What a strange year for many first time fantasy OWL players. It started with a totally new schedule and every analyst was concerned with travel and how it would affect players. Then slowly but surely, games got canceled, players couldn’t play, and fantasy teams were in trouble. With rosters filled with players on 6 or 7 week byes, it’s understandable that not many owners have still kept their teams updated.
There is an alternative to the season-long format that may just spark interest for those looking to still play fantasy. The “Daily” fantasy format is here and just may be the perfect fit for this completely scuffed OWL season.
What is Daily Fantasy OWL?
Daily fantasy games are a much more casual version of popular fantasy sports and esports. More commonly abbreviated as DFS, daily fantasy sports focus on just one match rather than the entire season.
In this weekend-oriented format, owners buy their roster based on each players price tag. Each player’s price is based on projected scores. For example, DPS studs like Kai “KSP” Collins will cost much more than bench DPS players like Phillip “ChipSa” Graham. Every league shares the same pool, and players aren’t restricted to one team. This is significantly different than season long format, as multiple teams have the option to field very similar rosters.
After the weekend is over, every team and every league resets. No that is not a typo. Daily fantasy leagues and teams only exist for the week that they are selected. This means each week, owners need to re-buy their team and enter them into a league. Rosters will differ from week to week, based on who is playing and what each player costs to place on a team.
Where Can People Play?
Currently there are two places to play classic daily fantasy OWL – FantasyOWL and DraftBuff. While FantasyOWL is all web-based, DraftBuff is only for mobile devices. Both play relatively similar, with only the smallest of differences. On DraftBuff prospective players can find daily fantasy OWL under the “Draft Royale” tab. There players can join private or public leagues, build rosters, and play. For FantasyOWL, new members can do the same and even win some XP and coins.
[Related: Fantasy OWL for Complete Beginners]
And that is really it! There isn’t a large block time of leagues need to commit to hold a draft. There aren’t any trades to overthink or any waiver wire adds to stress over. One and done, and hope for the best! Give daily fantasy OWL a shot this weekend and enjoy the return of some fantasy OWL.
Tips and Tricks
Careful of overpaying – One of the biggest pitfalls while playing DFS is overpaying for a big-name player. While it may be tempting to have Jae-hyeok “Carpe” Lee on the roster every week, his price could be prohibitive to building a winning team for the week. Look to maximize the average score of the team by balancing cost and player value.
Look for the Extreme-Value Picks – While a little more rare in traditional DFS leagues, the Overwatch League daily fantasy platforms can’t always have the optimal pricing for players. Even this past weekend, Shanghai’s flex-support Min-chul “IZaYaKI” was one of the cheapest supports available. There will be utter steals like this in the future, so it never hurts to scroll to the bottom of the list to see who is in the bargain bin.
It’s Okay to Have 1 Credit Left – Building a roster on a budget constraint is tough. There will be times where the whole roster needs to be scrapped in order to fit the budget, and sometimes there will be way too much left over. If there are only a few credits left over and the remaining players are in the same tier as some already purchased players, don’t sweat it.
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Featured image courtesy of FantasyOWL.com
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