This article is part of our CS:GO series.
We're back for Week 2 of ESL Pro League, this time with Group B, headlined by some of the top teams in the world including FaZe Clan and BIG. Here's a look at some players to target and fade in the second week of ESL Pro League.
Players to Target
NiKo
NiKo and G2 have been a mixed story for fantasy managers of late. This is a team that many, myself included, tipped for greatness with the addition of Aleksib and yet less than a year later they made another change, acquiring HooXi from Copenhagen Flames and picking up the free agent JKS. On one hand this roster has more firepower, but it's also another new IGL and new team dynamic for the superstar duo of NiKo and m0NESY to integrate into. NiKo still finds himself in the blue, but it's worth keeping an eye on other options if G2 get out to a slow start in Group B.
FL1T
FL1T is one of the new additions to Outsiders and he's been thriving in this new environment putting up some of the top numbers on the team, including a 1.14 rating over the past three months. While Jame is the usual superstar pick on Outsiders his form has been disappointing to say the least in 2022 and it might be time to look elsewhere on Outsiders. There are still uncertainties around this roster, and they will certainly be competing with BIG Clan for the second or third seed in Group B. Despite that FL1T's consistency and ability to make a difference against the top teams in the group make him a player worth targeting in all formats.
Twistzz
Twistzz has returned to being one of the very best players in the world, and it's impossible to fade him in any formats. The North American aim god has been taking over since joining FaZe Clan and over the past three months he is showing no signs of slowing down. FaZe Clan has been the best team in the world throughout 2022 and Twistzz is right at the center of that, leading the fragging alongside ropz and rain on the rifles. Twistzz and FaZe are favorites to top this group, and even dropping a single map would be a disappointing return for this roster, especially with the good form they've shown on this side of the player break.
Players to Fade
Tuurtle
I actually like MIBR's chances in this group. This is a group with a defined winner and four teams competing for the other two spots. I could see MIBR taking a series off of G2 or BIG and making a run for even the second seed in the group. Despite that, Tuurtle isn't one to target in Group B. He's certainly not a bad player but in Europe he's struggled with a 0.94 rating over the past three months and an impact score of 0.97. HEN1 and exit offer some strong upside on MIBR, but Tuurtle simply doesn't fit the bill.
HooXi
HooXi sitting in the red is getting repetitive but when he turns in performances with less than 20 kills across three maps it's impossible to put him anywhere else. The in-game leader for G2 has more firepower at his disposal than ever before, but all that does is give him the chance to offer less individually. This is a roster with an outside chance to top the group with an upset win over FaZe Clan, but even if they do that it's likely that HooXi won't have the numbers to show any sort of fantasy relevance.
faveN
faveN has been good since joining BIG Clan, but most of the good work he's done has been based off of supporting the other stars on this team. Individually faveN has just a 0.94 rating and 0.61 kills per round in the past three months. Combine that with the fact that ESL Pro League will likely be the toughest competition that BIG Clan have faced and it's hard to trust this roster. BIG are in a position to compete for the second or third seed, or they could do the normal BIG Clan things and manage to go out dead-last in the group. Either way it's likely that faveN won't offer enough fantasy value to top the boards.
Stats courtesy of HLTV.org
