This article is part of our CS:GO series.
The relentless CS:GO calendar rolls on and it's time for BLAST Premier Spring Showdown, with a single spot for the Spring Final on the line. With the top two teams in North America, FURIA and Team Liquid, competing for one spot, the North American showdown should be one of the most competitive events of the Spring season.
Players to Target
KSCERATO
FURIA look like the best team in the Americas and it would be a shame if they didn't make the BLAST Premier Spring Finals. The bigger shame would be missing out on a chance to see KSCERATO against the world's best. The rifler has been on fire, and putting him up against most North American competition isn't fair. Over the past three months KSCERATO has a 1.17 rating and 0.72 kills per round with only 0.59 deaths per round, and that's against some of the best teams in the world, such as FaZe Clan. Against teams such as Sharks those numbers could be in for some inflation.
oSee
When you think about the star power of Team Liquid it's impossible to look past EliGE and NAF, but it's certainly not good to overlook oSee, who has been in fine form of late. The AWPer has quietly taken the starting job in Team Liquid with both hands and has been brilliant in all competitions. Against Complexity and Evil Geniuses in the last three months he sits at a 1.15 rating, and other than FURIA, those are likely to be his main competition in BLAST Premier Spring Showdown. In a tournament with little AWPing talent, oSee should have an advantage over nearly every team, and could be a fantasy winner.
floppy
floppy is ridiculously talented, there's no other way to put it. The rifler was on his way out of CS:GO, heading to VALORANT before being tempted back to Counter-Strike and Complexity. You'd expect some rust transitioning games like that, but not for floppy. The young star has been incredible for Complexity, with a stat page covered in bright green. A 1.13 rating, 0.72 kills per round, 0.65 deaths per rounds and 50.5 percent headshot rate all speak to one of the most gifted players in North America. If Complexity can build around their star they could be a sneaky option to compete with Team Liquid and FURIA.
Players to Fade
JT
JT is the in-game leader for Complexity, and has always been the case with JT, he is a unusable fantasy option. JT basically varies from entirely unusable all the way to sub-par. There's simply no upside here. This isn't gla1ve, or alex, where a good match could produce some fantasy value. JT will be in the Players to Fade section for as long as he plays top-level CS:GO, but that doesn't mean he's likely to be replaced on Complexity, he simply has a very defined role.
TACO
TACO is a frustrating player on GODSENT. He isn't a bad player, but simply doesn't offer the individual firepower to make him a worthwhile fantasy target. It's not worth discounting GODSENT, especially dumau, but it's worth looking past TACO, especially against some of the top competition in North America. Over the past three months TACO has a 0.91 rating with 0.56 kills per round, and 0.69 deaths per round while only contributing in 66.4 percent of rounds. TACO and GODSENT aren't favorites for the tournament and likely will struggle against the top teams at the event.
Sharks
It's hard to write off an entire team in the mess that is North American CS:GO, as anyone could beat anyone, but when the world rankings for a group go: 8, 13, 22, 24, 29, 34, 38, 114, there's certainly an outlier. Sharks qualified via FiReSPORTS Latin Power Spring, impressively upsetting Imperial twice, though they managed to dodge major qualifiers 9z. Sharks have earned their place at the tournament, but every Cinderella story comes to an end and at 80 world ranks below their competition it's hard to see Sharks providing much fantasy value against FURIA in the very first round.
Stats Courtesy of HLTV.org
