RADIO
Koby Hanson's DraftKings DFS lineup picks for Call of Duty on 3/9/23. 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 missed last weekend, but I'm back for the Major this weekend! We have a great set of games ahead of us and hopefully, that continues throughout the rest of the tournament. There is nothing better than banger after banger of games all weekend long. It might be a bit of a chalky slate with how big of favorites Seattle is but I think we can get around that and maybe pick a few upsets in the process.
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 start with a great matchup between Toronto Ultra and the NY Subliners, next, we have the Seattle Surge taking on the LA Guerrillas in probably the most lopsided match tomorrow, After that, we have a great one in the Boston Breach taking on the green wall and Optic Texas. Lastly, though we have the previous Major's grand final in LA Thieves getting a rematch against the Atlanta FaZe.
Today I'll bring you my COD DFS advice, analysis, and lineup picks for eSports DFS contests on DraftKings on Thursday, March 9, 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
Best of 5
- Toronto Ultra (-130) vs. NY Subliners (+100)
- Seattle Surge (-650) vs. LA Guerrillas (+360)
- Boston Breach (+125) vs. Optic Texas (-165)
- Atlanta FaZe (-190) vs. LA Thieves (+145)
Slate Overview
This is an interesting matchup to start, NYSL won the first Major of the year and since then hasn't quite lived up to the hype of that run. Toronto on the other hand has been excellent online but has struggled to do much in Majors this year. This is a very tough call and initially, I thought I was going to go with the upset of NYSL but the more I look at the gamemodes and maps. I like what Toronto has going for them. I do think this ends in a 3-1 as the SnD hasn't quite got there yet for Toronto but they should come out of this one with a win.
This one feels pretty straightforward right? I feel like it is, Seattle was by far one of the best teams in the league for the qualifiers and now gets a LA Guerrillas team that scrapped in by the skin of their teeth. Their Hardpoint has been awful and Control has been for the most part pretty mid. LAG has gotten by with their winning ability in SnD, which is unfortunately for them not going to be enough to get the win here. Seattle has one of the best hardpoint teams and honestly one of the better SnD teams too. This one feels all the making of a 3-0 win, so I won't be surprised when Seattle chokes a map and ends up with a 3-1 win.
I love this matchup of Boston and Optic. These teams are fairly even when it comes down to it all. Both have relatively new players in their lineup and I believe it might come down to how those guys perform. Optic has been a very inconsistent team so far this season and it is hard to pinpoint when they will have a great game. Not every day you get swept by NYSL and Toronto and then smoke Atlanta. The hardpoints for this match are going to be insane, both teams are equally good on it, but I have to give the edge in the other two gamemodes to Boston. So I'm going to pick against the green wall and go with the Boston Breach to get the upset. I'm unsure if I want to say 3-1 or 3-2, but I believe it will be one of those.
There is a reason they are closing the day out with this one. Because this has the makings of a certified classic. Atlanta FaZe vs LA Thieves have a great rivalry and both teams have been trading shots quite consistently dating back to last season's COD. It is hard to see how Atlanta FaZe lose this one but Optic showed LA the blueprint when they upset Atlanta beating them 3-1. Which is exactly what they will have to do. Atlanta is the best SnD team in the league right now and it's not even close. They have won 12 straight which if I remember right is a CDL record. However, they have struggled in the respawn department which happens to be LA Thieves' bread and butter. I believe this comes down to whoever wins the Control, so either 3-1 Thieves or 3-2 Atlanta. Either way, this is going to be a great matchup!
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
Sib: Pred is the easy choice if you have the leftover salary but at 11k and 16.5 in the captain spot, that really puts a strain on how much you can get elsewhere. There is quite a bit of decent value on this slate but I chose Sib as we get a very similar floor between the two and we get him at 1.2k cheaper. He doesn't quite have the ceiling Pred has but for his price, I'll take a slight cut in production for the ability to pay up elsewhere. During the Qualifiers, he averaged a 1.15 K/D in Hardpoint, a 1.27 in SnD, and a 1.03 in Control. But in the end, if you can afford him and pay the hefty price of 11k then I would say choose Pred over Sib.
Scrappy: You can't go wrong with Scrappy, the trash talker has been having quite the season as he leads his team in every game mode. He is also the leader in DKP this season and it shows in his price as he is the third highest-priced player on the slate at 10.6k. But let me show you why, he leads his team in K/D in Hardpoint at 1.12, in an SnD with a 1.10, and a 1.24 in Control. Toronto just absolutely smoked NYSL not too long ago. Yes LAN is different but not so much for Scrappy. The matchup is great for a ceiling player like him.
Other captain plays: Owakening, Abezy, Octane, Dashy, Pred, Hydra
COD DFS Value Plays
Beans: I can't pass it up at the minimum price. He has been playing very well and has been a reliable duo with Owakening so far. It has really shown during the qualifiers where they went 4-1, with an odd loss to Florida but without that game, Beans has been incredible. He has averaged an insane 1.43 K/D in SnD. His Hardpoint K/D is a .96 but I do feel like that is weighed down by a poor outing in his first legit game of the season. But you can't ask for much better for a minimum price. It will make him a chalky pick but I'll eat that chalk so that I'm able to afford another stud.
CleanX: CleanX has brought a level to this team that he struggled to bring at the beginning of the season. Scrappy was carrying this team and needs that 2nd or 3rd player to step up at times to make a difference. During the Qualifiers, he averaged a 1.07 K/D in Hardpoint, a .93 in SnD, and a team-high 1.20 K/D in Control. 7k is a good price for him and fits in as a great pair with Scrappy if you decide to stack Toronto. In their last game against NYSL, he went off for 65 kills on a +13 Kill differential.
Other value plays: Kenny, Priestahh, Drazah, Huke, Slasher
COD DFS Stacks
Toronto Ultra: I was going to go Seattle but that felt too obvious, I really like Toronto after looking into the gamemodes and maps. Overall this team has a really good core in Scrappy, CleanX, and Insight. I don't think you can pair any of those three guys incorrectly. I wasn't impressed overall with NYSL during the qualifying stage and especially during their game against Ultra. They got swept and it wasn't close. I think NYSL is better than that and on LAN but I still believe Toronto comes out on top of this. The only player I don't like is Hicksy as he just hasn't performed well for his price and the sweeping potential is just not high enough to take a shot on him.
Other Team Plays: Seattle, Boston, Atlanta, LAT(GPP)
Summary
TLDR: Toronto 3-1, Seattle 3-0/1, Boston 3-2, LA Thieves 3-1
- Toronto: Scrappy, CleanX, Insight
- NYSL: Hydra, Priestahh
- Seattle: Sib, Pred, Mack
- LAG: None
- Boston: Owakening, Beans, Nero
- Optic: Dashy, Shotzzy
- LA Thieves: Octane, Drazah, Kenny(Value)
- Atlanta: ALL
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