UPDATE: 7,964 DraftKings Sportsbook users won $126 each in bonus bets by picking Pete Crow-Armstrong, Seyia Suzuki, and Dansby Swanson as Friday’s King of the Diamond! Congratulations to the lucky winners.
King of the Diamond is back for Friday’s slate! Learn how the contest works, how to get in on it, and track leaders right up until we crown our winner(s).
How to Play King of the Diamond on DraftKings Sportsbook
King of the Diamond requires bettors to use a token on a pre-game parlay that must include a player to hit a home run. Same Game Parlays (SGP), SGPx and parlays are the eligible bet types. Whichever parlay form a bettor chooses must have 2-5 legs.
Any game that starts before 6 p.m. ET on the slated day will not be eligible for the King of the Diamond promotion. There is not an odds minimum. Unless using a boosted token, the bet minimum is $5.
The King (or kings) of the Diamond is decided based on the highest scoring team of the slated night. For example, suppose the Los Angeles Dodgers are the highest scoring team, and Shohei Ohtani hits a home run. In that case, all bettors who entered Ohtani to hit a home run in their eligible parlay and opted in to the contest will share in a $1 million prize pool.
The player only needs to hit one home run to qualify for a share of the prize pool. For example, if another Dodger hit two home runs and the Dodgers are the high scorers of the night, Ohtani still qualifies as the King of the Diamond. If two or more teams tie for the highest scoring team, all batters on those teams who hit home runs would qualify. For more on tiebreaker scenarios and eligible bets, refer to this article.
Update: 1:17 a.m. ET
The Mets made things interesting by tying the game in the ninth vs. the Dodgers, but Los Angeles would ultimately win 7-5, thus making the Cubs the highest scoring team on the night.
Pete Crow-Armstrong, Seiya Suzuki and Dansby Swanson all hit homers for Chicago in their 13-run performance, making them your three Kings of the Diamond for Friday’s slate.
Check back in next Friday, May 31st, for the next King of the Diamond Slate!
Update: 11:05 p.m. ET
As the games tick away, the Cubs look more and more like our winners. The Mariners wrapped up a 5-3 victory over the Astros, and the Rockies somehow pulled off a 3-2 win over the Yankees. That leaves three games left on the board.
The Dodgers remain up 5-2 over the Mets going into the eighth inning. Barring a massive late-inning explosion, they look unlikely to overtake the Cubs. Another Los Angeles team, the Angels, has a three-run lead. But with only three runs going into the sixth inning, they are also unlikely. One team got off to an excellent start with this leadoff home run:
…but now we’re into the fifth inning, and that game remains 1-0. So here’s the scenario for our leaders. The Dodgers need eight runs in two innings. The Angels need 10 runs in three innings. And the Phillies need 12 runs in five innings. All of this adds up to a Cubs night, and a trio of winners in Dansby Swanson, Pete Crow-Armstrong, and Seiya Suzuki.
Update: 10:31 p.m. ET
More final scores to report. The Cubs ended up as 13-6 victors, adding no additional runs and setting the mark to beat. The Pirates came back to win 6-5 in extras over the Brewers, taking both teams off the board. The White Sox won 4-1 and the Twins won 3-1, taking six more teams off the board.
Looking at the ongoing games, the Dodgers are up 5-2 on the Mets in the fifth and have the firepower to take it up a notch. Seattle is up 5-3 on Houston in the 8th, but chances seem slim. We’ll keep you updated as the schedule winds down.
Update: 10:05 p.m. ET
Sir, another Cub has gone deep. Dansby Swanson makes three:
This lead is climbing towards insurmountable. The Cubs are nine runs up on the next highest scoring team with a home run, and are running away with this. Swanson/Suzuki/PCA bettors, don’t count your chickens just yet, but they appear likely to hatch.
Update: 9:52 p.m. ET
The Cubs lead grows, and another slugger enters the King of the Diamond leader circle.
Seiya Suzuki and Pete Crow-Armstrong are the heavy favorites to win tonight’s contest. Unless the Reds can rack up five runs in the bottom of the ninth (with a home run), the Cubs are well in the lead, and no other team is within six runs of catching them.
Update: 9:40 p.m. ET
Our first wave of final scores is rolling in. The San Francisco Giants beat the Washington Nationals 4-0 and are off the board. Ditto for the Tampa Bay Rays and Cleveland Guardians with 3-1 victories.
