IEM Rio Fantasy game open to play

16-4-2023 13:45

Build your own Fantasy rosters and earn points on the Spring leaderboard for the $250,000 competition in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

IEM Rio is set to get started on Monday, with 16 teams set to duke it out in Brazil for a chance to earn the lion's share of the $250,000 prize pool. Accompanying the Brazilian tournament is another HLTV x Roobet Fantasy game.

The Fantasy game is a part of the Spring season, and thus will offer points to the $10,000 leaderboard, where just one point separates the two players currently at the top of the ladder after 15 games played. Skin prizes are also up for the taking, which will be handed out to those who end the Fantasy game with a podium finish (see below).

Virtus.pro withdraw from IEM Rio: "We are committing to enhanced training" *

There are several important points to note, however, the first being that Imperial head to the event on home soil as a last-minute replacement for Virtus.pro, meaning Gabriel "⁠FalleN⁠" Toledo and company have inherited the Russian team's tournament seeding and Fantasy player prices.

Secondly, several players have had their price tags discounted in order to allow greater flexibility when building rosters with those who have such high-end costs. These include Dmitry "⁠sh1ro⁠" Sokolov, Mathieu "⁠ZywOo⁠" Herbaut, and Kaike "⁠KSCERATO⁠" Cerato, who have all had their asking prices reduced by 1%-3%.

sh1ro sets you back $248,000, down from his original $253,000 price tag

Natus Vincere currently lead the charge as the team who have piqued the most interest, with Andrii "⁠npl⁠" Kukharskyi ($196,000), Valeriy "⁠b1t⁠" Vakhovskiy ($205,000), Ilya "⁠Perfecto⁠" Zalutskiy ($198,000), and Oleksandr "⁠s1mple⁠" Kostyliev ($224,000) all being among the top-eight most-picked players.

There is good reason for their popularity, too. The Ukrainian-majority lineup recently breezed through the BLAST.tv Paris Major Europe RMR A, posting a 3-0 record and earning a berth straight to the Legends Stage. npl was also the standout member of the squad, recording a team-high 1.34 rating across the four maps played — his best performance since being brought into the fold in December.

The most popular player thus far, however, is Finn "⁠karrigan⁠" Andersen, who currently sports a modest $179,000 price tag and could be a strong choice for those wishing to splash their cash on some of the other expensive options. These could include the aforementioned players who have received discounts, like sh1ro ($248,000), ZywOo ($245,000), or KSCERATO ($234,000).

Those who clinch a top-three finish will earn the following skin prizes:

1. Hydra Gloves | Emerald (Field-Tested)
2. Hydra Gloves | Mangrove (Field-Tested)
3. Driver Gloves | Racing Green (Field-Tested)

Please take note of the Fantasy rules before competing as they provide important information regarding the prizes, eligibility, and selection of winners. Fantasy is free of charge and can be played in official HLTV leagues, as well as independently organized private and public ones.