With the coronavirus pandemic, ESL One Cologne will not be a LAN tournament this year. That has resulted in a new multi-regional format. The Europe and North American regions begin online group action on Tuesday. With six games constituting DraftKings’ main CS:GO slate, we break down some picks to consider for Captain and the flex positions.
Set your DraftKings lineups here: CS:GO $35K Quickscope [$10K to 1st] (ESL)
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Captain
Zywoo ($15,900)
Zywoo is one of the best players in the world. With S1mple and Niko not involved on this slate, he is arguably the best player in action on Tuesday. He has consistently averaged well over 0.70 kills per round with a low death rate too. Only occasionally he has not led this Vitality team in terms of K-D. Another sterling performance is in the offing.
Others to consider: Device ($14,700)
High-priced flex options
Device ($9,800)
Astralis has made some major changes to the dynamics of their team with the acquisition of Bubzkji ($8,400). That is likely to take plenty of pressure off Device, who can now dominate the AWP without the burden of having to continually maintain a low death rate. That new aggressive style will suit Device, who is one of the best proponents of long-range weapons in professional CS:GO.
Syrson ($10,000)
BIG has had a terrific year so far. It has been so good, in fact, that BIG has risen to the top of world with their new No. 1 ranking. This tournament will be a massive test, with many of the world’s best out to reclaim that title. Syrson was a big part of that proficiency in the first half of the year. He has been averaging 0.74 kills and just 0.60 deaths in the last three months of action.
Hen1 ($9,000)
Hen1 is coming into this game on the back of a disappointing performance against Liquid, in which he had just 46 kills and 58 deaths, in the DreamHack Open Summer competition on Sunday. He still had a 1v2 clutch win and a round in which he had three AK kills. He has been in fluent offensive rhythm, often easing past 0.70 kills per round with an ADR of over 80.
Others to consider: Tabsen ($9,200)
Value flex options
Jks ($8,000)
For a while now, Jks has been 100 Thieves’ most important player. That’s because he has equal parts offensive proficiency and defensive efficiency. Not many player can boast of having that defensive skill with a low death rate. That’s where I see Jks providing fantasy value to your team. He should even lead 100 Thieves’ K-D against Gen.G.
Plopski ($7,600)
Plopski was undergoing something resembling a drastic loss of form as his K-D plunged into high negative counts. He just went back to his favored long-range weapons, and it worked beautifully. He started dominating the kill charts. He stayed alive longer and in more rounds. Now, he is nearly back to his best. In a big tournament, expect him to continue that method of operation.
Others to consider: Dupreeh ($8,000), Brollan ($7,800)
Set your DraftKings lineups here: CS:GO $35K Quickscope [$10K to 1st] (ESL)
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Nikhil Kalro is the Founder and CEO of Altletics Esports.