Draik04's Fantasy Guide: IEM Cologne Play-In 2023

There's a lot to look forward to with the IEM Cologne Play-In coming up, including taking part in HLTV's Fantasy leagues for a shot at securing some nice prizes, or in Dust2.us' public league for bragging rights. There is a wide range of factors to consider when trying to build a winning lineup. The goal of this guide is to give you a grasp of some strong teams and players in this event that you can make use of when crafting your squad!

Format Considerations

Unlike most events in the circuit, the IEM Cologne Play-In utilizes a very short variant of the Double Elimination bracket, with teams needing two series wins to move on to the next stage. With that in mind, a team can only play a maximum of three series but could end up with as few as two, one of which is a BO1 in the opening round. Considering this format, it is important to prioritize players that will net strong results in this limited timeframe, as opposed to a more long-term-oriented team.

High rollers: Strong but expensive players

A key piece to any successful team is a star player. If you want your fantasy team to rise to the top, you'll need to secure a star of your own as well. Star players can net you a significant amount of points thanks to their consistently strong performances, but it's important to budget accordingly as too many stars will set you back when building the rest of your team. Some star player picks worth considering this event are:

• KSCERATO (FURIA) - $220,000

• blameF (Astralis) - $224,000

• device (Astralis) - $223,000

• frozen (MOUZ) - $225,000

Even though FURIA head into this season with two new players, including a new in-game leader, KSCERATO is still undoubtedly a solid pick for your fantasy team. The Brazilian rifler is the star player for FURIA by a longshot, with only a single event this year with a sub-1.20 rating. If FURIA wins their opening match versus Greyhound, a BO3 series against the winner of Monte versus Imperial will come to fruition, arguably one of the best possible bracket outcomes FURIA could be hoping for, allowing KSCERATO to quickly farm points.

The next two stars worth highlighting are Benjamin "blameF" Bremer and Nicolai "device" Reedtz of Astralis, who are particularly noteworthy for their ability to play well despite their team's performance. Despite a slow start to the BLAST Fall Groups, the star duo of blameF and device managed stellar 1.33 and 1.21 ratings, respectively. Having beat Liquid already at BLAST, these two will no doubt be feeling confident heading into their opening BO1 versus them.

The final key star player worth highlighting is young gun David "frozen" Čerňanský, who has been out of action since the Elisa Invitational Spring in June. A strong element for MOUZ, averaging a 1.21 rating throughout 2023 so far, frozen should have no issues with the team's opening matchup versus TheMongolz, while also standing a chance versus the likely matchup versus NIP later in the upper-bracket.

AWPers: Avoiding the $4,750 decoy

Equally important to the star player is the AWPer. In some cases, these players fulfill the role of the star while AWPing, but regardless of whether the AWPer you pick is a flashy star or a quiet but consistent performer, they should be a key component to your fantasy team, netting you plenty of points from both performances and roles. Here are just a few AWPers that stand out:

Here are just a few AWPers that stand out:

• afro (fnatic) - $210,000

• headtr1ck (NIP) - $214,000

• oSee (Liquid) - $211,000

• FalleN (FURIA) - $198,000

Aurélien "afro" Drapier is not a safe pick by any means, but if fnatic succeed in this event, it will almost be certainly off the back of the French AWPer. Averaging a stellar 1.21 rating in 2023 with LDLC, afro is certainly a promising prospect, but several concerns do stand out, including his being on both a new squad and communicating in English for the first time. With an opening BO1 against a Complexity that still seems to have some gaps, fnatic and afro could stun the American side, but it is far from guaranteed.

Despite a mixed start to the Fall Groups, NIP managed to find their footing in the latter stage of the event, and a key reason for that was AWPer Daniil "headtr1ck" Valitov. The young Ukrainian has had a relatively fruitful 2023, even despite NIP's mediocre placings, and his performance at the Fall Groups shows no signs of him slowing down. With what should be a one-sided opening game, headtr1ck has a solid opportunity to net a lot of points early on.

While Liquid ultimately had a lackluster finish at the Fall Groups, Josh "oSee" Ohm had flashes of brilliance for the squad during their group stage matches against FaZe and G2. Should Liquid drop the ball in their opening match versus Astralis, the team are still strong candidates to make a lower-bracket run, and oSee presents a solid opportunity to net points in that situation, if he is able to find his form from the group stage.

Gabriel "FalleN" Toledo is now generally past the point of putting up star numbers, but his relatively low price and forgiving bracket placement offers him some extra value this event. With an opening match against Grayhound and a later match versus the winner of Monte and Imperial's game, FalleN and FURIA could very well tear these two opponents up with ease. With a low cost and easy-to-assign roles, snagging FalleN would be a helpful pick in allowing you to secure points while freeing up some cash for bigger purchases.

