Best Fantasy eSports Sites for 2024

How to Play Daily Fantasy eSports

Learning how to play fantasy eSports is easy, especially since most sites provide detailed guides and videos. After creating an account, you must choose a contest with your preferred game. Then, you must create a team of five players, ensuring you cover all the necessary roles. Place your entry fee and wait for the results.

The difference between fantasy and daily fantasy eSports is that daily fantasy contests last for a shorter period of time. That can range from a day or a weekend to a week. Usually, once your lineup is set, you cannot change it easily, so you must consider your strategy carefully. You can also check statistics and news for information on a player's performance.

The Draft

As mentioned earlier, you need to prepare a team before you can participate in the contests. Most sites will provide you with a salary, which you must spend to pick players. Elite ones cost more, so you should balance your team based on your budget. For daily fantasy eSports apps, you can typically change lineups every week.

Remember to check a contest's schedule, as you should complete your lineup before it begins. The roles of a team vary depending on the game, so you should always familiarize yourself with the rules. As an example, here is the standard lineup for a fantasy League of Legends contest:

• 1 Top Laner
• 1 Jungler
• 1 Mid Laner
• 1 Bot Laner
• 1 Support
• 1 ADC
• 1 Captain
• 1 Team

Scoring Formats

When preparing your team, you should also know what scoring system is used. The results of contests at fantasy eSports sites are determined by each player's performance in real life. If a player is not competing in any real events, they will also be excluded from the fantasy roster.

Once again, the scoring system varies for each game type. Some games may have multiple formats, necessitating additional scoring systems. Remember to check the game modes available at your preferred site for further details. As an example of a scoring system, we will use the one used for League of Legends Classic matches:

• Captains earn 1.5x the points
• Kills - +3 points
• Assists - +2 points
• Deaths - -1 point
• Creep Score - +0.02 points
• 10+ K/A Bonus - +2 points
• Turrets - +1 point
• Dragons - +2 points
• Barons - +3 points
• First Blood - +2 points
• Win - +2 points
• Win in under 30 minutes - +2 points

Kills are the most common statistic across fantasy eSports games and bring the most points. Assists are also valuable, and you can get a bonus for ten of them, although deaths lower points. Even killing creeps awards some points, so a player's overall performance is essential, as is winning the match.

However, junglers avoid confronting other players directly and focus on farming neutral bosses or ambushes. Nevertheless, they can score decent points for killing Baron Nashor or the dragons. As such, they are also a good candidate for the captain's role. Players can also earn bonus points for getting first blood or winning under 30 minutes.

Before Gameday

Before the contest begins, you should make sure you are fully prepared. Always be aware of the schedule, as you need to have your lineup ready by then. You should also consider which roles you find the most important, as you only have a limited budget to get good players.

The site predetermines the pool of players and their roles. If your preferred player is missing from the pool, it means they will not be participating in any games at the time. That is why it is a good idea to choose players from various teams and keep track of everyone's performance.

Many sites also have community features like chat functions, statistics, and news reports. These can help you plan your strategy and make better predictions as they contain the latest information on each team. If you're a beginner, you can also try free-to-play contests and read guides on the rules of each game.

The Waiver Wire

The waiver wire is a system in fantasy eSports sites that helps distribute players who haven't been drafted. Each team gets a waiver priority rank, with the last team to register typically having the highest priority to ensure fairness. They can then make a waiver claim on any of these players, and if the waiver succeeds, their priority is lowered.

If a player hasn't been claimed through a waiver and enough time has passed, they become a free agent. Players can then pick them as they would in a draft. Some sites also have an auction system, where the highest bid claims the player. Remember to manage your budget and closely monitor potential free agents.

Player Trades

You can still adjust your lineup once the draft is over and players are locked in. That is done through trades, where you exchange players with another manager to try and cover any weaknesses. Trade options vary between fantasy eSports apps, but you can usually exchange two players for one or make one-for-one deals. Note that trades may need to be approved first.

As with drafts, it is important to consider your strategy when making trades. Often, you will want to bolster any weak points or replace injured players. If a player is underperforming, swapping him out might also be a good idea. Consider your offers carefully and communicate with the other manager to ensure your deals have better chances of success.

Fantasy eSports League Types

When examining the daily fantasy eSports sites, you should also check the types of leagues and contests. Each one has different rules, such as a specific way to draft players, alternate win conditions, or no entry fees. Some may also alter the team structure of a game, which means you'll have to change your strategy.

Some sites even offer low-stakes contests for beginners so you can get some experience. Every top fantasy eSports site will provide guides on its rules and scoring systems, so you can always read them if you want further details. You can also form custom leagues with friends or participate in tournaments.

Draft

The most common league type is the draft. You receive a salary and must then form a lineup from the available players. After that, you can trade with others or use the waiver wire to acquire free agents. There is also a tier variant, where instead of a salary, players must form a lineup with players from each tier in the player pool.

50/50

The 50/50 leagues are suitable for casual players. In these daily fantasy eSports leagues, the top 50% of players earn prizes, so you don't have to get first place. While you still need to ensure a good strategy, you can test different lineups as you learn more about the sport.

Showdown

Showdowns are contests based around a single real eSports game. While the scoring systems remain the same, the team structure is changed to only two captains and two flex players. You can only pick players from the two competing teams, limiting the options. Due to the shorter timeframe, these contests are preferred by experienced players.

Head to Head

You can participate in Head to Head contests if you want to compete directly against other players or your friends. If you are playing publicly, you can be automatically matched with another player if none appear before the game starts. The prizes in these contests combine both players' entry fees.

How to Pick the Top Fantasy eSports Sites

When examining the best fantasy eSports sites, our team of experts used strict criteria to evaluate all their aspects. Safety was the most important factor, so we checked the licenses and encryption technologies. We also examined the mobile apps, which include native and browser versions. Finally, we also checked the payment methods and any available bonus offers.

However, every player has their preferences, so we always examine the top fantasy eSports sites carefully. Once we're sure a site is legitimate, we examine the available contests and their entry fees. Good customer support is also important so that you can get help with any issues.