Fantasy Esports: 2024 Beginners Guide
Interested in fantasy esports or learning more about esports tournaments and leagues? With that interest, there are some differences between esports leagues and traditional sports leagues worth noting. To help you navigate your way through the landscape of fantasy esports, read our full introduction guide below, starting with the best fantasy esports app and esports basics.
CONTENTS
- Best Fantasy Esports Site: DraftKings
- Fantasy Esports Competitions
- Online Fantasy Esports Sites
- What is Esports? What is Fantasy Esports?
- Fantasy Esports vs. Fantasy Sports
- Real Money Fantasy Esports Online: Is It Safe?
- Fantasy Esports Apps
- Fantasy CS:GO
- Fantasy Rocket League
- Fantasy League of Legends
- Biggest Esports Events
- Top 5 Esports Teams
- Fantasy Esports FAQ
BEST FANTASY ESPORTS SITE: DRAFTKINGS
If you are new to fantasy sports, then chances are that you will want to learn what are the best fantasy esports sites.
What is the best fantasy esports site? For many players, DraftKings tops the chart of fantasy sports providers, and there are very good reasons for it. DraftKings is one of the pioneers of fantasy sports in the US. Its meteoric rise started ever since it was established in 2012, making it the most popular US site for fantasy sports.
At DraftKings, you will find a wide variety of fantasy sports and DraftKings esports contests, with DFS being especially popular. To sweeten up the deal, DraftKings also offers excellent promotional offers (more on that later).
FANTASY ESPORTS COMPETITIONS
Played online, the esports season continues chugging along. Make sure to check the DraftKings esports and Monkey Knife Fight websites for the current schedules for DFS esports competitions.
ONLINE FANTASY ESPORTS SITES
We’ve mentioned that fantasy sports sites strive to provide their users with a variety of promotional offers. Here is what you can expect to get when you register at DraftKings and Monkey Knife Fight.
| Book Offer | Legal States | |
|---|---|---|
| Available in:* | ||
| Available in: ** |
* Alaska, Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Washington DC, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Vermont, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming
** Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming
WHAT IS ESPORTS? WHAT IS FANTASY ESPORTS?
Although esports has been around since the early 2000s, it is just beginning to enter the mainstream. Chances are, many people aren’t even sure what exactly esports is. So, we’ll start by answering the question – what is esports?
The term esports (also known as e-sports or eSports) is short for electronic sports. It refers to competitions where individuals or teams compete against one another using video games.
Esports tournaments can be held online or in venues around the world. They attract huge volumes of viewers, who tune in either through live streams or in person.
Consequently, esports tournaments have become a magnet for sponsors who invest hundreds of millions of dollars in tournament and team sponsorships. Even major sports networks like ESPN have recently begun to dip their toes into broadcasting esports and reporting on esports news.
Over the years, there have been a number of games that have established themselves as esports staples. These include League of Legends, CS:GO, Overwatch, Dota 2, Rocket League, and Fortnite. However, the list keeps growing as many game devs actively seek to develop competitive games in search of the next big esports title.
Now that you have an idea of what esports is, we will turn to esports gambling. As you might have guessed, the growing popularity of esports hasn’t gone unnoticed by major sports betting operators.
While the bookmakers definitely took time to catch on, over the past couple of years we have noticed an increasing number of operators include esports along with traditional sports.
The trend, naturally, extends to fantasy sports. Recently, DFS esports contests for paid buy-ins have become a common sight. In the next section, we’ll take a look at how esports DFS may differ from traditional fantasy sports.
FANTASY ESPORTS VS. FANTASY SPORTS
When we compare DFS esports with traditional fantasy sports, the bottom line is that there are no major differences. If you have any experience with fantasy sports, you will know how to play fantasy esports.
Basically, you draft teams by selecting players who compete in a particular game and earn points based on their performance. And don’t think that you’ll be competing for chump change. Major fantasy sports providers like DraftKings offer huge prize pools on daily esports.
The biggest difference between esports and fantasy sports lies in the scoring system. Each scoring system is tailored to individual game genres. For example, fantasy League of Legends tournaments will award points based on wins (and win times), kills, deaths, assists, first blood, turrets destroyed, etc.
REAL MONEY FANTASY ESPORTS ONLINE: IS IT SAFE?
Short answer? Yes! As long as you play at regulated fantasy sports providers, you can rest assured that DFS esports are as safe as regular fantasy sports.
Much like traditional sports, however, esports is not immune to potential safety issues regarding data reliability or even cheating. However, the cases are rare enough that they shouldn’t discourage you from taking part in esports DFS.
HOW DO I KNOW ESPORTS TOURNAMENTS AREN’T RIGGED?
Esports is a multi-billion-dollar industry with precise rules, regulations and a code of conduct. Furthermore, the success of professional esports teams directly translates into revenue from prize money and sponsorship deals. In theory, this means that the teams shouldn’t have an incentive to throw matches on purpose.
All high-level tournaments are heavily scrutinized by regulating bodies to prevent any form of cheating. Matches are also played out in public view, through live streaming platforms like Twitch, where attempts at cheating can be caught and called out.
So, overall, esports gambling is just as safe, if not safer, than betting on other sports.
FANTASY ESPORTS APPS
It’s no wonder that all fantasy sports operators would offer their services both through desktop and mobile platforms. You should be able to easily find and install your provider’s fantasy esports app and play on-the-go or at home.
Both DraftKings and Monkey Knife Fight offer top-rated mobile apps, with excellent design and intuitive navigation. The apps support the full feature set found on the providers’ website. This means you won’t miss out on anything, whether you use the fantasy esports app or the desktop web platform.
