This article is part of our CS:GO series.
It's time for the end of the 2022 BLAST Premier Spring cycle, with the Spring Finals featuring six of the best teams in the world, as well as paiN and OG. Major champions FaZe Clan, as well as runner's up Na'Vi and bronze medalists ENCE will all be looking to close out the Spring season in style. Here's a look at some players to target and to fade in the BLAST Premier Spring Finals.
Players to Target
rain
PGL Major Antwerp was the best performance we've seen out of rain in years, but can he keep it going? The veteran rifler was always intended to be the third rifle threat on FaZe, not that it would be insulting for him to take on that role behind the incredible talent of Twistzz and ropz, but he was never meant to be the main carry. Now that rain has established he can still frag with the best of them, the question is if this form will be sustainable. In a group with G2, Vitality and paiN, the competition will be stiff, but rain has the veteran guile and talent to put monster numbers up against anyone.
Spinx
Spinx has come out of nowhere in 2022 to put himself firmly in the argument for top-five players in the world. His numbers over the past three months on a team that many didn't expect to even qualify for the major, let alone finish top three, are mind-boggling. 1.16 rating, 0.77 kills per round, 0.64 deaths per round, as well as a 70.8 percent contribution rate are incredible. Those sort of numbers put him right among the best players in the world, and perhaps even more impressively he is doing it against teams such as Heroic and Na'Vi, teams filled to the brim with talent. Spinx will need to keep this top-five form up if ENCE want to make a deep run in BLAST Premier Spring Finals, but at this point it's impossible to doubt ENCE any longer.
sdy
Boombl4 has departed Na'Vi in a flurry of controversy, and his temporary replacement is sdy, one of the more talented players in the CIS region who has been left without a top team recently. The terrifying part for the other teams in BLAST Premier Spring is that sdy is almost certainly more individually talented than Boombl4. His late addition to the team will drive his salary down in most formats, but make no mistake, this is a firepower upgrade for Na'Vi. If electroNic can handle the in-game leading alongside Perfecto this move could end up making the second best team in the world even better.
Players to Fade
paiN Gaming
It's never fun to put an entire team in the 'Players to Fade' section, but there's simply no way around it, paiN Gaming stand no chance. This roster had a miracle run to qualify for the event, and they deserve all sorts of plaudits for that. Every Cinderella story has it's ending, and it's not always happy. paiN Gaming will be happy to reach double digits in a map, let alone win a map. This roster doesn't have the firepower or the strategy to compete with the best teams in the world, and should be an easy fade for fantasy managers.
flameZ
OG come into BLAST Premier Spring Finals looking to establish themselves back in the top tier of CS:GO after falling off while making roster changes. flameZ is the unfortunate support of the team, and his numbers are solid. The issue is those solid numbers have come against lower tier opposition. OG open the tournament against Na'Vi, a top three team in the world, and it doesn't get much easier from that point on. flameZ is a talented rifler and a worthwhile addition to fantasy rosters in easier events, but in the BLAST Premier Spring Finals, he's hard to trust.
tiziaN
BIG Clan have been up-and-down throughout the last three years in CS:GO, but tiziaN has been the one member of the team to survive all the roster shuffles and remain on the starting roster. That might not be a good thing for the German side though, as tiziaN's individual stats have fallen off of a cliff. A 0.91 rating and 0.57 kills per round in the last three months put him right at the bottom of any stat sheet and make him an impossible fantasy option. BIG are a strong team that have built an exciting roster, but tiziaN seems to be the anchor holding them back at the moment.
