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Koby Hanson's DraftKings DFS lineup picks for Call of Duty on 2/17/23. He analyzes the COD slates and top lineup targets for eSports DFS contests.
Hello there eSports DFS enthusiasts, and welcome back to RotoBaller's coverage of Call of Duty DFS contests for DraftKings! I am back, I took a little much-needed vacation and am refreshed and ready for the next set of Qualifiers this time for Major 3! LA Thieves went on almost one of the most insane losers bracket runs I have seen had they not choked in the Grand Final against FaZe. We had a few teams make some changes to their roster and a big one in Methodz retired right in the middle of the Major 2. Major 3 is set up to be a good one and we have an incredible slate to start!
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! First up, we have LA Thieves taking on the Vegas Legion, next we have the Minnesota Rokkr taking on the NY Subliners, and finally, we have Boston Breach taking on the Toronto Ultra.
Today I'll bring you my COD DFS advice, analysis, and lineup picks for eSports DFS contests on DraftKings on Friday, February 17th, 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!
Call of Duty: Major Three Qualifiers
Best of 5
- LA Thieves (-385) vs. Vegas Legion (+265)
- Minnesota Rokkr (+150) vs. NY Subliners (-200)
- Toronto Ultra (-185) vs. Boston Breach (+137)
Slate Overview
First things first. Vegas was the first team to make a switch with Prolute getting released for the likes of 2Real and if anyone remembers him from last year, he didn't get put in the greatest place with Florida Mutineers. He is surrounded by some great players in Clayster and Temp and gets a good shot at making an impression. Bad thing is that his first game back is against The LA Thieves, who are coming off an insane run during Major 2 and if it wasn't for their woes in SnD, then they very well could have won it. That's where Vegas excels and I don't see that changing too much with 2Real joining the team. With that being said 3-1 LA.
Minnesota was also having a great run during the Major before choking against FaZe and then getting demolished by LA. They get a tough test against the NY Subliners who has been a very good online team this season and had quite the early exit taking a T8 spot during the Major. NY Subliners have been very good at Hardpoint and have a clear advantage over Minnesota in that category. As for the other two game modes I have to give Minnesota SnD and possibly even Control. I'm going to say Minnesota gets upsets in a 3-2 win but I wouldn't be surprised to see NY Subliners win 3-1 either. Both teams are very much in play.
Boston might have lost Methodz but they get quite the substitute with Beans. Beans have been a menace in the challenger's scene and are ready to fill some big shoes. He filled in for Owakening one game back in December and looked good in Hardpoint where they will need him heavily as Toronto is a very good Hardpoint and Control team. During the Major, however, Toronto struggled in SnD and Control. There is upset potential here, it is definitely risky but I think a shot on Boston is worth it. Owakening has been playing amazingly, Beans is a great player and has the potential to smash his price. If they can get some solid play from Vivid and Nero this is for them to steal.
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 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 will be very crucial this year.
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COD DFS Captain Considerations
Octane: He isn't called the human turret for nothing. He held an insane K/D of 1.29 in hardpoint, 1.04 in SnD, and 1.05 in Control during the tournament and has been one of the more low-key players this season. Although after that performance, It's going to be hard not to roster especially for what his price is. I will say, he is known to be more of a LAN-based player but he has done well in matches online this season.
Owakening: Owakenings last 5 games have been really good he has scored 99 or better in all 5 of them. The matchup is a bit worrisome against Toronto, but even in losses, Big Wake has shown the ability to score high. His respawn game modes are where it's at, he averages a 1.14 K/D in Hardpoint and an insane 1.40 K/D in control during the last Major. This feels like more of a GPP-type play as Boston is an underdog but if Owakening smashes you are going to want to have a piece of him.
Other captain plays: Scrappy, Attach, Afro, Temp(GPP), Envoy
COD DFS Value Plays
Drazah: I don't understand his pricing ever, he is always so low and then shows out. His last 4 DKP scores were 110, 101, 92, and 121. Drazah might end up being one of the most owned players on this slate but I think it's worth it. If we get different elsewhere, having the chalk play with Drazah is not gonna hurt us in the long run. Overall this season he has averaged a 1.00 K/D in Hardpoint, a 1.07 in SnD, and a 1.06 in Control. All at 7k has to be the best value play on the slate and hes in one of the best matchups.
Beans: This is probably the riskiest play but it might bring in high leverage. Boston has a tough matchup against a very good Toronto team. Beans has been very good for Boston Challengers team. I don't have the stats for his recent play for them but I saw he was doing very well at the time. He is only 6,200$ and can really allow you to make your lineup however you see fit. If you aren't wanting to go the risky route, I love Afro as well and is still a solid price for how well he has been playing.
Other value plays: Afro, Priestahh, Bance
COD DFS Stacks
LA Thieves: LA is probably the safest play on the slate, they will be probably the most owned but I think it is worth the ownership, we arent sure how well 2Real will fit into Vegas's scheme and the way LA Thieves are playing it is going to be hard to get them out of the groove they are in. The pricing is very doable. I don't love Envoy at the top but with how cheap Drazah is, It makes Envoy a possible option. Octane has been going ballistic as of late and was having an MVP run during the major had they not come up short. Kenny has been hit or miss and with drazah being cheaper I don't see any reason to play him other than the fact he might be the least owned.
Other Team Plays: Toronto, Minnesota, Boston
Summary
TLDR: LA Thieves 3-1, Minnesota 3-2, Toronto 3-1
- LA: Octane, Drazah, Envoy
- Vegas: Temp
- Minnesota: Attach, Afro, Bance
- NYSL: Hydra, Kismet, Priestahh
- Toronto: Scrappy, Standy
- Boston: Owakening, Beans
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