DraftKings Call of Duty: Saturday Cheat Sheet

Games (EDT)

• 1:00 p.m. New York Subliners vs. Atlanta FaZe
• 2:30 p.m. Florida Mutineers vs. Dallas Empire
• 3:30 p.m. OpTic Gaming Los Angeles vs. Toronto Ultra
• 5:30 p.m. Paris Legion vs. London Royal Ravens

NYS (7-12) vs. ATL (19-3)

For what feels like the first time in forever, all four of the projected favorites enter Saturday's upper bracket against one another. That's a treat for Call of Duty fans, but not so much for DFS players, as both the NYS/ATL and FLA/DAL series are incredibly difficult to predict without any sort of information regarding map choices.

That's without factoring in how mind-numbingly inconsistent FaZe have been over the last two weeks, with yet another game against an inferior opponent (this time the Toronto Ultra) going down to a Game 5. I thought last week's struggles were merely a blip in the radar, but at this point we have to assume something might truly be off with Atlanta, whether it be the communication, connection or simply too much tape already available for everyone to see.

Whatever the answer, it's hard to suggest it'll simply disappear, particularly against a Subliners roster that looked gamey against OpTic Gaming on Day 1. New York's S&D was extra impressive, to the point where I feel confident saying we'll at least see four games, at minimum, from this matchup. 

At least on DraftKings, you'll have to play a little strategy when it comes to the captain spot, however. Cellium, Simp and MackMelts all make for solid plays in your lineup, but any one of them at captain should give you enough savings to put a second player in while also affording a spot for someone like Shotzzy, who we'll get to in a moment. I lean ever so slightly to Cellium for that spot given his consistency in Hardpoint, but admittedly projecting anything regarding FaZe as an obvious truth has been a frustrating endeavor as of late.

Prediction: ATL 3-1

NYS Players to Target: MackMelts ($9,600), Accuracy ($6,600)

ATL Players to Target: Cellium ($9,000), Simp ($8,800), MajorManiak ($7,000)

FLA (14-8) vs. DAL (16-8)

I cannot wait to see this game. The Mutineers figure to have the slaying advantage over the Empire and have the pace to make them uncomfortable, but strategically I feel like Clayster and company can hang with the best of them, especially given the level in which Shotzzy has been playing at.

Seriously, the guy is insane, capable of dominating in Hardpoint while soaking up the majority of the hill time, acts as the main planter and can also engage as the point man in Search and Destroy fights, and has the mobility to completely change the game in Domination. The Empire play around the advantage so fluidly, and essentially adjust their gameplan on the fly to react to however Shotzzy chooses to dominate the game. 

Owakening provides a similar sense of flexibility for the Mutineers in the form of gun skill, as he can seamlessly switch off from a dominate AR to an aggressive SMG without so much of a blink of an eye. While he doesn't have the same movement as Shotzzy, Owakening's skill level with any meta relevant gun has opened the door for Havoc to emerge as an in-your-face slayer, while Fero and Skyz can simply sit back and torment the extra positioning provided by their up-tempo brethren.

The clash of preferred styles will be one to watch, but I suspect this will be at least four games regardless of who comes out on top. I lean the Mutineers simply because of how dominate their respawn modes have been, but I confess that who wins is less important in this scenario given how competitive this series is expected to be.

Prediction: FLA 3-2

FLA Players to Target: Owakening ($9,800), Havok ($7,400), Fero ($6,600)

DAL Players to Target: Shotzzy ($10,200), iLLeY ($7,200)

OGLA (7-12) vs. TOR (4-11)

The Ultra looked surprisingly solid against FaZe on Friday, but I can't tell if it's because of Atlanta's struggles, or the change to CleanX instead of Classic. DraftKings sure seems to think it's the latter, as he somehow became the seventh-highest priced player after starting the tournament at the minimum threshold.

That's an absurdly high figure for someone who posted a 0.93 KD in his first league match this season. The overreaction likely has to do with just how well new players have done on their respective rosters over past weeks, and DraftKings' unwillingness to aggressively price them up in previous series. Whatever the case, I'm staying far away from him, and what's more, I just don't see where the value lies with anyone from the Ultra. Methodz is normally the optimal option for Toronto, but he'll be starring down the sights against SlasheR, who has been in phenomenal form as of late.

The rest of OpTic Gaming struggled in their series loss to the Subliners, but New York just plays so fast, which almost seemed to catch Los Angeles off guard. The Ultra can't match that same level of speed, which leads me to believe one of Kuavo or TJHaLy will outperform their listed salary. Something is definitely off with Dashy --- a player of his caliber doesn't drop a 0.56 KD very often, and it's made me nervous enough that I'm not going anywhere near him in this matchup, even with his severely depreciated price tag.

Simply put, I'm staying away from this series. The first two matchups should be chock-full of lineup pieces, particularly given the inconsistencies OpTic Gaming and Ultra have had of late.

Prediction: OGLA 3-1

OGLA Players to Target:  Kuavo ($7,200)

PAR (6-11) vs. LON (8-10)

It's a bit stunning to see just one member of the Royal Ravens finish Friday's match with a positive KD despite going to five games against the Empire, but credit goes to the London side for their overall strategy in Search and Destroy.

I feel like this match is fairly straight forward, but massive favorites over the last two weeks have severely failed to live up to expectations. Maybe that's just an overall nod to players and teams catching up to each other's gameplans, but that news never made it's way over to the Legion on Friday considering how bad they were blown out.

If the Royal Ravens are to win, it's likely on the back of Skrapz and Zer0, with Wuskin providing his usual dominance as an over-arching AR. I don't really see anyone from the Legion being able to consistently challenge that trio, particularly after such bad form Friday, but if that's the case, it's unlike London can really be much of a DFS factor across three games. If nothing else, their brilliance at Search and Destroy makes me feel comfortable suggesting them as the most obvious "team" play, and at $2,000, that's a fairly significant savings next to the rest of Saturday's favorites.

Prediction: LON 3-0

LON Players to Target: Zer0 ($8,600), Skrapz ($8,000), Team Royal Ravens ($2,000)