CS:GO Daily Fantasy Helper: ESL Pro League, Road to Rio, Wednesday 5/6/20

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, the CIS region, 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.

This slate has a few heavy favorites on tap, which means the bonus points for a sweep are something we want to target. If you are basing things on the odds, Natus Vincere, Fnatic, and Vitality should be among the highest-owned teams -- as they are big favorites.

MVP Considerations

There are three players above $12K on this slate and they should all be in the conversation for the MVP spot tonight.

We'll start with the easy one Brollan ($12,300) who has the most kills so far in the group stage in Europe -- 354 -- which has him average 25 kills per map. Over the 14 maps he has played, he has posted under 20 kills just ONCE -- he had 18 -- and has a Headshot (HS) percentage sitting at 50.8%. He has been unbelievable so far and can be roster will full confidence.

After Brollan, we have s1mple ($12,400) and ZywOo ($12,100) -- the two best players in the world. I don't mean this as hyperbole, they are actually the two best players in the world. This is like choosing between Patrick Mahomes and Lamar Jackson in NFL DFS. They are both amazing, we know the potential fantasy points they can score and it only comes down to personal preference. There is a slight chance that Vitality goes to three maps versus ENCE -- which could bring a high ceiling for ZywOo.

If you are making one lineup it could be a coin flip decision on who to roster, but if you find some serious savings -- you could roster both in the same lineup.

Players

boombl4 ($9,300) is the cheapest player on Natus Vincere, but doesn't come in with amazing stats. While the group stage for Europe has been going on for a few weeks, the CIS region is just getting underway and we see boombl4 coming in with only four maps played. Truthfully, he hasn't been amazing in these four maps -- holding a -11 kill differential and posting over 20 kills just once. It's a small sample, so take it with a grain of salt. But, the cheaper price tag means he only needs so many points to reach value -- which can be done via the bonus points from the sweep. Na'Vi are the favorites here and you want to get some exposure to their players.

shox ($9,400) has been a pro for several years, competed as the highest levels, and is now struggling to find consistency. The 13 maps he has played in the group stage show that very clearly, but given his modest price tag, and the chance at a 2-0 sweep -- he's worth the risk today. In these 13 maps, Shox has been held under 15 kills five different times -- but has posted 20 kills or more in his three most recent maps. A very wide range of outcomes is something you want to embrace for tournaments -- and capture his potential upside.

xseveN ($9,500) started off the group stage with a rough few maps but has turned things around recent and posting solid fantasy numbers. Through his first seven maps, he was held to 11 kills or fewer three times. That's bad, really bad and there is no other way to put it. In his most recent six maps, he has posted 14 kills or more in every single one -- with 18 kills or more in three of his last four. A tough start, but ENCE are going to need him to stay in form if they want a shot to beat Vitality today.

Team

Team Vitality ($6,400)

Team Vitality are the cheapest among the teams who are heavy favorites -- which should make them highly owned. The two matchups with Virtus.pro versus Syman and Hard Legion versus Espada don't have clear favorites -- which makes rostering them in the team spot risky. Again, aiming to roster both s1mple and ZywOo in the same lineup should be a goal, and take the cheapest team among the favorites leads us to Vitality.