DraftKings Championship Series 2024
The NBA came back. The PGA came back. Major League Baseball came back. And the NFL went ahead with its plans to start the 2020 season on time in September. That’s good news for DraftKings Fantasy players as four major Online Fantasy Championships returned to the schedule along with the brand new $2M guaranteed Pro Football Pick’em Championship.
Time to qualify is limited so if you want a spot, act now.
Deposit Match
Upcoming Fantasy Championships
DraftKings’ signature Fantasy Football World Championship is coming soon! Now scheduled to run on Dec 20, 2020 (Week 15 of NFL season), you can qualify right now and over the next few weeks to compete for $12.5M in prize money. This year’s winner walks away with a staggering $2.5 Million.
You read that number right. And you can still qualify via weekly fantasy football contests on DraftKings. Contests run every week until Week 14 with 200 qualifiers in total making it to the FFWC final. Details:
- Date: Dec. 20, 2020 (Week 15 of NFL Season)
- Total Prize Pool: $12.5 Million
- Winner gets: $2,500,000
- Total qualifiers: 200
$2 Million Pro Football Pick’em National Championship
- When: Weeks 1-16
- Guarantee: $2 Million
- Winner: $1 Million
- Buy-in: $1,500
- Weekly Picks: 5
- Max Entries: 3
For the most advanced Fantasy Football players, this $1,500 buy-in Championship will run over the full 16 weeks of the season. Pick 5 games per week and claim cash bonuses for perfect weeks. The ultimate winner collects $1 million.
Completed Championships
$4M Online Fantasy Basketball World Championship
- When: August 17 & 18, 2020
- Guarantee: $4 Million
- Winner: $500,000
- Total qualifiers: 100
- Live Streams: Twitch and YouTube
Basketball fans who have watched the action from the Walt Disney World bubble in Orlando know the NBA is well and truly back. There may be no fans but the players are in it to win a title and holding nothing back. Grab one of the 100 spots in the 2020 FBWC via qualifiers on DraftKings.
$1.5M Online Fantasy Baseball World Championship
- When: Sept. 18, 2020
- Guarantee: $1.5 million
- Winner: $500,000
- Spots: 50
Much like the MLB season itself, the qualifying window for the FBWC is tight. Contests will run until mid-Sept for one of the 50 slots in the finals. Winner grabs $500,000 while the rest of the field splits another $1m.
$1.5M Online Fantasy Golf World Championship
- When: Nov 12-15, 2020
- Guarantee: $1.5 Million
- Winner: $500,000
- Total qualifiers: 200
Watching the Masters in November will likely feel weird for everybody but for the 200 participants in the 2020 Fantasy Golf World Championship, the color of the leaves won’t matter much. Another $1.5m is on the line for golf fans with $500K set aside for the winner. Qualify in weekly PGA Fantasy contest on DK from now until then.
Qualifying details:
Playdown Round 1: 200 players compete to move on to Round 2
Playdown Round 2: The 100 remaining players compete to move to the Online Final
Online Final: Top 40 players compete for $500,000 top prize and Fantasy Golf World Championship
Watch live stream coverage of the online final on DraftKings Twitch and YouTube channels!
DraftKings has never been shy about pushing the envelope. That’s what helped the company climb from being a startup to an industry leader in daily fantasy sports (DFS).
The gaming giant has begun to do the same within the world of sports betting. DraftKings is off to a fast start as it races to become a market leader in every legal, regulated state.
The company is making waves once again with the recently announced DraftKings Championship Series. Building off of the success of its stellar DFS track record and the inaugural 2019 DraftKings Sports Betting National Championship (SBNC), things are getting kicked up a notch for 2020.
The DraftKings Championship Series will feature over 40 contests and a staggering $100 million total prize pool. It’s a mix of DFS and sports betting, and there are several ways to get involved.
DraftKings DFS Live Fantasy Championships
The DraftKings Championship Series doesn’t just revolve around sports betting. There will be 41 DFS contests sprinkled throughout the year as well, six of which will be live final events.
Fantasy Tournament of Champions
The crown jewel of the DFS portion of the festivities is the DraftKings Fantasy Tournament of Champions, which has a $1 million top prize. The live event coincides with the Big Game in Tampa, FL.
Those who qualify for the final will not only get the chance to compete for mind-blowing prizes, but they will also be the guest of DraftKings at the big game. There are 40 qualifying events for players to set their sights on:
- 5 live DFS final events
- 5 online DFS fantasy championships
- 30 Fantasy Millionaire DFS contests
Live DFS events
The DFS live final events are already highly sought after tickets. It’s safe to say the competition will be even more fierce this time around with so much at stake. Here’s what we know about all five live finals for the DraftKings Championship Series.
