As fans begin their journey into fantasy OWL leagues for the very first time, it is absolutely pivotal they look at player rankings before the draft. In the DraftBuff app, you can prep for your draft by taking a look at where players rank, according to last years points totals. In the first couple rounds, it’s incredibly important to take one of the top players in high scoring positions.

But every draft season, there are a few players that will be extremely disappointing. Unfortunately every year, one team in your league will be plagued by a bust. In a game of inches, rather decimals, it’s all about minimizing the poor draft picks and getting maximum value from those early picks.

What Defines a “Bust”?

In fantasy drafts, it is common for people to draft players generally in order depending on their overall rank.

Currently on DraftBuff, a realistic start to any draft would consist of the first 5 teams drafting the top 5 flex supports in the league. If one of those early picks performs poorly, then that pick is regarded as a bust. Some picks may not pan out later in the draft, but it’s the difference in draft capital that determines a true bust.

Consider this – in your league you draft Joon-yeong “Profit” Park with your first pick overall. With that pick, you expect him to perform like a top 5 DPS. However, say something happens where Profit ends up getting benched, now you have wasted your first-round pick on a bench player. Profit is a bust for the season. The same idea goes for a top-10 pick – if they perform far worse than their draft rank, they’ll be considered a bust.

DPS

Josue “Eqo” Corona, Philadelphia Fusion

Position Rank:9th

Overall Rank: 29th

As mentioned in the piece about sleeper picks, a talented player on a good team is going to produce great fantasy results. However, when that good team has multiple players that can fill the same role, there could be an issue with playtime. Eqo may be in the top 10 DPS from last season, but going forward it’ll be tough to expect the same numbers. Unfortunately for Eqo, he will most likely be sharing time with Seung-hyun “Ivy” Lee. Any time players split time, both players suffer in a fantasy-sense. Without a definite starting spot, don’t expect Eqo to put up top 10 numbers, even in the flex position.

Gil-seong “Glister” Lim, London Spitfire

Position Rank: 12th

Overall Rank: 41st

The Spitfire rookie comes into the league with gigantic expectations, but hype can often be misleading in fantasy. Glister can easily be a great second DPS on your team, but there is a lot that needs to go right for that to be true. If the team around Glister doesn’t click and London struggles, Glister’s fantasy season will struggle as well. The cards are pretty stacked against his fantasy performance as a whole, and it’ll be up to Glister’s ability to hard carry this team in order to be worthy of that 12th DPS rank.

Supports

Hui-chang “BeBe” Yoon, Hangzhou Spark

Position Rank: 5th

Overall Rank: 5th

In a similar situation as Eqo, BeBe has the luxury of being on a strong team, but will need to battle for the starting spot. After the recent signing of Tong “Coldest” Xiaodong, there is a bit of a doubt about who may be seeing play during the 2020 season. If BeBe does remain the starter, he could still be a quality start for fantasy lineups. The biggest reason he serves as a bust candidate is his extremely high draft ranking. At 5th overall, BeBe needs to deliver a top 10 result for the majority of the season. With an extremely difficult schedule and a potential time-share at the flex support spot, BeBe will have a tough time recreating last year’s fantasy performance.

Min-seok “AimGod” Kwon, Washington Justice

Position Rank: 9th

Overall Rank: 13th

Looking at the criteria for what could lead to a potential bust, there isn’t much going against AimGod. He has shown his mechanical skills with Boston, and there isn’t any backup on the Justice waiting to take his spot. What AimGod does have to overcome is his questionable team. No doubt the Justice DPS line with Corey “Corey” Nigra and Ethan “Stratus” Yankel is talented, but the front line is what may create issues for AimGod. If Washington’s tank line can’t protect AimGod, or fail to create enough space for him to work, AimGod won’t be able to hold onto that 9 spot for long.

Tanks

Jun-woo “Void” Kang, Shanghai Dragons

Position Rank: 6th

Overall Rank: 24th

Another player on a new team, Void ranks highly in a talent-filled flex tank spot. Coming in at 24th overall, Void has a large uphill battle to maintain his preseason draft rank. Void’s talent as a flex tank has been debated a bit, but Shanghai’s roster has no shortage of star players. In fact, with both Byung-sun “Fleta” Kim and Jin-hyeok “DDing” Yang leading the DPS, Void may find himself in some sticky situations in order to get those playmakers some space. Oh, and Shanghai also has Min-seong “diem” Bae as well, who is ready to steal the show as well. It appears as though Void may be one of the few flex tanks that may not shine in a Sigma meta, but only time will tell.

Lucas “NotE” Meissner, Dallas Fuel

Position Rank: 9th

Overall Rank: 27th

Despite being reunited with tank bestie Young-jin “Gamsu” Noh, it would be quite the surprise if NotE ended the season as a top-10 flex tank. Despite having 3 homestands, Dallas’ schedule is going to be quite difficult thanks to the strength of the Pacific Division. Playing against top teams, with a character he’s not as great on, NotE may find himself failing to make an impact in fantasy lineups. While the Canadian flex tank could finish within the top 15 flex tanks, do not make the mistake of relying on NotE to carry your team in the tank slot.

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