Balling on a budget: Cheap but effective players

Star player and AWPer choices tend to be fairly ubiquitous across fantasy teams; the real difference-maker is found in the players you round out the rest of your team with. Oftentimes, you'll want to have a cheap player on your squad to facilitate purchasing a high-performing star player, but it's important that they don't end up being a burden for your team. If you're looking for players that won't break the bank but will still net you results, look no further than here:

• felps (Imperial) - $174,000

• arT (FURIA) - $185,000

• EliGE (Complexity) - $204,000

• siuhy (MOUZ) - $196,000

First up to bat is João "felps" Vasconcellos, whose $174,000 price tag is relatively misaligned with his 1.14 average rating during his time with Fluxo. While Imperial are by no means favorites to move forwards, if felps performs even half as well as he did on Fluxo, one can get far more value out of him than his cost would suggest, allowing you to make more expensive purchases elsewhere on your squad.

Freed up from IGLing responsibilities, and having a consistent stream of points from the Entry Fragger role, Andrei "arT" Piovezan could very well produce a significant amount of points relative to comparably expensive players. When considering the relatively easy side of the bracket FURIA is on, arT deserves a chance as an option for your team.

Although Complexity may not have gotten off to such a hot start, Jonathan "EliGE" Jablonowski certainly has. With a 1.10 average rating across his games at BLAST, which included an 0-2 trouncing by Vitality, EliGE does not appear to have skipped a beat in his new environment. With a price tag of only $204,000, it's difficult to come up with reasons why the American rifler isn't a strong candidate to be included on your fantasy team.

Rounding out our budget picks is MOUZ IGL Kamil "siuhy" Szkaradek, who displayed some solid form during his time with MOUZ NXT and GamerLegion. While not a star player by any means, MOUZ's opening game versus TheMongolz could net the team an early stomp, and abundant points along with it. Being one of the cheaper MOUZ options while still being able to carry his own weight, siuhy is worth thinking about as an addition.

Wading through a minefield: Players to avoid

Whether it be because of cost, poor recent performances, or an unfortunate bracket placement, there are some players that it would simply be wise to avoid purchasing, as tempting as they may be. Players that you might be considering but probably shouldn't include:

• NAF (Liquid) - $220,000

• YEKINDAR (Liquid) - $215,000

• hallzerk (Complexity) - $202,000

• Jimpphat (MOUZ) - $211,000

While Liquid fared quite well early on in the Fall Groups, the team ultimately collapsed in their second bout versus FaZe and their final series against Astralis. Consequently, Keith "NAF" Markovic and Mareks "YEKINDAR" Gaļinskis finished the event with 1.04 and 0.91 ratings, respectively, extremely difficult to justify considering their price tags. Facing off against Astralis once again in their opening match, if one does really feel so inclined to field a Liquid player, it may be wiser to go for a cheaper option instead.

It is because of the fact that Håkon "hallzerk" Fjærli is quite inexpensive in this event that it is worth making clear that he should probably not be purchased. A $202,000 price tag may be tempting, but a 0.92 average rating across 10 maps at the Fall Groups is far from hallzerk's earlier peaks in the year. With such a short gap between the two events, and an opening match versus fnatic that could realistically go either way, it may be prudent to avoid hallzerk for now.

The final selection here is not really a bad pick, but one that could be further optimized. Jimi "Jimpphat" Salo will be making his tier one debut with MOUZ at this event, and while the young gun has impressed in lower tier events, the first big LAN always presents opportunities for shakiness. Considering the fact that one can already field cheaper, more battle-tested players from MOUZ like siuhy or Dorian "xertioN" Berman instead, one should reconsider Jimpphat unless you're willing to take a gamble on the 16-year-old prodigy.

Honorable mentions: Rounding out your five

There are many options available to you when making your team, as has been mentioned previously, and a number of players not yet mentioned are still worth considering for a variety of reasons. These players could be on strong teams likely to make it far, consistent in their fragging output, or cheap enough to free up cash elsewhere for your team among other reasons. Players you may consider completing your roster with include:

Draik04's Dream Team

If you've gotten this far and still don't have a clue who to field, you can always take some inspiration from my perfect, immaculate team. For the IEM Cologne Play-In, I've decided to run:

KSCERATO (FURIA) - Multi Fragger
arT (FURIA) - Entry Fragger
blameF (Astralis) - Leader
torzsi (MOUZ) - Main AWP
felps (Imperial) - Attacker

If it isn't obvious, I'm quite confident in FURIA this event. I expect KSCERATO to take the team far, and I also think being freed up from IGLing will allow arT to have a resurgence in form while netting me consistent role points. blameF is next; the Dane impressed at the Fall Groups, with the second-highest overall rating at the event, and his consistency leads me to believe he'll be solid here as well.

While I'm not super high on torzsi specifically, I am a believer in MOUZ this event, and being a fairly cheap AWP pick helped the Hungarian make his way onto my team. Rounding it all out is felps, whose cheap price allows me to field both KSCERATO and blameF with some cash to spare, while also having the chance to put up some strong individual performances if things go his way.

There is now just less than a week for you to finalize your fantasy team for the IEM Cologne Play-In. With all this valuable information in mind, you can now construct a team that even the sweatiest HLTV forum poster will fear. If you're confident in your team, show it off in Dust2.us' public league, where you can go head-to-head with some of North America's greatest fantasy minds. Best of luck in your fantasy endeavors!