After the launch of the Racing Substitute for Draftstars racing contests, it was time that we brought the Substitute to fantasy sports. “The Sub” is now available for NBA, EPL, AFL, NRL, Cricket and now Golf contests on Draftstars. Future sports such as MLB and NFL to shortly follow after.
One of the biggest gripes of fantasy sports, especially when competing in all-day contests, is when a player you have rostered is no longer going to participate in a match. Whilst you could swap this affected player using ‘Player Swap’ pre-match, for most users they do not have the time or were simply unaware of the circumstances. Especially when news breaks literally minutes before a match is set to begin.
The objective of “The Sub” is to provide an automatic alternative player that can be subbed into your Draftstars lineup in the event of a player who is OUT in your lineup. “The Sub” can be provided as long there is a suitable alternative under the following criteria:
- Sub player is the same or under the salary of the OUT player.
- Sub player is in the same team as the player who is OUT.
- Sub player shares the same position as the player who is OUT.
- Sub player is available to be subbed and is not rostered in the original lineup.
- If no players are available who fit the above the criteria, then no sub will occur.
Let’s look at some examples.
Player has Jarrett Allen ($16,970 Centre) selected in the Centre position for the Cleveland Cavs. In the event of Allen being ruled out due to injury/illness before the start of his match, Draftstars users can use ‘Player Swap’ to available players who have not started their match. Options can include Bam Adebayo, Chet Holmgren etc.
With “The Sub”, if you are unable to access Player Swap in time then once the match starts, your entry with Jarrett Allen will be subbed to Evan Mobley. Why Mobley?
- Allen’s $16,970 salary is higher than Mobley’s $14,220
- Allen and Mobley play for the same team (Cleveland Cavs)
- Allen plays and was selected in the C position. Mobley plays in the Centre and Power Forward positions and if not already selected in your lineup, then you will receive Mobley as the sub.
Users will be able to see “The Sub” player with the Blue SUB icon (same as the racing substitute) on each affected lineup on the leaderboard.
Another example but this time with two affected players.
Both Green Bay Packers players Aaron Jones ($13,360 Running Back) and Christian Watson ($9,320 Wide Receiver) were questionable players before an NFL contest and subsequently ruled out before the game started. Users still have the option to edit their teams or use Player Swap for bulk removal of these players before the start of the contest. But again, if a Draftstars user did not have the opportunity to swap then “The Sub” will kick in when the game starts.
- Aaron Jones was subbed to Green Bay Running Back AJ Dillion ($9,900). Christian Watson was subbed to Green Bay Wide Receiver Dontayvion Wicks ($7,420).
What happens when there are multiple options to choose from, especially minimum salary options?
If you have a player who is out and there are more than two options to select from then the following will occur:
- “The Sub” will select a player with the lower Draftstars ID number. How to know who has a lower Draftstars ID? You can tell by the order of selection on the Playerboard. The higher the player on the Playerboard with the same salary, the lower the ID number. In this example, Tyrod Taylor (ID: 23) has a lower ID than fellow NYG Quarterback Matt Barkley (ID:2100). Taylor is higher up on the Playerboard than Barkley. Even Daniel Jones’ ID is higher at 5202. So if you had Daniel Jones, the Sub will go to Tyrod Taylor.
- If you have Gary Payton (PG $6,000) in your lineup, then out of the two choices at $6,000 in the PG position for the Warriors, “The Sub” will select Cory Joseph (ID:810) over Lester Quinones (ID: 22964).
Why do I still have a OUT label next to my player and game has already started?
There could be a few reasons here and likely they are going to be out of your control.
- “The Sub” didn’t have anyone to select as the criteria was exhausted.
The criteria are here so that no lineup rules are broken, such as the amount of players from the same team and/or maximum players from one match. So, you may see other players from other teams available, but you need players from the same team for “The Sub” to work. This is important because we can see the potential for manipulation of the Sub without these team/player maximum rules. Below is an example where Jack Wood did not have anyone to swap into from the Brisbane Heat.
- The timing of the OUT label from the statistical provider.
Have you ever sat down to watch a game and heard that a player did a hamstring in the warm-up? That happens, but sometimes the news was too late for everyone. The match could be 5 minutes in, before the player is officially confirmed as OUT. We do two checks to substitute players, once when the match goes into live, and another at the completion of the match. However, we do not apply “The Sub” to players who were DNP (Did not Play) but were available to play, or to players who started, accrue Draftstars points and were injured during the contest.
NBA Specific Rules
- Players who did the Tony Snell and simply did cardio will not be Subbed at the end of the contest. That is on you for picking him to run laps up and down the court.
- Players who are DNP-CD will not be subbed. If you were originally subbed to a player who ended up a DNP-CD and failed to score points or make the court, unfortunately we cannot make any further changes.
Cricket Specific Rules
- If you have rostered a dual position player (All-Rounder), in an event of a swap, the player will be subbed from the position that was rostered. Example, if Mitch Marsh (BAT/BOWL) was rostered in the BOWL position, then only BOWL & BAT/BOWL options will be available to swap to.
- In IPL, if a player is named in the original 11 players but was substituted half way through the match without scoring Draftstars points, the Sub will not occur.
- In IPL, if you rostered a Substitute and the player was not substituted into the match, the Sub will not occur.
AFL Specific Rules
- Players rostered as the 23rd player (Substitute) will not be swapped. This player is an active player and has potential to score Draftstars points.
NRL Specific Rules
- Players rostered as the 18th man (Replacement) will not be swapped. This player is an active player and has potential to score Draftstars points.
Golf Specific Rules
- Golfers who are OUT prior to the Round will be substituted to the next available golfer at the same or under the salary of the original golfer.
- Golfers who are OUT during Round 1 only (without teeing-off) will be substituted to the next available golfer at the same or under the salary of the original golfer. The Sub will activate at the end of the tournament.
- Golfers who tee-off and then Withdraw or are Disqualified after their opening shot will not be substituted.
We want to stress that in an event of a known player OUT, continue to use the player swap tool in the event of a late out to your lineup. “The Sub” is now here to give assistance when you simply didn’t know what has happened to your affected player.
Draftstars The Sub. The Sub has your back when injury reports do not.
