CS:GO Daily Fantasy Helper: DreamHack Masters Spring, Friday 5/22/20

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 DreamHack Masters Spring 2020 in North 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 best-of-three, and players will receive a bonus for completing a 2-0 sweep.

Another week and another CS:GO starting, which means we have a new set of matchups to breakdown. The DreamHack Masters Spring event is in action today, with a European series and a North American series.

MAD Lions versus BIG

Group B kicks off today with the MAD Lions taking on BIG -- the latter coming in as the underdog. The MAD Lions come in as the 13th-ranked team in the world, while BIG are sitting at 30th. There is a clear difference in the quality of the teams but they both have viable fantasy options to consider today.

Starting the MAD Lions, their last event was Flashpoint Season 1 -- where they won the tournament, playing 28 maps along the way. This gives us a good sample size to look at, so that's where we'll be looking for their players and their recent form. Bubzkji ($9.900) was their best player through that event, averaging 21.1 kills per map while holding a +89 kill-to-death differential. Add on a Headshot (HS) percentage sitting at 53.0% and we have a solid combination of a strong floor and high upside.

sjuush ($10,500) was right behind Bubzkji during that event, averaging 20.5 kills per map, a +90 kill-to-death differential, and a HS percentage at 55.8%. Truly two great options from the MAD Lions, and they both should be strong candidates for the MVP spot.

acoR ($10,000) posted 20 kills or more on 14 of the 28 maps he played during Flashpoint Season 1, ended with a 1.18 kill-to-death ratio (K/D), but held a low Headshot percentage of only 30.4%.

Both roej ($10,300) and AcilioN ($9,500) are more of role players for the team, don't have as high of a floor, but should be on the winning side.

BIG are a mid-tier team -- as noted with their 30th rank in the world -- and don't play every top event, nor do they play against top-tier competition all the time. Their players have strong results in some of their recent matches, but take them all with a grain of salt since they are playing similar mid-tier teams.

XANTARES ($11,500) averaged 19.6 kills per map over his last 20 maps, posted 20 kills or more in 12 of those 20 maps, and had a low of 11 kills. He never broke 30 kills in this stretch, but holds a very consistent floor of points and should be one of their top options today.

syrsoN ($10,100) is averaging 18.8 kills per map in this same 20 map sample size. He was able to flash 30 kill upside once, but was also held to 13 kills or fewer three different times. syrsoN appears to have a wider range of outcomes, making him a riskier play.

k1to ($9,900), tabseN ($10,200), and tiziaN ($9,600) are all somewhat similar in their recent production -- none of them hit 30 kills at any point. k1to would be the top choice, as he has the highest floor among these three players.

MIBR versus Chaos Esports

Chaos Esports pulled off a massive upset over Team Liquid to start their Group A matches in North America, but still find themselves as the underdogs versus MIBR. Speaking of MIBR, they recently made a roster move -- adding trk ($11,300) and moving meyern to the bench. MIBR are certainly the better team, but a roster change and facing an underdog with plenty of confidence after a big win could turn this into a close series.

MIBR finished in second at Flashpoint Season 1 -- losing to MAD Lions in the finals -- playing 28 maps along the way. That is where we will look for some stats -- outside of trk, who just joined them. fer ($10,900) averaged a very strong 20.8 kills per map during that 28 map stretch, hit 30 kills on three different occasions, and held a strong Headshot percentage at 47.2%.

FalleN ($11,600) and kNgV- ($11,000) were very comparable on those 28 maps and are both solid options. FalleN had fewer kills but had a higher K/D ratio. kNgV- had multiple maps over 30 kills, FalleN only had one map. kNgV- had a higher Headshot percentage by nearly 15%. Both firmly in play today, but kNgV- flashes more upside you would want in the MVP spot.

trk had his MIBR debut the other day and posted a total of 21 kills on two maps played -- not a great start. No doubt a rough debut, but in his final 20 maps with his former squad -- TeamOne -- he posted 20 kills or more on 10 of those 20 maps. Three of those maps were against Chaos -- who he gets to face again today -- where he posted 20, 22, and 22 kills.

Chaos Esports finished in 7th/8th place at Flashpoint Season 1, playing 16 maps along the way. They are ranked 53rd in the world but as noted, pulled off a big upset against Team Liquid the other day. They aren't playing with house money yet, but a win here will lock them into the playoffs. Since Flashpoint Season 1 ended, they've made a few roster changes -- adding Jonji and Xeppaa.

steel ($10,700) averaged 18.6 kills per map on the 16 maps during Flashpoint -- the highest on the team -- and held a HS% at 46.8%. He never broke the 30 kill level but was the only player among these five with a positive K/D ratio.

Jonji ($10,500) is recently added to Chaos, but played at Flashpoint with his former team. He played 15 maps in that event and averaged only 15.6 kills per map, with a low 35.5% Headshot percentage.

vanity ($10,300) averaged 15.5 kills per map, held a negative K/D ratio, but was able to post over 20 kills three different times.

Xeppa ($12,000) is new to the team, didn't play at Flashpoint, and was essentially an amateur play prior to this. However, since joining Chaos -- a 12 map sample size -- he has posted over 20 kills six times, over 30 kills once, and has been at least 17 kills or more on 92% of his maps. He might be the X-Factor in them actually winning the series, and thus, a great fantasy option today.