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Koby Hanson's DraftKings DFS lineup picks for Call of Duty on 5/2/21. 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! Welcome to the start of the third stage of the 2021 CDL Season! Wouldn't be a weekend of COD without something happening! Atlanta seriously almost blew that, they went down 2-1 as FaZe got smoked on Control and FaZe was able to come back and win the match 3-2. Dallas Empire also was looking like they wanted to choked away the game as well but Dallas was able to beat LAG in SnD in game 5. And well to ruin the day, NYSL decided to show up and sweep Seattle. They have been such a difficult team to pin down this season. They have just been all over the place.
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! My Name is Koby and I'll be here all season long to help guide you through the COD DFS world. We have a fantastic set of games ahead of us this weekend! To finish out the Paris Legion Home series, we get Florida Mutineers taking on the Paris Legion, An absolute banger in Toronto Ultra vs Minnesota Rokkr, and Optic Gaming vs LA Thieves.
Today I'll be bringing you my COD DFS advice, analysis, and lineup picks for eSports DFS contests on DraftKings for Sunday, May 2nd, 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!
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Call of Duty: Paris Legion Home Series
Best of 5
- Florida Mutineers (-210) vs. Paris Legion (+165)
- Toronto Ultra (-210) vs. Minnesota Rokkr (+165)
- Optic Chicago (-325) vs. LA Thieves (+235)
Slate Overview
This first match could really go both ways, when I first looked at it I was like oh that's definitely a Florida win, the only thing that worries me is that in the last outing between Mutineers and Legion, Legion came out and beat them, and that was before they added on Temp instead of Fire, but also before Florida added on Havok. This game could be tight and I think it's a good idea to look at plays more than stacks from games. I'm gonna predict a 3-1 win from Florida since they were able to knock off Minnesota last week but I wouldn't be surprised if Paris came out and won.
Toronto might be the best team in the league now. Atlanta struggled against London of all teams now and I don't think they are in the same mindset that they were in the first two stages. Toronto has looked elite, smoking Florida, Dallas, and LAG in Stage 3 so far. This team is absolutely insane and yet are still -210 favorites. This is the team I will continue to stack until they bite me in the ass because they are looking unstoppable right now. They are also once again not as expensive as they could be. Minnesota has played Florida and Paris so far in this stage 3 and I don't think they are ready for the beatdown they might be getting from Toronto. Priestahh is still dirt cheap though and has still been playing very well.
This one is going to be fun, (I know I said that about Subliners vs. Surge) but I really think this one could be a bloodbath. Optic has only played once so far this Stage and it was a 3-1 win over London, and Thieves beat Surge 3-2. Optic is very expensive, and I don't think this one ends in a sweep as the Oddsmaker seems to lean towards. Thieves are 4-1 since Drazah joined the squad with their one loss against Toronto. Win or loss Dashy and Envoy in a 5 game match this season have been elite both scoring over 110+ DKP in both their matches.
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.
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COD DFS Captain Considerations
Cammy: Cammy is trying to put his name in the hat of the MVP conversation. He has been going off these last three games with performances of 123, 117, and 153 DKP scores. He has gone positive in all three of those games by +17, +2, and +19. Minnesota has been one of those teams that have been all over the place with a loss over Florida and a win over Paris. Cammy in Stage three has averaged a 1.23 in Hardpoint, a 1.37 in SnD, and a 1.21 in Control. He is playing at an elite level right now and should be heavily considered as a captain in your lineups. Even if Minnesota manages to win one map, that just adds to the number of kills that he can get in a 2nd hardpoint map. CleanX is my second option to him as he has been playing very well especially for his price.
Dashy/Envoy: These dudes are seriously some of the best in the league currently, and with what should be a bloodbath, I like that even more. It's going to be tough to grab both of these guys but if you can I highly recommend it. In wins, they are basically a free 100+ DKP, Dashy this year is averaging a 1.12 in Hardpoint, 1.18 in SnD, and a 1.16 in Control. Envoy has been averaging a 1.10 in Hardpoint, 1.10 in SnD, and a .95 in Control as he has died quite a bit in Control this year but has improved that to a 1.07 in Stage 3. They are both averaging 106+ DKP or better this season and it's only this low because of a few games in Stage 2 where something was off and lost 2 straight by sweep. They have looked great so far in Stage 3, and I'm hoping that continues. You can definitely drop down to FormaL as well to fit in your lineup a bit better as well he is playing great too so you can't go wrong with any of these three guys.
Other captain plays: FormaL, Insight, Owakening, Skyz, CleanX
COD DFS Value Plays
Bance: Bance is 6,600 and has dropped 97 DKP or better in 7 of his last 8 games, he has improved so much since his start this season where he looked absolutely horrid. He has a few 100+ games under his belt as well and I like the value we are getting out of him in a great game. Toronto is looking really good in the last 7 games they have won. In Stage 3 so far, Bance has a 1.09 K/D in hardpoint, a 1.05 in SnD, and a 1.17 in Control. He is playing so much better and it is great that we can grab him at such a cheap price. Is he still the least productive on his team? Yes, he is but at his price, it makes me like him much more.
Havok: It's hard to see a team favored and have one of their players at the bottom of the board at the cheapest I have seen any player this season. Yeah, I know he hasn't looked as he did last season but this is Paris we are talking about. I actually think they might be worse than London. This is the perfect matchup for Havok and the Florida squad. It's definitely a risk especially considering the reason he is that low is because he has sucked, to be honest. But at 5,600 that is something you can afford to lose so that you can pay up elsewhere. The next player in Bance or maybe Priestahh is at least 600$ more. This could be a great game for Havok or the last time I ever put him in the articles.
Other value plays: Priestahh, Venom, Scump, Attach, Neptune
COD DFS Stacks
Toronto Ultra: Toronto is looking like one of the best teams in the league right now. They have won 7 straight with wins over Atlanta, Dallas, LAT, and Minnesota. The last time out they played against Minnesota, they allowed them to win the first hardpoint. Which is not a strong suit for Minnesota. If Toronto can beat them in the first hardpoint, I could definitely see them ending it in a sweep. The entire team is playing very well right now and even Bance has improved immensely since his horrible start of the season. Bance is 6,600 and could very well be in the optimal lineup at that price. I actually really like Cammy and CleanX from a pricing standpoint. Insight is always in play but Cammy and CleanX make for a great pair in a lineup.
Florida Mutineers: I really like Florida mainly cause of their pricing and how many kills they have been getting. Havok is definitely a risk but his price is so tempting. You can really fit anyone in your lineup at that price. 5,600 is extremely low. He has looked poor so far but against Paris, he might be able to look more like a killer and less like a bodybag. Skyz and Owakening are my favorite plays from Florida and looked fantastic against Minnesota last week. Paris has been very poor in recent weeks and is barely grabbing one map each game to prevent the sweep. That is probably the same thing that happens here. Neptune has been a bit lackluster recently, so he is a bit risky now, he looked good last game but is a bit of a risk at that price and I like stuff around him better.
Other Team Plays: Optic Chicago, La Thieves
Summary
- TLDR: Florida 3-1, Toronto 3-0, Optic 3-1
- Optic will garner ownership just based on the name.
- Toronto is my favorite stack, anyone is viable.
- Florida players could be sneaky. Havok is insanely cheap. Skyz and Owakening are elite.
- Paris could be sneaky and win this but with how they have played it's definitely a risk.
- LA Thieves favorite GPP stack.
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