How to Play Daily Fantasy League of Legends
If you are at all familiar with fantasy sports, then LoL DFS will not be anything too out of the ordinary. The process is quite similar, though there are some key differences. Daily fantasy is much faster-paced, and you can make picks every single day.
The concept of Fantasy eSports and League of Legends, in particular, is not that difficult to grasp. Simply pick a team that you think will win and let fate do the rest. You don't need to be an expert on the subject, but it does help to know the teams and players in a specific league.
The Draft
The first step to playing LoL at DFS is to build your team for the day. This needs to happen before the matches take place. Once you have everything locked in, you can sit back and watch the games online.
Unlike traditional sports, LoL teams are quite small. There are five active players on every team, one to cover every role. Some teams may use substitutes in certain situations, so you need to take that into consideration. Here are the roles you will build your team around:
- 1 top-laner
- 1 mid-laner
- 1 jungler
- 1 support
- 1 AD carry
To make correct picks when building a team, you need to be aware of the metrics used to track individual performance in fantasy League of Legends. Different platforms usually support a variety of metrics, but there are variations between them. Below, we have listed the most popular scoring formats:
- Kills
- Deaths
- Assists
- Creep score (CS)
- Wards placed
Each of these scoring elements is tracked throughout the match. Usually, LoL eSports DFS platforms focus primarily on kills. But don't be surprised if you find other options. League is a mechanically complex game, especially at the pro scene.
Keep in mind that different roles will have varying outcomes for each of these trackers. Kills are usually tracked for top- and mid-laners, but especially for ADCs. Wards placed are more the realm of junglers and supports. The number of assists will usually depend on the specific champion.
Before Gameday
Preparation is key when playing League of Legends fantasy. Fortunately, the schedules are announced well in advance, and you can plan accordingly. There are dozens of leagues to choose from, starting from the semi-professional ones all the way to the world finals[1].
The format of most regular-season tournaments allows you to have hundreds of matches at your disposal. The 2023 Worlds alone had 56 matches, not counting the Play-Ins or the regional leagues. All in all, LoL DFS has a lot of opportunities to make predictions and work on your systems.
With all of this in mind, make sure to do your homework on your favorite teams. See when matches will take place, and make sure to lock in your picks beforehand. Fill in all positions and choose players that are likely to match your predictions. The best League of Legends websites will give you all the tools necessary for this purpose.
The Waiver Wire
The waiver wire isn't really a thing in daily fantasy. In traditional fantasy sports, the waiver wire refers to a method of claiming players are not part of a team at the time of forming the fantasy league. However, since daily fantasy is, well, daily, and picks reset every day, it's not a factor. As such, you will not have to worry about it when browsing players on your chosen LoL fantasy app.
Player Trades
Player trades are another concept that doesn't exist in daily fantasy League of Legends. In traditional fantasy sports that are season-long affairs, participants may choose to trade players with each other to improve their standing. However, since DFS is very short-term, there is no need to do this.