CS:GO Daily Fantasy Helper: ESL Pro League, Road to Rio, Tuesday 5/12/20

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 America, 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 best-of-three, and players will receive a bonus for completing a 2-0 sweep.

MVP Consideration

Maka, Team Heretics ($11,200)

Heretics come in as slight favorites -- nothing overwhelming -- in this match against Team North, and that could mean a full three maps. If that is going to be the case, we want to pay up for one of the top stars in this series, Maka. He played 18 maps during the group stage of this event, comes in with a +78 kill-to-death differential, 0.79 kills per round -- the third-highest in the league -- and a kill or an assist (KAST) in 71.0% of his rounds.

Maka averaged 20.8 kills per map -- over the 18 maps he's played -- and holds the third-best 'Rating 2.0' at 1.24. He has been the best player for Team Heretics and it's by a wide margin -- making him the clear star of the team. As noted, he had a +78 differential, while the second-highest on his team held a +33 kill-to-death differential. If they are putting him a spot to carry the team, we want to grab all of those fantasy points, especially if he is in the MVP spot.

ZywOo, Team Vitality ($12,100)

I've said this before, but I'll say it again -- ZywOo is arguably the best or second-best player in the world and you don't want to pass on him. ZywOo and Team Vitality are the favorites in this series, but they aren't likely to pick up the sweep -- they are facing a tough GODSENT team. ZywOo averaged 21.8 kills over the 17 maps he played during the group stage and held a +102 kill-to-death differential.

To say ZywOo is the best player on his team -- would be a vast understatement. That +102 differential is the highest on his team, with the second-highest player sitting at -30. Yes, you read that correctly. ZywOo is all the way up at +102 kill differential and there isn't anyone even close to him. The upside he brings from pure kills is essentially unmatched on this slate, and he makes a clear option for the MVP spot.

Players

JW, Fnatic ($10,800)

Fnatic are the largest favorite on the slate and we could be in for a 2-0 sweep, granting bonus points for their players. This shouldn't come as too much of a surprise -- they are the 2nd-ranked team in the world and their opponent, Movistar Riders, are ranked 37th. The idea of stacking a few Fnatic players today should be somewhat popular, but it comes down to how many you can afford. Three players are over $11K, and only one player is under $10K. The player under $10K is Golden -- who isn't known as a heavy fragger -- and has limited kill upside.

That leaves JW at $10.8K as an all-around strong choice due to his price and potential upside. He played 19 maps during the group stage, averaging 21.5 kills per map -- with a high of 34 kills and a low of 11. He posted 11 kills on two separate maps, but outside of those two maps, he was one of the most consistent players in the league.

STYKO, GODSENT ($9,900)

STYKO and GODSENT finished with a 4-3 match record and a round record of 224-225. They play a ton of rounds and don't/can't end maps quickly -- even in a victory. This could be both good and bad, but extra rounds mean more chances at fantasy points and that is what we are all after. GODSENT are the underdogs versus Team Vitality -- but as noted -- they could play a ton of rounds in a losing effort.

STYKO averaged 19 kills per map, had the highest kill-to-death differential on his team, and held a 52.5% HeadShot percentage. He posted 15 kills or more on 15 of his 17 maps, but only hit 30 kills one time. A classic case of a player having a strong floor of points, but a somewhat limited ceiling.

sergej, Ence ($9,600)

sergej offers a bit of salary relief -- which is always needed when you want to pay for the top stars. Ence are a good, but not great, team and the same can be said for sergej -- good, but not great. He averaged 18.8 kills per map over 18 maps during the group stage -- and hit 30 kills twice.

You shouldn't look to roster him for his ceiling -- there really isn't one -- but he offers a solid floor at an affordable price tag. He holds a 61.1% HS%, which was the second-highest through the entire group stage -- a nice boost to his floor of points.

Team

Ence ($6,300)

Ence come in as the favorites versus the Copenhagen Flames and sit with a reasonable price tag. Spending for two players over $11K is a great idea, but that means you have to find every dollar of savings you possibly can. Both Fnatic and Team Vitality are more expensive than Ence -- they are both great options, but the salary is a bit much.

They won two of their final three matches to close out the group stage and have posted 47 FanDuel points or more in three of their last five outings.