The Brewers are up on the Pirates 4-3 in the ninth, but it would take a minor miracle for either team to reach eight runs. The same can be said for the Padres, who are up 2-1 on the Braves in the ninth. Most games on the board are relatively low-scoring, so things look excellent for all you PCA home run bettors.
Update: 9:15 p.m. ET
Take a bow, Pete Crow-Armstrong. After his two-run home run in the fourth inning put the Cubs on the board, this grand slam put them ahead:
PCA punctuated a six-run inning for the Cubs, who now lead 8-6 in Cincinnati. Chicago is now five runs clear of any other home-run hitting team on the board, putting Crow-Armstrong firmly in the lead for tonight’s King of the Diamond. We will update you if anyone begins to close that gap, or if the Cubs extend it.
Update: 8:43 p.m. ET
It’s home runs galore tonight. First, Minnesota Twins shortstop sent this one out:
Then the newest Seattle Mariner, Leody Taveras, crushed a ball to right field to open the scoring in Houston:
Meanwhile in Detroit, the Spencer Torkelson breakout campaign continues with this rocket over the left-field bullpen:
All of these teams remain at one run, so they only merit keeping an eye on at the moment. Elsewhere on the board, the Cincinnati Reds have gotten up to six runs, but no dingers yet. The Brewers and White Sox are up to three apiece and homerless. That means that, for now, the Tampa Bay Rays hold steady in the lead with three runs, all via the long ball.
Update: 8:18 p.m. ET
More home runs on the board for the Tampa Bay Rays. Third baseman Curtis Mead went yard for the second straight day, launching a ball to left field.
Though the Cincinnati Reds have the most runs on the board, they have yet to hit a home run, making the Rays the current leaders. Looking elsewhere at teams with home runs, the Cubs have two on the board, the Pirates have two, and one run apiece for the Padres and the Braves.
Update: 7:57 p.m. ET
Surprise, surprise. Pete Crow-Armstrong has done it again with what may be his most impressive home run of the season.
One thing is taking a 100 MPH fastball from Reds ace Hunter Greene and making contact. Turning it into a 410-foot homer is another. PCA is an unreal player, and that was an unreal swing. If the Cubs can pile on runs like usual, he may be a strong candidate for King of the Diamond.
Update: 7:41 p.m. ET
Now the home runs are rolling in. As if Ronald Acuña Jr.’s 115.5 MPH homer wasn’t demolished hard enough, Oneil Cruz had to one-up him:
That blast gave the Pirates a lead and tied them on the leaderboard. Meanwhile, in Atlanta, this impressive blast tied the game:
Lefty on lefty against Braves ace Chris Sale, powered 406 feet the other way to left center field? That’s an impressive swing from Gavin Sheets. It’s a muscle-flexing contest in the early going for long home runs. Tampa Bay Rays slugger Brandon Lowe got in on the party as well:
We’ll keep you apprised of all homer-ings as the night rolls on.
Update: 7:26 p.m. ET
The Cincinnati Reds aren’t the only Ohio team having a productive first inning. The Cleveland Guardians scored a pair of runs in the first inning, keyed by this triple off the bat of José Ramírez:
Then Ronald Acuña Jr., in his first at-bat of the season after a lengthy rehab, did this:
That makes Acuña Jr. our first home run hitter of the night and the first leader for King of the Diamond. Stay tuned as the night unfolds!
Update: 7:00 p.m. ET
We have our first runs on the board! This is how the Cincinnati Reds started off the bottom of the first inning: double, single, single, single, double, walk. It was certainly not what Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Matthew Boyd had in mind.
Though there haven’t been any home runs, sending eight men to the plate in the first inning and racking up three runs is a great way to put yourself in contention for King of the Diamond. All it takes is one more sweet swing of the bat.
Stay Tuned Here!
The King of the Diamond slate begins with the Cubs-Reds and Brewers-Pirates games at 6:40 p.m. Eastern Time. Check back here for updates throughout the Friday, May 23, slate!
Go here to check out Zach Thompson’s home run prop picks for tonight.
Last King of the Diamond
Pedro Pagés was the DraftKings King of the Diamond for 5/19! 12 DraftKings Sportsbook users who picked him each received an $83,333 bonus bet.
We’ll post updates here throughout the evening as the King of the Diamond race heats up!
