on the board who has averaged over 100+ DKP this season. He has a great matchup against Florida, whom they smoked in the qualifiers. Just in that match, he went +24 on 63 kills, which is just ridiculous in itself. If it wasn't for his teammates, they probably would have beat Toronto today. During the last Major run on LAN, he averaged a 1.51 K/D in hardpoint, a 1.03 in SnD, and a 1.0 in Control. He is expensive but if you pair it with Priestahh, it should relieve some of the strain Hydra may have on your remaining salary.
Shotzzy: The dude might be one of the craziest players I have ever seen, his movement is unmatched. I was going to go Dashy here, but I felt like he was borderline too expensive and so I thought, hey let's take a shot on Shotzzy, who honestly has a similar floor as Dashy for about 1.2k cheaper. My only worry with Shotzzy is he has a habit of dying quite a bit. He is second on his team in deaths in Hardpoint and first in Control. He does hold an overall K/D that hangs about 1.00. He does tend to take a bit of a dive when it comes to LAN events and that is why I do lean toward Dashy a bit more than him but I'm confident in the matchup that Shotzzy will make it work.
Other captain plays: Dashy, Octane, Temp, KISMET, Attach(GPP)
COD DFS Value Plays
Priestahh: Another player that DK doesn't seem to give respect to. Priestahh feels like he has flown under the radar this season. And I'll take that because with Hydra being so expensive, I need a reliable value play to make up for it. At 6,400, he scored 116 DKP against Florida last time on 50 kills with a +10 kill differential. He has struggled in SnD but makes up for it elsewhere in the respawn game modes. During the last Major run on LAN, he averaged a 1.23 K/D in Hardpoint, a .53 in SnD(yikes), and a team-leading 1.05 in Control. The odds indicate this matchup to end heavily in favor of NYSL, and if they sweep, Priestahh could be in for a solid scoring night.
Skrapz: This is a complete GPP play, as I believe his price is too hard to pass up. 6,200 in what can be a close game. We don't need too much out of him, if we get a close game, anything around 85, I will consider that a win at that price. During the Qualifying stages, he was on a tear, averaging a 1.15 K/D in Hardpoint, a .98 K/D in SnD, and a .96 in Control. If London can get him to that second Hardpoint map, he could easily pop off for over 70+ kills on the day.
Other value plays: Clayster, Afro(GPP), Drazah, Huke, Kenny
COD DFS Stacks
NYSL: I think it's pretty evident who I like today. NYSL just has the best all-around roster and they have won a major. I like the Florida roster but I still think they haven't quite played enough yet together, let alone on LAN. NYSL already has that chemistry that they need to work well together and that's a big reason why I believe they take this one. In order, I like Hydra, then Priestahh, Kismet, and lastly Skyz. They probably have the best chance to make a sweep happen, and if not them, then maybe the Thieves.
Other Team Plays: LA Thieves, Optic Texas, Vegas Legion
Summary
TLDR: Vegas 3-2, LA Thieves 3-0, Optic 3-1, NYSL 3-0
- Vegas: Temp, Clayster
- LAG: JoeDecieves
- LAT: ALL
- Minnesota: Attach, Afro
- Optic: Dashy, Shotzzy, Huke
- London: Skrapz
- NYSL: ALL
- Florida: Havok
More eSports DFS Analysis
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