A showdown slate covers one game. DraftKings calls it Showdown (Captain Mode) and FanDuel calls it Single-game. Both use a six-player roster where one seat, CPT on DraftKings and MVP on FanDuel, scores 1.5 times the player's points and costs 1.5 times the player's salary. DFS Hero opens these slates in the same workspace as a classic slate. This guide covers what differs.
Before you start
- Check that your sport has a showdown format on your site. See Supported sports and sites.
- Know the classic Player Pool. See Read the player grid.
Step by step
- On the Day View, find the slate whose format reads Showdown. Its name is the matchup. Type the matchup or "showdown" in the search box to find it fast. Click Open.
- Read the Player Pool. Every player has two rows: the base row with the normal salary and projection, and the CPT or MVP row at 1.5 times both.
- Click the CPTN tab on DraftKings, or the MVP tab on FanDuel, to see only the captain rows.
- Click UTIL to see the base rows. On DraftKings NFL, NHL, and soccer this tab is FLEX.
- Lock or exclude a player on either row. A lock on the captain row makes the player the captain. A lock on the base row puts the player in a normal seat.
- Click Build, then click Stacks. The tab holds Showdown Distribution. Tick a split and set its Exp % to control how many lineups take that many players from each team.
- Click Build. The lineups show the captain seat first, then the five other seats.
The position tabs
DraftKings shows ALL, CPTN, UTIL (or FLEX on NFL, NHL, and soccer), then the sport's positions. FanDuel shows ALL, MVP, UTIL, then the positions. Golf showdown on DraftKings shows ALL only, because it has no captain.
What changes from a classic slate
| Surface | Showdown and single-game | Classic |
|---|---|---|
| Player Pool rows | Two rows per player: the base row and the CPT or MVP row. | One row per player. |
| Build Settings tabs | Basic, Exposure, Stacks, Groups, Sim, Templates. | Adds Min/Max on team sports. |
| Stacks tab | Showdown Distribution: the team splits 5-1, 4-2, 3-3, 2-4, 1-5 with an Exp % each. | Position Stack, Team Stack, or Quick Stack rules by sport. |
| Sport Rules | NFL and CFB add 1 RB Per Team. | The full rule set of the sport. |
| Late Swap | Not available. | Available on supported sports. |
| Team limit | Max 5 per team on every showdown roster. | The site's classic limit. |
How it works
A lock, an exclude, or an exposure limit on the CPT row applies to the player as a captain. The same setting on the base row applies to the player in a normal seat.
A My Proj edit is different: it changes both rows. The captain seat scores 1.5 times the base projection, so a number typed on the base row sets the CPT or MVP row to 1.5 times that number, and a number typed on the captain row sets the base row to that number divided by 1.5. See Projections and ownership.
The captain seat accepts any position in the game's pool. A captain never also fills a flex seat in the same lineup. Two lineups with the same six players but a different captain count as two different lineups, 1 unique player apart for Min Unique Players. See Basic tab.
The Showdown Distribution splits replace team stacks. A 5-1 split means five players from one team and one from the other. Tick the splits you want and give each an Exp %. The build spreads the pool across the ticked splits in those proportions. See Stacks tab.
The Value and Optimal columns score the captain row on its own. A player's captain row often has a lower Optimal than the base row, because the optimizer only pays the 1.5x salary when the extra points are worth it. Compare the two rows for each player before you lock one in as captain.
Exceptions to the two-row rule: F1 and LOL on DraftKings and MMA on FanDuel carry a captain seat in the classic format, so their Player Pool shows captain rows too. Golf showdown on DraftKings has six equal seats and one row per golfer.
Tips
- Filter to CPTN or MVP and sort by Optimal to see which captains the optimizer favors. The gap between the captain row and the base row tells you how often the 1.5x price is worth paying.
- Lock the captain row of your favorite pivot in a small pool, then set the base row's Max Exp to 0%. Every lineup with that player then has him as captain.
- Use the 4-2 and 3-3 splits on close games and the 5-1 split on a big favorite. The two implied totals on the game card in the Games strip tell you which game you have: a wide gap between them is a big favorite.
- A kicker or a defense is a cheap flex seat on DraftKings NFL showdown. The K and DST tabs put them one click away.
- Simulate before you fill. Showdown contests are top-heavy, and the captain choice drives most of the variance. See Run your first sim.
Troubleshooting
"One team's roster hasn't loaded yet on DraftKings. The build runs on what's available now." : the site published one team's players before the other. Rebuild once both teams show in the Player Pool.
"Building isn't supported for this sport/site yet." : the sport has no showdown roster on this site. See Supported sports and sites.
"Stacking is not available for GOLF." : golf showdown has no team stacks.
"Couldn't build a valid lineup with these settings. Your locks, filters, stacks, or salary range may be too strict for this slate. Loosen them and rebuild." : a showdown pool is small, so a few locks fill the roster fast. Clear a lock or a split and rebuild. See Build problems.
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