This article is part of our DraftKings Call of Duty series.
Games (EDT)
- 4:00 p.m. Atlanta FaZe vs. Minnesota Rokkr
- 5:30 p.m. Florida Mutineers vs. Dallas Empire
- 7:00 p.m. Chicago Huntsmen vs. Seattle Surge
- 8:30 p.m. Toronto Ultra vs. OpTic Gaming Los Angeles
ATL (23-6) vs. MIN (12-14)
It's the final tournament of the Call of Duty World League "regular" season, and while it's possible teams could keep some strategies close to the vest in this final tournament of the year before the all-important Call of Duty World Championships, which takes place in the middle of August, there's still enough incentive, at least on Day 1, for many of these teams to try and chase a last-minute rise up the standings.
The FaZe vs. Rokkr matchup might be a perfect example of this conundrum, as Atlanta could fall out of the top two seeds in the standings with a bad showing during this home stand, thus losing an opportunity at a two-round bye to begin the $4.6 million finale. On the flip side, Minnesota sits precipitously on the edge of starting Champs on the loser's bracket side, with a Day 1 loss against FaZe likely sending them cratering into the lower-bracket Champs abyss.
The Rokkr simply cannot afford to lose this series, but I have a hard time seeing how they win. I feel fairly confident Minnesota will at least push the game to a fourth map, if only because they have been relatively successful at Domination despite their dreadful showing over the past couple of tournaments. FaZe almost seem content
Games (EDT)
- 4:00 p.m. Atlanta FaZe vs. Minnesota Rokkr
- 5:30 p.m. Florida Mutineers vs. Dallas Empire
- 7:00 p.m. Chicago Huntsmen vs. Seattle Surge
- 8:30 p.m. Toronto Ultra vs. OpTic Gaming Los Angeles
ATL (23-6) vs. MIN (12-14)
It's the final tournament of the Call of Duty World League "regular" season, and while it's possible teams could keep some strategies close to the vest in this final tournament of the year before the all-important Call of Duty World Championships, which takes place in the middle of August, there's still enough incentive, at least on Day 1, for many of these teams to try and chase a last-minute rise up the standings.
The FaZe vs. Rokkr matchup might be a perfect example of this conundrum, as Atlanta could fall out of the top two seeds in the standings with a bad showing during this home stand, thus losing an opportunity at a two-round bye to begin the $4.6 million finale. On the flip side, Minnesota sits precipitously on the edge of starting Champs on the loser's bracket side, with a Day 1 loss against FaZe likely sending them cratering into the lower-bracket Champs abyss.
The Rokkr simply cannot afford to lose this series, but I have a hard time seeing how they win. I feel fairly confident Minnesota will at least push the game to a fourth map, if only because they have been relatively successful at Domination despite their dreadful showing over the past couple of tournaments. FaZe almost seem content giving up a Domination loss in their picks and bans, with a 2-5 record in Domination Hackney over their last three tournaments reinforcing the point.
There's too much risk for this series to be a focal point in cash lineups, but I think you can make a case for a number of guys in GPPs. Assault is pricey, but he's had three different 100-plus DK point games in the last four series and should get close to an even KD so long as the series goes four games. Simp and aBeZy are normally automatic, and I think even guys like GodRx and Asim could be cheaper plays if you wanted some action from this series without targeting the top guys.
Prediction: ATL 3-1
- ATL Players to Target: Simp ($8,600), aBeZy ($8,400)
- MIN Players to Target: Assault ($9,200), GodRx ($7,400), Asim ($7,000)
FLA (19-10) vs. DAL (21-10)
We just saw this series on the final day of the London Home Series, where the Empire completely dominated the Mutineers from start to finish. I completely got this game wrong last go around, failing to recognize the type of dominant run Dallas was putting together in what amounted to massive statement tournament overall for Clayster and Co.
The Mutineers shouldn't have struggled as much as they did, certainly not with the weapons they have at their disposal, but it's just hard to ignore the utter pile of disappointment that was left over after getting annihilated by the Empire on Sunday. Because it's online Call of Duty, you could convince me this goes to a fourth map, but it really comes down to the Round 1 Hardpoint, as the Mutineers seem to be at a discernible disadvantage in Search and Destroy and Domination. For what it's worth, I feel far more comfortable targeting players in this series on FanDuel, where the winning team is awarded points in a sweep, but understand that a lineup featuring three or more FLA/DAL players on DraftKings has an infinitely better chance at finishing near the bottom of tournaments than the top.
Prediction: DAL 3-1
- FLA Players to Target: Fero ($7,800), Skyz ($7,600)
- DAL Players to Target: Huke ($8,000), iLLeY ($7,800)
CHI (20-7) vs. SEA (5-14)
The Surge really never stood a chance against OpTic Gaming last week, keeping it marginally close on Gun Runner Hardpoint and winning the Domination before getting blitzed off the map in Rounds 2 and 4.
The way Chicago is playing in Search and Destroy, I have even less of a reason to believe the Surge will fair much better in this Day 1 matchup. However the Surge's only two map wins across the entire London Home Series were Hackney Domination, a place where the Huntsmen were absolutely decimated by the Subliners on Day 2, and the finals of the New York Home Series earlier this month.
Maybe the Surge can push it to a fourth map, but it would be relatively stunning to see this series go longer than four games, to the point where this one feels like the most likely chance for a 3-0 of the games with the top four seeds in play. Octane will almost assuredly finish with a positive KD regardless, and at $10,000 it's hard to pass up a guy that has got over 100 fantasy points in every game since late April (I'm retroactively assuming he'd have hit that line if not for the online error with Slacked), but I'm less certain targeting FormaL, or even Arcitys at their prices. Particularly with the way the Huntsmen's recent S&D play has looked, I'm going with the team direction and nothing else, trusting I can get that 100-plus point value from other matchups.
Prediction: CHI 3-0
- CHI Players to Target: CHI Team ($3,000)
- SEA Player sto Target: Octane ($10,000)
TOR (7-13) vs. OGLA (8-15)
This is a critical tournament for the Ultra, who could jump into the winner's bracket at Champs if they finish no better than second this weekend.
Standing in the way is a new-look OpTic roster that I thought finally showed some teeth last weekend after swapping out Chino and Dashy for Drazah and Hollow, respectively. This battle should come down to the SMG play between Classic and Kuavo; whoever comes out of that with a higher KD, and thus, able to open up lanes and movement for the respective's teams potent ARs, should have the advantage.
The Ultra certainly appear to have the advantage in regards to AR play, with SlasheR and Drazah falling a bit short compared to Methodz and Cammy. Yes, this new meta has seen the likes of SlasheR and Methodz seemingly take a step back, but Cammy has emerged as an excellent second option, and does a decent-enough job setting his team up for success in key locations. It's not like the Surge, who have to solely rely on Octane as their source of positive advantages. Still, I feel more confident OpTic can run away with the series based on their Search and Destroy play. If the respawn slightly favors Toronto, than the Green Wall have a massive difference in S&D play. This one will go at least four games as well, and I think there's enough lower prices from the lesser names in this matchup to help you stack up on either FLA/DAL or ATL/MIN as the "other" series of which to pull big names from.
Prediction: OGLA 3-2