2020 Fantasy Hockey World Championship
The first of the live final events took place in Nashville, TN, on Feb. 29, with 40 qualifiers competing for an impressive set of prizes. All told, it was a $500,000 guaranteed prize pool with a top prize of $100,000, a runner-up prize of $60,000, and $40,000 to third place. All 40 qualifiers won prizes, with the minimum set at $4,000.
2020 Fantasy Basketball World Championship
Important notice from DraftKings as of April 13 re. Fantasy Basketball Championship: “Unfortunately, due to escalating health concerns related to COVID-19 and guidance from government agencies, among others, DraftKings has decided to … suspend the Fantasy Basketball World Championship. While DraftKings wants to hold the FBWC at a later date if and when NBA play resumes, DraftKings cannot provide any further details until we learn more about the NBA’s decision.”
There will be 100 qualifiers competing for the $4 million guaranteed prize pool. The top prize is $500,000, second place gets $350,000, and $250,000 goes to third.
All 100 participants win prizes with the minimum set at $15,000.
2020 DraftKings DFS Live Finals
While we have full details on the first two live final events, the specifics on the last three are still to be announced:
- 2020 Fantasy Golf World Championship
- 2020 Fantasy Baseball World Championship
- 2020 Fantasy Football World Championship
The golf live final will take place from Aug. 13-16. To qualify for these live finals, it’s the same process as for the hockey and basketball events. Qualifying tournaments will occur throughout the respective seasons at varying price points. The top finisher in each of those tournaments will punch their tickets to the live final.
Online Fantasy Championships
In addition to the live final events, there will also be a quintet of online fantasy championships as part of the DraftKings Championship Series. Here are the dates as announced so far:
- March 24: Fantasy Hockey Online Championship
- March 25: Fantasy Basketball Online Championship
- Late May/Early June: Fantasy LoL Online Championship
- TBA: Fantasy Baseball Online Championship
- TBA: Fantasy Golf Online Championship
- TBA: Fantasy Football Online Championship
New! 2020 $400,000 DFS Fantasy League of Legends Championship
- Online-only Championship Format
- $400,000 in cash prizes + 1 ticket to the Tournament of Champions ($25k value)
- $555 per entry; Direct buy-in focus with limited satellites
Contest Dates:
- Launch: Friday (Timing TBA)
- Championship: TBA Late May/Early June
Players can find qualifying tournaments for each of the online fantasy championships in the DraftKings lobby. It’s the same concept as live final qualifiers: The top finisher earns a ticket to the event.
DraftKings Sports Betting National Championship Series
On the sports betting front, the inaugural DraftKings Sports Betting National Championship took place in January 2019 with a guaranteed prize pool of $2.5 million.
This year, DraftKings will host two live sports betting championship events throughout the year.
DraftKings’ Fall Championship will come our way during football season. Though the details are still TBD, it’s safe to assume it’ll be a similar concept to last year’s National Championship.
The 2020 series wraps up with the DraftKings Sports Betting National Championship (SBNC) event, which will feature a top prize of $1 million.
Dates and location should be announced shortly. Winner of the Fall event automatically qualifies for the national championship. There will also be a direct buy-in option.
How can I enter the DraftKings Championship Series?
DraftKings Championship Series events are open to players across the US although the live sports betting events are physically located in New Jersey. You can gain entry to the live sports betting events by winning a qualifying DFS tournament or directly buying in.
DFS qualifiers are tournament-style games in which the top prize is a ticket to a DraftKings sports betting live championship.
DFS contests are open to players in 40-plus states. Even if your state hasn’t given the green light to sports betting, you’ll likely be able to enter and play DFS. As of now, the only states in which DFS is not available are Arizona, Hawaii, Idaho, Louisiana, Montana, Nevada, and Washington state.
For those in states where both DFS and sports betting are legal, such as Indiana, you can qualify via DFS or buy-in directly with $5,000 from your sports betting account and travel to New Jersey to play.
How Sports Betting Championships work
The DraftKings Fall Sports Betting Spring Championship and National Championships are expected to be four-day events.
Entrants take a set bankroll to start with (taken from their entry fee), which they then use to bet on eligible sports games. The player who has the highest bankroll after all bets settle takes home the top prize.
All participants get to go home with their final bankroll and the top 25 finishers earn additional leaderboard prizes. Here’s a sample payout schedule for the DraftKings Sports Betting Fall Championship:
- 1st: $500,000
- 2nd: $250,200
- 3rd: $150,120
- 4th: $100,080
- 5th: $75,060
- 6th-7th: $50,040
- 8th-10th place: $35,028
- 11th-15th place: $20,016
- 16th-20th place: $14,011.20
- 21st-25th place: $10,008
Please note: The above pay table is based on an estimated 535 entrants. If the number of entrants is more than that, the payout amounts will increase accordingly. The number of paid places on the leaderboard may rise as well.
