CS:GO Daily Fantasy Helper: ESL Pro League, Road to Rio, Thursday 4/23/20

With traditional sports on hold for now, esports has taken the front seat in DFS, and we now have Counter-Strike: Global Offensive to play on FanDuel. Affectionately known as CS:GO, two teams of five players compete on each map until one team reaches 16 rounds. Most series are played as a best-of-three and will feature teams from the ESL Pro League in North American, South America, and Europe.

If you are new to esports DFS or CS:GO DFS, take a look at the introduction piece with a rundown of format and scoring. All matches are a best-of-three and players will receive a bonus for completing a 2-0 sweep.

MVP Considerations

EliGE, Team Liquid ($11,600)

If you are new to CS:GO, some of it can be a bit subjective when looking at players and matchups. It could be somewhat similar to PGA, as we know these are the top players in the world but can have up and down events. One player who is near the top in nearly all areas is EliGE from Team Liquid. He is coming off a massive performance at the North American ESL Pro League.

Over the 16 maps he played, he piled up 370 kills -- good for an average of 23 per map -- firmly putting him in the elite level of players. He had a low of 14 kills and a high of 37, which is flat out nutty. In this tournament, 50% of his kills were headshots (HS) -- grabbing the 0.2 bonus points per HS -- and he ended with a kill or an assist (KAST) in 70.2% of the rounds. He is a true star and worthy of the MVP spot today, since Team Liquid could also pick up the 2-0 sweep.

Players

zehN, Godsent ($9,600)

A few of the matchups on the slate could be 2-0 sweeps, but the G2 Esports versus Godsent could be one of the few that go to all three maps. G2 are the 5th-ranked team in the world, while Godsent are the 18th team. Much closer than let's say MIBR (15th) versus Yeah Gaming (58th). We should be looking for some series that go to all three maps, though, so players can rack up maximum points. zehN is the most expensive player on Godsent and is coming off a good ESL Pro League.

He only played 11 maps in that event and ended the event much stronger than he started it. Over his first six maps, he was held under 10 kills twice. But over the last five maps, he had 17 kills or more in every single one. The team didn't move on to the playoffs, but he had a good personal stretch to end things. He posted a HS% of 43% in that event, along with a 66.8% KAST. He's a strong mid-range player today, who could be going to all three maps.

fer, MIBR ($9,300)

As noted right above, MIBR are in a bit of lopsided matchup today, and they are heavy favorites. We know if they pull off the 2-0 sweep, they grab the bonus points, so it's a good idea to stack a few of the MIBR players. Also, it helps that they are very, very affordable tonight. Every player is under $10K and grabbing two or three of them is very realistic when it comes to your lineup construction.

fer had a super strong event at the Flashpoint Season 1, playing 28 maps and averaging 20 kills per map, along with a 74% KAST. Those are strong numbers every round, which led to him carrying a 1.20 kill to death ratio for the event and finishing with the fourth-highest kill differential. MIBR are really shaping up to be a very popular team tonight due to their cheaper than expected prices and the consistency their players bring.

VINI, FURIA Esports ($9,700)

VINI is a boom or bust player, but that can be something to embrace for tournaments. For the North American ESL Pro League, he only averaged 14 kills per map over an 18-map sample. That essentially puts him as a support type player on his team, and he will be a secondary option. But that should mean lower ownership -- something you should always aim for.

He has a lower kills per map average, but this doesn't mean he can't reach towards the higher end. If we look at the last 10 maps he played in that event, he had a low of only six kills, but a high of 24. That is a very wide range of outcomes, but with the price points and likely lower ownership, that's a solid combination.

Team

Team Liquid/FURIA Esports/MIBR

The three teams listed above are all heavy favorites on this slate and should be able to come away with a 2-0 sweep. These are also three of the four most expensive options for the team spot as you would assume. Going for a bit of correlation between the players you stack and their team is a good call, and it might just come down to the salary you have available.

Team Liquid are the largest favorite -- and the most expensive -- so this could put MIBR as the best point-per-dollar option on this slate, with FURIA right behind them.