Americas RMR Fantasy Guide

There's a lot to look forward to with the IEM Rio Americas RMR coming up, and one of those things is taking part in HLTV's Fantasy leagues for a shot at securing some nice prizes. 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!

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:

• YEKINDAR (Liquid) - $223,000

• EliGE (Liquid) - $224,000

• KSCERATO (FURIA) - $218,000

• skullz (paiN) - $222,000

Mareks "YEKINDAR" Gaļinskis and Jonathan "EliGE" Jablonowski immediately stand out as strong options considering Liquid's successes at ESL Pro League Season 16. YEKINDAR was critical to Liquid's performances at the event, topping the team's charts with a 1.18 rating. EliGE had an uncharacteristically poor event at EPL, only posting a 1.03 rating, but the quality of competition in the Americas RMR is considerably lower, which should hopefully allow EliGE to reactivate.

Although FURIA have been failing to live up to expectations this year, the squad still head into the Americas RMR as heavy favorites, in large part thanks to Kaike "KSCERATO" Cerato. Although FURIA bowed out in the first round of playoffs after a loss to Outsiders, KSCERATO finished the event with an outrageous 1.34 rating, the second highest of the event. This phenomenal showing, paired with the $218,000 price tag should put KSCERATO at the forefront of your mind when drafting your squad.

Rounding out the list is Felipe "skullz" Medeiros, one of the new additions to paiN. The young gun has already displayed impressive consistency in his time with paiN so far, as he has racked up a 1.18 average rating since linking up with his current squad. skullz also played a crucial role in paiN's recent LAN victory at ESL Challenger Melbourne, where he acquired a 1.21 rating, the highest on his team and the third-highest at the event. paiN are not favorites to reach Rio in the same way as Liquid or FURIA, but thanks to a favorable opening matchup against #100 squad ARCTIC, paired with the team's impressive firepower, paiN are certainly in the conversation as potential IEM Rio competitors.

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 will be a necessary backbone to your fantasy team, netting you plenty of points from both performances and roles. Here are just a few AWPers that stand out:

• HEN1 (MIBR) - $219,000

• oSee (Liquid) - $206,000

• hallzerk (Complexity) - $203,000

• try (00 Nation) - $205,000

Topping the list is Henrique "HEN1" Teles, who provides significant value with his 1.21 rating over the last three months. In addition to his consistency, HEN1 is also a veteran player who is LAN-tested, someone not inclined to crumble under the pressure like some of the younger players in the event. Although MIBR are not necessarily a guaranteed team to advance, their strong domestic showings have definitely put them in the running to progress to Rio.

Josh "oSee" Ohm and Håkon "hallzerk" Fjærli can be categorized in a similar fashion this event; both certainly have the potential to produce star numbers, but more often than not these two will be pillars of consistency for their squads rather than be the ones taking control of the game outright. oSee and hallzerk benefit significantly from their low price tags, being priced at $206,000 and $203,000 respectively, as well as the fact that both their squads are heavy favorites to advance. These two would each make a solid AWP selection as players who can put up consistent numbers without breaking the bank.

Finishing off our highlight AWPers is 00 Nation's Santino "try" Rigal, a player we have not seen in action for quite some time now. try is without a doubt a riskier pick than the other three AWPers previously discussed, but he is still absolutely worth considering. 00 Nation's successes in the IEM Cologne Play-In were largely powered by try, who led his squad in rating with a 1.21 rating. try's performance dipped to a 1.09 average rating once in the group stage, but when considering the fact that 00 Nation matched up against eventual champions FaZe and quarterfinalists Liquid, this rating becomes considerably more impressive. try's undemanding price tag, only $205,000, is another incentive for folks looking to spice up their fantasy team with a bit of an unorthodox pick.

Balling on a budget: Cheap but effective players

Star player and AWPer choices tend to be fairly ubiquitous across fantasy teams; the real magic is found in the players you round out the rest of your team with. Often times, you'll want to have a cheap player on your squad so that you can afford to secure high-performing star players or AWPers. If you're looking for players that won't break the bank but will still net you results, look no further than here:

• arT (FURIA) - $192,000

• autimatic (Evil Geniues) - $191,000

• CeRq (Evil Geniuses) - $178,000

• FaNg (Complexity) - $183,000

Andrei "arT" Piovezan is an interesting player that possesses many qualities, but consistency is not one of those qualities. arT could be paving the way for his team's success through strong performances, as he did at EPL Season 15 and the PGL Antwerp Americas RMR, or he could be running in and dying while gaining very little for his team. Despite this, arT is a solid pick here for three reasons; FURIA are heavy favorites to go through, the level of competition is considerably lower than what arT normally plays against, and arT will net you significant amounts of points from utilizing the "Entry Fragger" role, assuring that you will get bang for your buck by incorporating him into your lineup.

Evil Geniuses, after a dreadful start to 2022, are finally on an upward trajectory. While the team still has a ways to go before contending with the best, their 2-3 EPL performance showed the most promise from this team in ages. With that in mind, it is worth considering Timothy "autimatic" Ta and Tsvetelin "CeRq" Dimitrov as additions to your squad. The former is the most consistent player on Evil Geniuses, netting a solid 1.14 rating in the last 3 months, while the latter will likely be able to rise to the occasion playing against weaker opposition, while also netting consistent points from the AWP role.

The final cheap pick of note is Justin "FaNg" Coakley, who has been inconsistent as of late on the international stage. That being said, the young Canadian is for sure a talented player, and the momentum his squad has from EPL Season 16 will certainly help as Complexity march onwards to the Americas RMR. Even if one does not expect FaNg to put up astounding numbers, his outrageously low price tag of $183,000 is too good to pass up considering the individual prowess that he is capable of.

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, even if they do not fit into these neat little categories I made up just hours ago for some reason or another. Players you may consider completing your roster with include:

There are now less than 24 hours for you to finalize your fantasy team for the IEM Rio Americas RMR. With all this valuable information in mind, you can now construct a team that even the sweatiest HLTV forum poster will fear. Best of luck with your fantasy team endeavors!