This article is part of our CS:GO series.
ESL Pro League is back with the final group, Group D, featuring the best team in the world, Na'Vi, as well as some of the brightest talents in the sub-top European scene, as well as two new-look rosters from North America.
Players to Target
s1mple
s1mple is the best player in the world, and it's easy to overthink things in fantasy, don't overthink this one. When the best player in the world is in a group that he should dominate, you take him. There is no one in Group D who can even begin to compete with s1mple as a sniper, and he should have free reign to dominate the group. s1mple might be tested by Heroic, but even then, the rest of the group should provide plenty of value for s1mple and Na'Vi as a whole
stavn
Heroic's superstar, stavn, is among the best players in the world, and yet the name recognition isn't quite there for him yet. Despite multiple weeks atop the world rankings and multiple tournament wins, it's still possible to see stavn underpriced in fantasy formats, and under-rostered. Don't make the same mistake as he is one of the best players in the world and is worth targeting in all fantasy formats. stavn will face a tough showdown with s1mple, but other than that he has plenty of favorable matches throughout the group, especially against AGO and Evil Geniuses. stavn opens the group stage against a new-look Complexity roster.
Farlig
This is an odd one, but Astralis' newest man, and sniper, is Farlig, and he should be a superstar for the team. On Copenhagen Flames, and ENCE, he was a brilliant top-tier option on the server and in fantasy rosters, but now he's been sidelined for three months. If he comes in hot and ready to go, then Farlig will be a player to not miss out on. If he comes in off the pace? It's best to not think about that, especially if Farlig finds his way into your fantasy lineup. There's some massive variance here, but definite upside.
Players to Fade
RUSH
RUSH is an odd one considering he's a support who normally puts up quite workable numbers in North America, but we're not in the easier region anymore. This is international competition, and RUSH will be hard-pressed to not be a liability for his side. While there's every chance he continues his very consistent 1.05 rating, there's also a good chance he's well below a 1.00. We don't think risking it for a mediocre ranking is worth it. There's just no upside with RUSH, at least not upside worth chasing.
JT
JT was one of the worst players for fantasy when on Cloud9, and he is now one of the worst fantasy players in the world for Complexity. He should be left out of every fantasy lineup as he offers quite literally nothing offensively. His impact on the server as an in-game leader is great, but it's not worth targeting for fantasy purposes. Complexity are likely the fourth-best team in the group, and open against Heroic, who will likely compete with Na'Vi for the top spot.
Xyp9x
Xyp9x is one of the most legendary players in CS:GO but the past year hasn't been kind to the support. In the last three months he has a 0.91 rating and only 0.55 kills per round. Astralis is such an unknown factor in the group it's hard to pick any member of them as a top option, especially not any of their supports. An opening match with Evil Geniuses should be a strong test for Astralis. If they want to compete for a top spot in the group stage they should be dismissing EG with ease. If they can't do that, then Astralis as a whole might be a Group D fade.
Stats courtesy of HLTV.org
