This article is part of our CS:GO series.
BLAST Premier Spring Showdown's European edition is here, with eight teams competing for one spot at the BLAST Premier Spring Finals. The catch? Six of the eight teams are ranked inside the top 15 in the world, including Heroic, who sit in fourth. With so much talent available it's time to look at players to target and fade in one of the most stacked qualifiers imaginable.
Players to Target
stavn
stavn playing in a qualifier doesn't feel fair to anyone in all honesty as this is one of the best players in the world. Over the past three months stavn boasts a 1.26 rating, 0.80 kills per round and only 0.62 deaths per round. Those sort of numbers wouldn't feel foreign on s1mple's page, and make stavn one of the strongest fantasy targets in all formats. Heroic open the tournament against NKT in what is likely to be a one-sided stomp, giving stavn plenty of chance to pad his stats early. As one of the early tournament favorites it's easy to predict a deep run for stavn and co. giving him a safe fantasy floor throughout the event.
Spinx
Is ENCE for real, or simply pretenders who built a lucky run? BLAST Premier Spring Showdown should go a long way towards answering that question. Spinx has been right at the middle of everything positive for ENCE, and will be looking to keep his talismanic role going. The only issue for Spinx is an opening match with Copenhagen Flames, who might just be the second best team in the group. Spinx boasts a 1.17 rating with 0.76 kills per round in the last three months over a substantial 69-map sample. If ENCE want to beat the odds and qualify for the BLAST Premier Spring Finals, Spinx will have to keep that level going, or perhaps even improve it.
Brollan
Brollan is wearing new colors, and is immediately one of the top players for his new team, Ninjas in Pyjamas. The young rifler is simply one of the best players in the world and having superstar talent around him should do plenty to unlock his potential. Ninjas in Pyjamas have a favorable first-round draw against Bad News Eagles, where Brollan will surely build on his 1.11 rating and 0.70 kills per round, while also looking to show some confidence with his new team. In a roster that many are hinting could be among the five best in the world, it's impossible to discount Brollan, who has often shown the ability to make a team more than the sum of it's parts.
Players to Fade
Farlig
Farlig is the newest member of Astralis and is still looking to make his mark on the team after just managing to qualify for the major. Astralis is an odd team seemingly happy to mix top-tier players with more budget options with Farlig somewhere in the middle. The AWPer certainly has flair and talent, but over the past three months with his new team, he has a 1.02 rating and 0.66 kills per round which does not make him a major fantasy option. Opening the tournament against a red-hot Movistar Riders, there's ample concern about how long Farlig and co. will stay competitive in BLAST Premier Spring Showdown.
NKT
Once again an entire team makes it's way into the 'to fade' section. This time it's NKT, who simply aren't good enough to matchup with the teams ahead of them. The spot was well-earned, but in an event with Heroic, Copenhagen Flames and more, it's impossible to see NKT winning a single map, let alone a series. The opening match for NKT pits them against Heroic, and anything but a quick 2-0 loss would be a shock result for NKT. It's not worth chasing dreams of glory when better players on better teams are available.
alex
Movistar Riders might as well be ENCE, but Spanish. This team might be real, or they might be pretenders riding on the back of a single strong event. BLAST Premier Spring Showdown will be the event to separate the wheat from the chaff and alex and co. have a long road ahead of them. An opening match against Astralis is certainly winnable, though Astralis rarely give opponents much fantasy upside. After that is a likely clash with Ninjas in Pyjamas, another stacked roster, and another team that plays everyone close even in defeats. alex could continue his surprising performances from ESL Pro League, but there are safer fantasy options with more upside than alex's 1.07 rating and 0.67 kills per round. Even on his own team, a player such as SunPayus could be the fantasy option to target if you believe Movistar Riders is for real.
Stats courtesy of HLTV.org
