Fantasy football is a game that casts you in the role of a Fantasy Manager, given the task to pick a squad of real-life players who score points for your team based on their real-life performances in their matches.
Fantasy sports boomed in recent years, with ever evolving leagues and competitive formats. The simple concept of creating your own perfect virtual team and competing against others, has grasped the attention of millions of users. Esports is slowly creeping into the fantasy sports domain with titles being picked up by providers left right and center.
In the following guide, we will answer the most common questions about Fantasy Esports, the differences between esports betting and esports fantasy. And finally where you can play and what are the most popular esports you can do DFS at.
The concept of fantasy esports is fairly straightforward. You select a virtual team from a pool of potential real life players and compete against other peoples’ team picks. Based on the real life performance of your select players you team earns points which are then compared against other players’ teams determine the winner.
Let’s take Fantasy LoL as an example. Your League of Legends fantasy draft will usually consist of 7 picks (1 for each lane position, captain and team). Those picks earn/lose points for Kills/Deaths/Assists or in-game objectives like Baron, Turret or Dragon kills.
The Fantasy league operator will set a Game Set (meaning how many games your roster is eligible for) and you all set to wait for the results and see if your picks were worthwhile.
What is DFS?
DFS or Daily Fantasy Sports are contests played across a shorter period of time then regular fantasy sports. Usually, a fantasy league in both sports and esports may last an entire competitive season. The DFS on esports system instead focuses on a single competitive weekend or session.
The shorter timeframe of the DFS approach has enabled esports competitions in CS:GO, Rocket League or Call of Duty eligible for fantasy game play. The usual esports tournament in most titles is held in the span of a week or a weekend making them ideal for DFS.
For example, a fantasy CSGO DFS contest at DraftKings will last for a single tournament weekend. Players competing at the event will only have their stats calculated from the few games they play over those few days.
DFS is ideal for players that don’t want to be bogged down in long everlasting leagues and want their contest done and dusted within days. Additionally, Daily fantasy games are commonly played subject to entry fees and have prize pools based on said entry fees.
The list of esports fantasy leagues competitions is growing daily.
Selection of available titles may vary between operators. If we look at our current DraftKings promotion, your bonus can be used in both Fantasy CoD, CSGO, LoL or Rocket League fantasy competitions. New esports titles are added all the time, meaning you expect your favorite title to be added soon.
The similarity between esports betting and daily fantasy esports is only in the concept that you are wagering on the performance of the athletes or team to perform well. Of course, a fantasy league for esports may require a fee to participate with rewards handed out based on said fee.
This would entail you engaging in esports fantasy betting, but only as far as betting on your own knowledge and skill to select the best roster and win the DFS contest.
While selecting a provider a Fantasy sports may involve some research, when selecting a DFS esports operator, DraftKings is by far the most comprehensive and inclusive provider.
Our recent DraftKings review nets them as the top Fantasy DFS provider for several titles including CS:GO, League of Legends, Rocket League, Call of Duty and iRacing competitions.
Other providers might join the fray soon as the advantage esports fantasy has over fantasy sports is clear in this day and age. But for now there is one provider that meets the criteria as your go-to place for Daily Fantasy Sports.
The Daily Fantasy Esports competition is legal through the US (with few exceptions). DFS is a skill based game and most states recognize it as such. Not being considered as gambling, but a game of skill, DFS does not go against the law and is therefore legal. Henceforth, for all American citizens Fantasy Esports is a valid and fun alternative to traditional esports betting.