FANTASY CS:GO
As far as first-person shooters go, CS:GO has dominated the esports scene for nearly a decade. In terms of fantasy CS:GO events, DraftKings organizes salary cap contests, where players listed in the Player Pool are assigned with a salary. When making their lineup, participants cannot exceed the $50,000 salary cap.
CS:GO fantasy participants create 6 player lineups, where there can be a maximum of 3 players form a single team. One of the 6 players is chosen to be a captain, and they will earn 1.5x the standard point value.
Although different CS:GO fantasy providers distribute points differently, most award points are based on kills, assists, deaths, entry kills, 1v2, 1v3, 1v4 and 1v5 clutches, quad kills, and aces.
FANTASY ROCKET LEAGUE
Rocket League or “soccer, but with rocket-powered cars”, enjoys more than a decent amount of popularity as an esport. Some of its popularity is owed to the game’s seemingly simple premise.
When it comes to fantasy Rocket League, lineups consist of 4 players, 2 captains and 2 flex. Again, captains earn 1.5x the standard value of points, but in salary caps, drafting players as captains will cost more salary. For a valid lineup, you must include players from at least two different Rocket League matches.
In terms of points, players earn them based on shots, goals, saves, assists, the in-game score, hat tricks, etc.
FANTASY LEAGUE OF LEGENDS
League of Legends (or LoL for short) is by far the most popular esport to date. Even if you aren’t sure what exactly League of Legends is, you have likely at least heard about it. You might have even come across a piece of LoL esports news.
With regular tournaments and a loyal viewer and player base, the game is similarly popular as a fantasy esport. Like with other DraftKings salary cap contests, the lineup is capped at $50,000. Participants select a lineup of 7 spots, which include the following: captain, TOP, JNG, MID, ADC, SUP, and team. The player drafted as captain earns 1.5x the points value.
When it comes to points, individual players earn points based on kills, assists, deaths, and creep score, plus a 10+ K/A bonus. The team will get points for the number of destroyed turrets, dragons, barons, for first blood, win, and win in under 30 minutes.
BIGGEST ESPORTS EVENTS
Below, we have listed 10 of the most popular esports events you should be paying attention to if you’re planning to get into daily esports.
- League of Legends World Championship
- Fortnite World Cup
- Call of Duty World League (CWL)
- The International (Dota 2)
- The Overwatch League
- IEM Katowice
- PUBG Global Championship
- HALO World Championship
- Dota 2 Asia Championships
- Fortnite Secret Skirmish
TOP 5 ESPORTS TEAMS
Now it’s time to take a look at the esports teams we consider to be the favorites for the competitions to be held in April.
G2 ESPORTS
G2 Esports has had a long history of success in the competitive League of Legends tournaments. Their string of successes in the past two years earned the team the name the Kings of Europe. Currently, they are the top seeds to win the Spring League of Legends European Championship (LEC) 2020.
CLOUD9
With Team Liquid failing to qualify for the LCS Playoffs, Cloud9 is the current heavy LCS Spring favorite. Based in Los Angeles, California, Cloud9 started out as a League of Legends team in 2013. With success in LCS, the team has now competed in games like Overwatch, Rocket League, CS:GO, Fortnite, Hearthstone, and more.
FUNPLUS PHOENIX
Winning the 2019 League of Legends World Championship by defeating G2 Esports is what put FunPlus Phoenix on the map. Formed in late 2017, this Chinese team is one of the youngest and the most promising ones. Their current performance also positions them as one of the top favorites to win the LPL Spring 2020.
NATUS VINCERE
Based in Ukraine and founded in 2009, Natus Vincere (aka Na’Vi) is currently the top team competing in CS:GO. Na’Vi were the first ones to win three major tournaments in a single year back in 2010, winning the Intel Extreme Masters, Electronic Sports World Cup, and World Cyber Cup Games. In addition to CS:GO, the team has also had major success in Dota 2.
NRG ESPORTS
When we’re talking about Rocket League, NRG Esports has by far has the most success. The team has so far won five RLCS North American seasons, as well as the 2019 RLCS Season 8 Finals. Together with NRG Esports, Cloud9’s Rocket League team is also one to look out for.
FANTASY ESPORTS FAQ
There is anything else you’d like to know about fantasy esports, take a look at our FAQ section below. Likely, you will find your answer here.
IS THERE A FANTASY ESPORTS WELCOME BONUS?
YYes, there is. VegasInsider extends several offers to our readers, both new and existing players. To learn about which bonuses a particular provider offers, you can visit their Promotions page.
CAN I PLAY REAL MONEY FANTASY ESPORTS?
Yes, you can. Like with other fantasy sports, participating in fantasy esports competitions can lead to real money prizes.
IS IT LEGAL TO PLAY FANTASY ESPORTS IN MY STATE?
Fantasy esports is legal in the majority of US states. However, to make sure they are legal in your state, it’s best you check your local laws.
WHAT GAMES DO ESPORTS PLAY?
Major fantasy esports providers will offer a wide range of games. Some of the most popular competitions include fantasy League of Legends, CS:GO, Rocket League, Overwatch, Dota 2, StarCraft 2, etc..
WHAT’S THE BIGGEST ESPORTS TOURNAMENT IN THE WORLD?
There are different criteria by which we can judge the biggest esports tournament. Up to this point, The International Dota 2 Championship has consistently offered the biggest prize pool in esports. In 2019, the prize pool reached an amazing $34m, which made it the highest paying tournament to date.
Now that you have an idea about how to play fantasy esports, all that’s left to do is read up on the latest LoL esports news, and start playing. GLHF!