This article is part of our CS:GO series.
BLAST Premier Fall Showdown is here giving us something small to tide us over until the Major at the end of October. Despite the smaller prize pool, Fall Showdown gives a berth into the Global Finals, making it an extremely important tournament with limited chances left in the BLAST Premier Circuit. Here's a look at some players to target and fade in both North America and Europe.
Players to Target
Grim
It's not often that I recommend a Complexity player, but Grim has been one of the top players in the world of late and he's shown up on the biggest of stages. Throwing him into a weaker qualifier for North America sounds like a major recipe for success for fantasy managers who are looking to make the most of some very favorable matches. Grim and Complexity open the tournament against Sharks where they will be heavy favorites against the Brazilian side and Grim should have the chance to build on his 1.19 rating and 0.79 kills per round over the past three months.
ZywOo
ZywOo is the best player in the world and for my money the top player of 2022. His stats over the past three months sound like he's been puttering around lower tiers, dominating competition to pump up his numbers -- 1.37 rating, 0.87 kills per round, 1.45 impact rating and 87.1 ADR. The thing is he's been doing that against the very best teams in the world and now he gets to open his tournament against TYLOO. There's actually a world where this opening match is a poor one for ZywOo as the opposition could be so weak that the rest of his team doesn't rely on his absurd numbers as much. Outside of that ZywOo is a must-start in all formats.
tabseN
BIG's captain and in-game leader tabseN is one of the top players in the world not only for what he does on the server, but for what he brings to the teams. Since we only get fantasy points for what he does on the server let's start there. Over the past three months tabseN boasts a 1.15 rating and is leading the way for the team despite his role as an in-game leader. What's been especially impressive is his 84.6 ADR, a number that points towards an even higher ceiling that what he is showing currently. An opening match with Sangal would be the perfect chance to see what that ceiling is and pad those numbers even further.
Players to Fade
phzy
phzy has done very well in the second tier of CS:GO in Europe with 0.69 kills per round and a miniscule 0.59 deaths per round. The issue for fantasy managers is the situation he's in. Sangal would be happy to take a single map off of BIG Clan let alone the entire series. In tier 2 competition there is certainly a case for taking phzy, but stepping up to Premier events it's worth fading Sangal in most settings. That said phzy does have some limited upside if Sangal were to shock everyone and upset BIG.
Forleks
Forleks is part of the Oceanic representative in the Americas edition of the tournament and he comes in with some solid stats behind a 1.06 rating. The issue is of course that those are stats from one of the weakest and most limited regions in CS:GO, and this should be a whole new level. Combine that with an opening match against a 00NATION side that has looked surprisingly competitive led by coldzera, dumau and TACO, and it's hard to trust Forleks, or any member of VERTEX.
drg
drg and Shakrs open BLAST Premier Fall Showdown North America with the longest odds of any team in the event, and it's not surprising to see why with an opening match against Complexity. drg has struggled mightily as Sharks have shifted to competing in North America, with a 0.92 rating and 0.83 impact score since moving to the region and leave the relative ease of Brazilian play. Sharks have some upset potential though their draw is extremely difficult, and even in an upset win it's hard to see a path to fantasy relevance for drg.
Stats courtesy of HLTV.org
