Welcome back, RotoBallers, to another edition of my Counter Strike: Global Offensive DFS picks. I am filling in today for my dude, Jorge Pucks, who has been grinding these CSGO slates every day and covering eSports DFS for us at RotoBaller! As always, I will do my best to give you the stats and info you need to build the best lineups possible.
We have a five-game slate that is a part of the ESL One: Road to Rio qualifier. We continue to see awesome contests on FanDuel and DraftKings this week for this tournament and we are getting some really quality CS:GO slates every day. Some of these teams will be familiar to you from earlier slates this month, while others still may not be yet.
Today I'll be bringing you my Counter-Strike: Global Offensive DFS advice, analysis, and lineup picks for eSports DFS contests on DraftKings and FanDuel for Thursday, April 30th, 2020 at 12:30 PM. Feel free to follow me on Twitter @ThunderDanDFS. I am happy to engage with readers and try to answer your questions!
Road to Rio (Best of 3)
- Copenhagen vs. North (-215)
- Moviestar Riders vs. G2 (-475)
- Ninjas In Pajamas vs. Astralis (-325)
- Gen G (-140) vs. Cloud9
- Triumph vs. Evil Geniuses (-1000)
CS:GO DFS Strategy
I have had a lot of success in CS:GO this month thanks to the great content from our lead analyst Jorge Pucks and the excellent tools available in our premium product. One of my favorite strategies for these bigger slates is to eat the chalk in cash games and fade as much of it as I can in GPPs.
It sounds like a pretty universal DFS strategy, right? However, I continue to see players from highly favored teams at really high ownerships even in GPPs and their bust rate is substantial. Think of Esports a lot more like baseball or hockey - high variance sports - and less like NBA, where players have floors and more predictable outcomes.
Stacking is important here just like in a lot of other DFS sports. In cash games, it's less optimal usually, but in GPPs I am finding it crucial to have at least two players paired together from my favorite teams.
My favorite stack combinations for slates this size (4-6 matches) are 3-2-1, 2-2-2, and 2-2-1-1. Yes, 3-3 stacks on bigger slates are risky but still viable as well. On a slate like today's, you could gain a lot of leverage by fading the biggest favorite (EG) in GPPs and stacking two smaller favorites who are more affordable (such as Gen G and G2).
CS:GO DFS Captain Considerations
Device is a great option for your captain spot tomorrow and probably the most expensive player I'm willing to pay up for at the position at 14.1k on DraftKings and on 12.2k FanDuel. He's sitting at 1.19 K/D ratio over his last three months and has been excellent at this event so far with a 1.23 K/D ratio.
kennyS is my top captain choice from G2 today. He had a mediocre match last time out, but two 70+ DK point outings in a row before that and carries a 1.18 K/D ratio over the last three months that is second on the team only to -hunter.
koosta is my favorite play on GenG today and could be a really sneaky GPP play. I love this GenG stack (more on that later) in what should be a great match against C9. Koosta has a 1.15 K/D ratio over the last three months (best on the team) and comes into this match (like the rest of his teammates) in great form with a 1.21 K/D ratio at this event.
Other captain plays: Brehze (chalky), floppy
CS:GO DFS Value Plays
sOm is only 6.2k on Draftkings and 10.1k on FanDuel. That's a slightly better value on DK, but he's in great form lately with a 1.24 K/D ratio at this event and he's consistently posting 45 DK points or more lately (eight out of his last night matches)
jaCkz is a really cheap piece of this G2 team and has been playing well of late. He is a bit risky as he's not one of the premiere guys from G2 but he has the potential for 50-60 DK points which would be great value at his price of 6.6k on Draftkings.
motm is crazy cheap on Draftkings at only 6k. He's a 1.03 K/D ratio player over the last three months and he's been slightly better than that at this event. If that C9-GenG game is close, then we could see some great value from it as both teams are priced down.
Other value plays: Sonic, Plopski, AmaNek
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Top CS:GO DFS Stacks
Astalis are the top stack on the board for me. They are ranked third and facing the 13th ranked NIP team that should force them into a competitive game. Astralis is playing well of late, winning three out of their last five and are one of the few squads you'll see with all five players carrying a 1+ K/D ratio (NIP is on that list, too).
They are solid favorites here and priced where we can easily fit at least two of them into our lineups, possibly three. Device is the top play from this Astralis team and can be paired with Magisk, dupreeh, or Xyp9x in stacks as all of them carry upside in a competitive match like this one should be.
G2 is a team that I like to stack and probably my second favorite stack on this slate. Moviestar Riders have come in hot, upsetting a couple of huge favorites but finally cooled off against Faze, and the stats over the long haul just show them as a very average team at best.
G2, meanwhile, is ranked #6 and a healthy -475 favorite. They have an excellent trifecta of kennyS, -hunter, and nexa who all carry 1+ K/D ratios and have posted some big scores in wins. I expect them to pick up a win here and MR has shown they can put up a fight which may even draw a third map out of this G2 team and the potential for more scoring.
GenG is my value stack on this slate. They are all priced very fairly and playing extremely well right now as they've won four out of their last five matches. They face off against a tough C9 team, but a team that has been very up and down lately. GenG is slightly favored, but this game is really a toss up.
I am going with the hotter team at the moment which is GenG, but I wouldn't fault anyone for stacking C9 or playing floppy, Osee, or motm as one-offs. GenG's numbers at this tournament are impressive as Koosta has been at 1.21 K/D, autimatic is at 1.33, sOm is at 1.24, and BnTeT is at an incredible 1.40.
Other stacks/ teams: Evil Geniuses (chalky)
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Looking Forward
Be sure to check back throughout the week as we'll be publishing daily eSports DFS articles, analysis and picks for League Of Legends, Counter-Strike, Rocket League, and eNASCAR. We will also be adding coverage for Call of Duty contests soon! Thanks for reading, and good luck RotoBallers!
More eSports DFS Analysis
RotoBaller Testimonials
Readers of RotoBaller's eSports DFS articles have been winning money on DraftKings and FanDuel regularly. Some of them are winning contests daily and bringing in some serious cheddar. Check one out below and lots more here!
Did you read a RotoBaller article and win too? Send us your screenshots on Twitter @RotoBaller and we'll add it to our winners Hall Of Fame!
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— "Thunder Dan" Palyo (@ThunderDanDFS) April 16, 2020