Game Rules & Guide
Everything you need to know to play Draftkings - lineup composition, captain rules, uniqueness, scoring, prizes
In 1 contest, you can build only 1 lineup.
1. Lineup compossition
Build a team of 8 EPL players within $50,000 salary cap.
Position requirements:
UTIL slot accepts any DEF, MID, or FWD — gives you flexibility for an extra striker or midfielder.
- Total players: 8 (exactly)
- Salary cap: $50,000 total · individual salaries $4,000-$12,000 (dynamic, weekly update based on form & fixtures)
- Player pool: ~500+ EPL players
- Max 3 players from same team · diversity rule
- Selection: any player you can afford within budget
2. Pick Captain (OPTIONAL)
OPTIONAL — pick a star player for 2× points · costs 2× salary in budget.
🎯 The captain trade-off:
Captain is the "Rising star" — your star of hope. If they perform, they DOUBLE your points. But to balance this advantage, their salary is also DOUBLED in your $50K budget.
It's a strategic choice — not required. You can submit lineup without captain.
- OPTIONAL — submit allowed with or without captain
- Pick 1 player from your 8 as captain (optional)
- Captain bonus: all points scored × 2.0 (was 1.5× before · now 2×)
- Captain salary cost: player's base salary × 2.0 — counted in your $50,000 budget
- No captain = simpler · keep more budget for higher-quality 8 players
🎯 Example scenarios:
Scenario A: Pick Salah as captain
- Salah base salary: $11,200
- As captain: counts as $22,400 in your $50K budget
- Remaining for other 7 players: $50,000 − $22,400 = $27,600
- If Salah scores 2 goals + 1 assist = 15 base pts → ×2 = 30 captain pts
- Net advantage vs no-captain: +15 pts (but only if he performs)
- Risk: if Salah DNPs (didn't play), captain bonus = 0 AND you wasted $11.2K of budget capacity
Scenario B: No captain (skip)
- All 8 players at base salary
- Total: ~$50K spread across 8 players
- Higher-quality 8 (better balance · more value picks)
- Each player at base × 1.0 points
- Lower ceiling but lower variance · "safe play"
⚠️ Important:
- Captain ×2 also applies to negative points (yellow card · red card · own goal). Risky pick = double risk.
- Captain choice does NOT count toward Lineup Uniqueness rule (see section 3) — same 8 players + different captain = STILL duplicate · STILL blocked
- Strategy: pick captain only if you have high confidence in their performance (form, fixture, on-field role)