AlphaDraft Review
AlphaDraft Review – Introduction:
AlphaDraft formed in May 2014 and are based in New York. They became the first fully fledged fantasy esports platform and received $5million in investment to launch their business. This came around the same time that Vulcun, who no longer operate daily fantasy esports, received a $12m cash injection. One of the investment groups involved with AlphaDraft at the time was Melo7 Tech Partners, owned by Knicks superstar Carmelo Anthony and NBA commissioner David Stern.
In 2015 AlphaDraft grew its user base and was soon sold to FanDuel for an undisclosed fee estimated to be between $10-20m. AlphaDraft offers various fantasy esports including daily fantasy CSGO.
AlphaDraft shut in 2017.
Reputation and Reliability:
AlphaDraft has been involved in some grass roots initiatives including the AlphaDraft Challenger League in League of Legends with a $12,500 prize pot. They also sponsor several high profile Esports celebrities such as Duncan “Thorin” Shields.
As a result of their involvement in the community they’ve been accepted as one of the most reputable Esports fantasy brands by gamers. We’ve not heard nor seen of any issues with AlphaDraft from users or prominent figures in the industry. Their acquisition by FanDuel means they are now owned by one of the two leading daily fantasy companies, so there’s little concern about their reputation.
There are legal issues which you are likely to be aware of surrounding not just AlphaDraft but all daily fantasy sites. Nevada, New York and Illinois have all put heavy restrictions on fantasy sites as they see it as gambling, not skill based gaming which is legal in the US. This has caused the likes of AlphaDraft to cease trading in these states as opposed to risk the repercussions. We don’t see this issue going away any time soon and fully expect more states to join the bandwagon. We recommend keeping an eye on the gaming press to see whether your state is affected but generally if it is the site will refund your money and close your account.
AlphaDraft – CSGO Betting:
AlphaDraft offer traditional daily fantasy tournaments such as Tournament, 50/50, Booster and winner takes all. They offer all the major events as well as many online leagues. Each competitor selects a squad of players, with a salary cap, and are awarded points based on their players’ performance. The competitor who selects the best performing team wins. Therefore, you’re playing against other people rather than against AlphaDraft itself.
AlphaDraft – eSports history:
As mentioned above AlphaDraft have engaged with the community. Unlike their rivals they’ve given back to the community with prize money for amateur tournaments. On top of this they sponsor several top Esports teams, such as Team Dignitas, and continue to pump money into the scene for which we’ve grateful!
Payment Options:
AlphaDraft allow you to deposit using all major credit cards. They also let you use PayPal, which not all daily fantasy sports sites do. If you don’t want AlphaDraft coming up on your bank statement you can just use PayPal and not need to worry.
Withdrawals take 4-7 days after being requested which is pretty quick. There is a minimum withdrawal amount of $10. Currently you can only withdraw via PayPal.
Customer Support:
AlphaDraft only offers a support email for you to contact them. We think this is very poor. There is not even a phone number to call in an emergency. Fortunately, they are trustworthy, but we believe all sites should offer a phone number. There’s also no live chat which is our preferred contact method.
Website & Betting Options:
Let’s get to the juicy part of AlphaDraft, tournaments! Here you have several different types of tournament you can enter. The basic premise is that you are selecting a team of players who you believe will do well in a certain match or tournament. In CSGO you must select 6 players with a total salary cap of $50,000. As you’d expect the very best players have the highest salaries, so pick wisely. The skill is in identifying a combination of players who are undervalued and will perform better than their salary, whilst also including some big hitters who will rack up the majority of your points.
You accumulate points based on in-game performances as such:
Kill: +2 points
Assist: +1 Point
Death: -1 Point
3K: +1 Point
4K: +2 Points
5K: +3 Points
Bomb Plant: +1 Point
Bomb Defuse: +2 Points
Round Won: +1 Point
Round Lost: -1 Point
If you weren’t sure, a 3K is where a player gets three kills in a round, and so forth.
There are multiple different game types that you can play depending on your preferences:
Tournament: the traditional fantasy tournament that allows you to enter tournaments with guaranteed prize pots much like poker. Also like poker, prize money is split based on the amount of entrants with the winner getting the lion’s share.
50/50: Half the entrants win, and half lose. If you’re risk averse or confident that you can pick a solid side but perhaps not one that can win outright, this could be good for you.
Booster: These tournaments have a predetermined booster amount attached to them. It might be 2 times, 4 times, 10 times. If you deposit and play with $10 into a 4x tournament, you’ll get 4 times your initial investment back if you win. A set amount of players will win which usually increases your chances compared to playing a standard tournament.
Winner takes all: High risk, but high reward. As the name suggests, there’s only one winner. If you pick correctly it could be you!
Sports Markets:
AlphaDraft solely offers daily fantasy esports, so other sports are not available. You can take part in League of Legends fantasy games if you wish.
Other Products:
AlphaDraft doesn’t offer any other products. This is because things such as traditional sports betting and online casino are illegal in the USA.
Verdict:
Unfortunately, AlphaDraft has closed.
