The ever-growing popularity of e-Sports has caught the attention of DraftKings, and now the two have formed a partnership bringing League of Legends (LoL) competitions to the one-day fantasy sports website.
DraftKings co-founder Matt Kalish said in a statement:
Esports is one of the world’s most popular spectator sports, and we are excited to introduce League of Legends to our industry-leading fantasy platform as a way to bring fans worldwide closer to the game.
The fantasy LoL contests went live on DraftKings on October 1.
Here’s what you need to know about DraftKings e-Sports:
1. E-Sports Are Multi-Player Video Game Competitions
In a nutshell, e-Sports is a professional online gaming league comprised of multi-player teams from around the world.
These organized competitions are played in real-time with game types such as strategy, fighting, shooting, sports and battle arena, among others.
Just like other professional sports, the online teams are made up of individual players who work together with the goal of victory in mind. One of the only differences is that the e-Sports teams use headsets and handheld controllers rather than balls and bats — or whatever equipment the “mainstream” sports we are mostly familiar with use.
2. E-Sports’ Popularity Has Skyrocketed In Recent Years
The earliest known competition dates back to 1972 when Stanford students participated in a video game called Spacewar. Competitions became more popular in the 1980s when gaming systems like Atari and games like Pac-Man and Donkey Kong were released. Though it was still a rather relative unknown form of entertainment.
PC Gaming really started the boom in the 1990s as the internet became more widely used and the rise in popularity just continued through the early 2000s as more global tournaments and competitions began popping up.
Also at this time, television coverage of tournaments began to air in South Korea and Germany.
E-Sports has been able to tap into the entire market of potential players. Unlike the World Series of Poker, you don’t need to be 21-years-old to participate. If you can play video games, you can make a lot of money in professional gaming, regardless of age.
ESPN2 has televised competitions in 2014 and 2015, a sign of e-Sports’ rise in mainstream culture and worldwide appeal.
Some of the more popular games played in e-Sports are Call of Duty, Starcraft and Halo.
3. DraftKings Is Offering League of Legends Contests
One the biggest competitions — if not the biggest — in professional gaming is the League of Legends World Championships, which got underway October 1.
Already a major player in the world of daily fantasy sports with NFL, MLB, PGA, NHL, NBA contests, DraftKings added e-Sports to its stable of gaming, featuring the LoL World Championships as the main attraction.
Here’s a look at some of the rules for the contests:
Rosters will consist of 8 spots with a maximum of 4 players from any one LoL team in a matchup. Teams do not count toward the 4-player maximum. Rosters must span at least 2 different LoL games.
The 8 roster positions are: TOP, JNG (Jungler), MID, ADC, SUP (Support), FLEX, FLEX, TEAM
This is how the scoring works:
Players will accumulate points as follows:
Kills (K) = +3 PTs
Assists (A) = +2 PTs
Deaths (D) = -1 PTs
Creeps (C) = +0.02 PTs
10+ K/A Bonus (10KA+) = + 2 PTs (10 kills OR 10 assists in a single game)
Teams will accumulate points as follows:
Turrets (Tur) = +1 PTs
Dragons (Drg) = +2 PTs
Barons (Bar) = +3 PTs
First Blood (1stB+) = +2 PTs
Win (W) = +2 PTs
Win in under 30 minutes bonus (u30W+) = +2 PTs
Players and Teams will accumulate bonus points for winning a series early as follows:
Every game not played by winning players (GNP+) = + 20 PTs
Games not played = Maximum games in series – Games played in series
Players must earn stats in at least one of the games in the series in order to be eligible for this bonus
Every game not played by winning teams (GNP+) = + 15 PTs
Player Lock Notes: All players lock at the start of the contest.
4. The LoL World Championships Began October 1
The League of Legends World Championships began October 1 with the top 16 teams in the world competing. The winner of the month-long event takes home the Summoner’s Cup.
The teams attending Worlds are:
Korea: SKTelecom T1, KOO Tigers, KT Rolster
China: LGD Gaming, Edward Gaming, Invictus Gaming
Taiwan / Hong Kong / Macau: ahq e-Sports Club, Flash Wolves
North America: Counter Logic Gaming, Team SoloMid, Cloud9
Europe: Fnatic, H2K, Origen
International Wildcard Qualifiers: Bangkok Titans, paiN Gaming
Group stage runs until October 11 in Paris. The quarterfinals are October 15-18 in London and the semifinals will be held in Brussels, Belgium from October 24-25. The LoL finals are set for October 31 in Berlin, Germany.
The $2,000,000 (in USD) total prize pool is broken down in the following:
World Champion — $1,000,000
2nd place — $250,000
3rd & 4th place — $150,000
5th-8th place — $75,000
9th-12th place — $45,000
13th-16th place — $25,000
Samsung Galaxy White from South Korea were the 2014 world champions.
5. DraftKings Has 6 Featured Fantasy Contests for E-Sports
DraftKings has a slew of fantasy contests specifically designed for the League of Legends events, each with varying entry fees and prize purses.
Critical Strike — This $3 buy-in contest has a total prize pool of $15,000, with $1,000 going to the winner
Tower Dive — The $10K Tower Dive has a $27 entry fee and a top prize of $2,000. A total purse of $10K is guaranteed.
Base Race — Turn your $9 entry fee into the top prize of $200 in this 255-player contest.
Power Spike — The $3K Power Spike has a $100 entry fee and a top prize of $1,000.
First Blood — This contest features a $1 buy-in and a top prize of $50.
Team Fight — The $5 entry fee contest has a $250 prize pool, with $62.50 going to the winner.
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