DraftKings Sports Betting Championship rules
Rules for the DraftKings Sports Betting Championships will entail:
- Single-Entry event: Only one entry allowed per user.
- Minimum bets: Players must wager a set amount of their bankroll across the four days of the event to be eligible for prizes.
- Eligible game only: Bets can only be on eligible games as outlined
- Prize winners: The top 25 finishers with the highest bankrolls will share the prizes on the leaderboard. All DraftKings’ Championship players get to take home their final bankroll.
- Where to play: The live event will likely be held at a sportsbook in NJ. Qualifiers are welcome to stay and place bets on-site, but they can also bet from anywhere within NJ.
How to qualify for DraftKings’ sports betting spring championship
There are two ways to be eligible for a DraftKings Sports Betting Championship.
First, players can gain entry by winning a qualifying DFS tournament on DraftKings in which the top prize is a seat at the live final, which is worth either $5,000 or $10,000.
As mentioned earlier, DFS is available for play in 40-plus states across the US. In addition to entry to the event, qualifying tournament winners receive $1,000 for travel expenses and a four-night hotel stay.
Secondly, there’s a direct buy-in option. The price tag will either be $5,000 of $10,000. If you’re interested in learning more, just email [email protected] for additional details.
DraftKings Sports Betting Fall Championship 2020
Full details haven’t been released as of yet but when the calendar turns to fall, betting on pro football and betting on college football rule the day.
The Fall Championship series is likely to be football-based although professional baseball is also running at that time.
DraftKings Sports Betting National Championship 2020
The 2020 DraftKings Championship Series will conclude with the second edition of the DraftKings Sports Betting National Championship. We’re still waiting on the details for this one as well, but here’s what we know for now:
- Winner of the Fall championship automatically qualifies.
- There are additional opportunities to qualify via DFS events.
- There will likely be a direct buy-in option for $10,000.
- The winner gets the top prize of $1 million.
We can expect a similar setup to the Fall event albeit with a larger total prize pool. The first edition of the DraftKings’ SBNC coincided with the weekend of the football divisional playoffs in 2019. It also took place in NJ.
The event attracted more than 250 participants and featured a $2.5 million guaranteed prize pool with $1 million going to the winner. Randy Lee, screen name “rleejr86,” took it down when all was said and done thanks to a correct wager on Philadelphia +8.5 points versus New Orleans.
DraftKings Sports Betting Championship FAQ
The total number of entrants for the 2020 DraftKings SBNC isn’t known yet, but we do know that there will be a $1 million top prize.
For the spring championship, the current pay table is based on 535 participants, but there could be more. The prize pool will be adjusted accordingly if that comes to pass. As of now, the top prize is $500,000 for the spring event.
Yes, in addition to potentially winning prizes, all users get to go home with their final bankroll. For example, users begin with a $2,000 bankroll at the spring championship.
Let’s say the entrant builds their bankroll up to $10,000 after the event. The total $10,000 bankroll will be theirs to keep.
The Sports Betting Spring Championship has a direct buy-in of $5,000. The fee to enter the fall championship event hasn’t been unveiled as of yet, but we anticipate it’ll be the same as the spring event.
As for the DraftKings SBNC, the direct buy-in amount is $10,000.
They are both a part of the DraftKings Championship Series, but they are separate events.
On the DFS side, players can qualify for both online and live final. For sports betting, users can be eligible either by directly buying into the event or winning a DFS contest.
The first DraftKings SBNC was in NJ during the NFL divisional playoffs in 2019. Randy Lee won and took home the top prize of $1 million as he finished with a final bankroll of $101,474.
The DFS championship events for the DraftKings Championship Series will be a combination of live and online final events. These contests will revolve around DFS for various sports, including hockey, basketball, and baseball. The sports betting championship events revolve around betting only and has specific rules to serve as a guide.
Not entirely, but a portion of the buy-in amount is used for bankroll. For example, the Sports Betting Spring Championship event has a $5,000 buy-in, which is broken down as follows: $2,000 is reserved for the bankroll, $2,800 goes toward the prize pool and $200 goes to DraftKings as an administrative fee.
Each of the DraftKings championship series sports betting live events will have a wide betting selection.
For example, the Sports Betting Spring Championship coincides with the first two rounds of March Madness, which offers 48 games. Players can also bet on NBA games throughout the event. There are 28 NBA games scheduled over those four days.
“Grading” a bet means that it must meet a few qualifying standards to be an acceptable bet.
In basketball, for example, games need to go at least 43 minutes to be officially graded. Total points/win bets also include overtimes, etc.
DraftKings uses a third-party operator for the grading of bets at sports betting championship events. The wagers are graded at an event or market level. All contestants are subject to the same grading rules for each of their bets.