DraftKings Call of Duty: Friday Cheat Sheet

Games (EDT)

• 4:00 p.m. Paris Legion vs. Toronto Ultra
• 5:30 p.m. London Royal Ravens vs. Chicago Huntsmen
• 7:00 p.m. Atlanta FaZe vs. Los Angeles Guerrillas
• 8:30 p.m. New York Subliners vs. Minnesota Rokkr

Full disclosure: in previous cheat sheets I've ignored discussing Call of Duty gentleman's agreements (GA's from now on) in large part because it has felt like a daunting task to explain, at least relative to the general impact it will have on the given slate. Unfortunately, this home series might essentially boil down to what ultimately happens with the latest GA. With that in mind, I'll do my best to outline the slate, mixing in analysis with the assumption teams follow the GA, and if they don't.

PAR (6-12) vs. TOR (5-12)

It's hard to believe, but we are just three tournaments away from Champs, meaning Friday's start to the New York Home Series will be a pivotal one for a number of teams near the bottom of the standings.

In the case of Paris and Toronto, Friday's outcome will essentially be the make or break for their entire season, as a ninth though 12th regular-season finish will put a team in an unenviable position for postseason play. Whoever ultimately wins this matchup has a decent chance to make a leap up the standings, particularly if FaZe continues their recent struggles.

I'm fairly certain neither of these teams are particularly good, but assuming all teams will follow the GA, I think both the Legion and Ultra stand to benefit from an AR-centric meta, forcing some of the better, faster teams, to slow down. The two AR meta should benefit Paris slightly more given how good Louqa and Denz can be, but Methodz is sneakingly one of the better ARs in the entire game, and he should be able to handle his own. That being said, it really strikes me as odd that Louqa is the highest-priced player for Friday's slate, to the point where stacking this game for competitive reasons becomes incredibly challenging.

Of course, if no one chooses to follow the meta, the slow, deliberate pace from both of these teams would hardly matter next to other series, which should see way more kills and also have a chance of going at least four games. I think at least one GPP-style lineup which features Denz, Methodz and perhaps even Cammy will be a goal of mine, but it's a bit risky to invest heavily into this matchup if teams ultimately do decide to scrap the latest GA, which was "decided" only days before the start of this tournament.

Prediction: PAR 3-1

• PAR Players to Target: Denz ($7,600), KiSMET ($7,200)
• TOR Players to Target: Methodz ($8,400)

LON (9-11) vs. CHI (17-6)

The most obvious stack will be combining this game with ATL/LAG, to the point where any winning contrarian lineup will need to feature only one of these four teams.

Despite their record, London is a legitimately good team and should be among the final four teams come Sunday. But another brutal opener in a home series puts the Royal Ravens behind the eight ball. What's worse, the Huntsmen are probably better regardless if the GA is followed, as FormaL and Arcitys form a dynamic two-AR duo, whereas the collective whole of Chicago should be able to out-gun Zer0 and Skrapz well enough to take advantage of certain Hardpoints in a non-GA meta.

I feel fairly comfortable saying regardless of how this series goes, it'll go a minimum of four games, and that's factoring in a surprise resurgence from the Royal Ravens too. If there is a fourth game, FormaL (given his Hardpoint time) and Dylan (based on his per-game engagements) should be automatics in any lineup, and the likes of Arcitys/Wuskin also make for intriguing combinations as well in an AR-centric meta.

There are too many other games with high-scoring potential to completely stack this contest for GPPs, but at least from a cash-game perspective, there should be at least three players that will get 80-plus points from this matchup alone, which makes them a worthy fixture in that sort of lineup build.

Prediction: CHI 3-1

• LON Players to Target: Dylan ($8,200), Wuskin ($7,200)
• CHI Players to Target: FormaL ($9,400), Arcitys ($7,800)

ATL (21-4) vs. LAG (5-13)

This will be "the" prime series Friday, particularly with how FaZe chooses to handle the GA situation. Make no mistake, Atlanta is talented enough to win this series regardless of what weapons they choose to use, but it could be situation where a more deliberate style of play might force the top CDL team into more uncomfortable situations.

If the AUG is ultimately used, as a handful of members of FaZe have suggested they'll do, it should give a fairly substantial boost to the SMG players like aBeZy, Simp and Priestahh, who would have been otherwise hurt by the weapon bans.

Complicating matters further is FaZe's infuriating run of five-series games. Dating back to May 10, FaZe have completed seven consecutive DraftKings-eligible five-game series, and given how good the Guerrillas have been at Search and Destroy, you have to imagine there's the possibility this too could go to a fifth game.

If these were normal circumstances, I would suggest staying away from this game altogether. FaZe is clearly the better team, and it isn't particularly close in my opinion, but that's been true for the better part of the last two months and yet they've continued to falter, including against this very same LAG team in mid-June. You're going to have to have one FaZe-heavy GPP lineup in order to be competitive in the realistic chance this does go the distance, but I also think in cash games you can make a case for one-offs like Priestahh or MajorManiak. There's a lot of risk here without much of a reward considering the likely DFS play percentages, but too many people will be on them to fade completely if this series goes past three games.

Prediction: ATL 3-1

• ATL Players to Target: Simp ($8,800), Priestahh ($7,800), MajorManiak ($7,400), ATL Team ($3,000)
• LAG Players to Target: Blazt ($7,400)

NYS (8-14) vs. MIN (12-12)

This will be my pivot series, as it feels like the most likely to go five games. What's more, depending on how the GA situation plays out, it's entirely possible either the Subliners or Rokkr win, opening up an avenue for multiple different combinations of winning lineups.

The Rokkr have an incredibly powerful combination of AR talents in Assault and GodRx, which will be all the more important against a Subliners team that is quietly hurt even more than FaZe if forced to play slower due to the GA situation. However, if we continue with the previous tournament meta, which has seen the Rokkr drastically stumble over the last three tournaments, it's an SMG player's chance to shine, easily benefiting New York.

Assault's engagements per Hardpoint (48.70) are a bit low as the second-highest-priced player on the slate, but I wonder if that would be offset somewhat if the series hits two Hardpoints, which feels almost like a guarantee given how bad the Rokkr have performed at Search and Destroy as of late (2-4 in the last two tournaments). Unlike the majority of FaZe, who have some serious question marks linked to their respective prices, star Subliner, MackMelts, has absolutely zero downside even in an AR-conscious meta, and Temp, who was widely regarded as one of the top prospects in the scene only two years ago, could do a decent enough job of providing space for Mack and the rest of the NYS aggressive SMG's to do their business. Give me as many players from this matchup as I can get, particularly in a GPP setting as a contrarian play to the ATL/CHI heavy lineups.

Prediction: NYS 3-2

• NYS Players to Target: MackMelts ($9,200), Attach ($7,400), Temp ($7,000), Accuracy ($6,400), NYS Team ($1,600)
• MIN Players to Target: Assault ($9,600), GodRx ($8,200)