Recruit Draft Grades!
The Season 20 season analysis for the draft is here!
Another season and another draft has concluded and for this banger draft grade I’m putting together we’re going to go in order of 1st round draft picks. Starting off we have ATO!
ATO had the grand distinction of 1st overall pick in the season 20 draft, and with that they took someone that was very high on everyone’s list, TamaleKing (248). Tamale stood out to anyone that popped in and listened to their coms in combines this season with their coordination and positivity driving their stock way way up. Tamale bears the weight of being a high MMR player while also filling multiple key roles as he can be used as an AWPer, or an IGL to good effect. If the goal was for Tamale to do both, then that gives the team an added flexibility that others won’t have though it depends on his ability to wear two hats at once if that was their plan at ATO.
ATO had to sacrifice a 2nd round pick to keeper their AGM, Meat (247). She is coming off of back to back seasons in Prospect that were less than stellar, but with her return to Recruit she should be on the upswing and ready to take back some of what she learned during her time in the tier above.
For their next pick at 22nd ATO selected Goblin (240). Goblin returns to CSC after a long absence dating back to season 14. They grinded out plenty of combines but where their draft value comes from is their potential as they last played in Prospect with a respectable 0.93 rating. Should they knock the dust off, that could translate to an all star level season in Recruit.
ATO had quite a while to wait for their next pick which was also a keeper at 49, PK Freeze (191). At 49th Freeze is a steal as they’ve been life long Recruit spanning back to its inception in season 11. They’re a safe set of hands and a known quantity that brings a fine 1.00 level of play to the table this late in the draft.
A few picks later at 52 ATO picked up Sohl (175). Sohl is yet another returning close to 1.00 rated player that looks to help round out the roster and help with MMR, something that this team may have trouble with so many players above the 240 mark.
And finally, with the 60th and final overall pick in the season 20 draft, ATO was given HighOnVibes (258). HighOnVibes slid incredibly late in the draft, so uncharacteristically that it simply must come down to MMR woes as they were the highest MMR player available in the draft. I hope that with the already stacked MMR picks on this roster that they could usurp someone and prove the GMs wrong.
Grade: B
It seems harsh, but I have to grade this roster harshly as I am unsure of where the firepower comes from. Tamale is a great player and an even greater teammate, but I worry that the team is lacking a true star rifler. If Meat IGLs and Tamale AWPs then who is going to pick up that star rifle role? If someone else steps up and delivers a 1.10 level performance alongside Tamale’s potential, then the team is well rounded enough to do some serious damage. But my caution is that I don’t know who that will be yet.
FRG had the second overall pick in the S20 draft, and with it newly appointed GM Gabehasbongo selected RamiaBerry (256). Ramia is coming off of a stellar 1.09 regular season performance and will probably immediately be the main source of impact fragging. Ramia’s combines were a bit lower than expected in terms of performance, but if they are getting the slump out now, then who knows what damage they’ll do in the regular season.
With their next pick at 19th, FRG selected KellofKellogs (220). Kell was putting up decent numbers last season, over a 1.0 when they were ultimately cut from FNL. As they return this season to continue their CSC journey I fully expect them to also step up to the plate and deliver. The 1-2 punch of Ramia and Kell should be what this team is looking for to get their team’s floor as high as possible during the regular season.
Moving onto the 3rd the Tadpole Titans used a keeper pick on StrawBizzy (223). StrawBizzy has the distinction of having never played in Recruit before, her rookie season being that of a 0.79 Prospect outing. After a season without any regular season games played, she returns, this time to Recruit. She has my mark of being one of the possible tier breakers of the tier, should she jump out in front of the competition with extreme confidence.
For their 4th round pick at 39th FRG again used a keeper pick, this time on BrassBiscuit (214). Biscuit is another player that originated in Recruit but in recent seasons has rode the tier line between the two, having outings in both Recruit and Prospect in the last 3 seasons. Once again, I see a high floor and decent upside.
FRG finally gets back to making a pick with their 42nd overall pick in the 5th round. With it they leaped on Lather (100). Lather has the distinction of being 100 MMR, which for this team would mean, any combination of anyone can fit alongside them in practice. This is a huge boon to the team and frankly, I saw what Lather was cooking in combines this season and it looks like they leveled up! A 0.93 performance is a marked improvement over their last performances in Recruit and I for one am excited to see them make that 100 MMR a point of pride against anyone they face this season.
And with their final pick at 59th overall, the Toad Em Pole selected Aqvif3r (117). Their another undervalued, low MMR player that can easily out perform their MMR and elevate a team that wants to stack up on high top end MMR players. I expect it to be a battle between Lather and Aqvif3r for the final spots on the roster, but I’d love nothing more than to see them all come out shooting!
Grade: A-
This team has 3 players that I believe should be solidly over the 1.00 line, which is something that may be hard for a lot of teams in this season’s draft to say. Depending on how they make things work on their low end MMR players to balance the roster, I could see this team’s weakest link still perform at a .90 level, and that balance gives them a lot of flexibility in maintaining success when their heavy hitters go quiet in a match.
Final Girl had the 3rd pick of the draft after trading around a bit. They used it on Scomps (252). Scomps is returning after a 1 season break and putting up big numbers in combines, breaking a 1.00 on their Prospect mixed combines. I expect Scomps to immediately be in the conversation for MVP this season, with all star as a complete given.
After a bit of a long wait, with the 14th pick FNL selected Razr (231). Razr is a very long time member of CSC, and has championship pedigree to back up his longevity. If Razr can just lock in and tap into his potential then I would also expect to see this be a breakout season for Razr, because for all his years in CSC, yes YEARS, Razr has only 1 season of rating above a 1.00 since season 11. Fingers crossed that he can pop off and bring some heat.
I’m going to take the liberty of clumping their next three picks together as they were each keepers for their respective rounds. Beef (227) and ScissoR (188) are coming off an electric season beside Brody and AJ_. They fizzled out in playoffs, but seemingly to avoid that happening again they hitched their wagon to the workhorse that is TRAINS (217). When you take the championship success that TRAINS has IGLing, and then you take Beef away from the IGL role to fully unlock him, and ScissoR’s breakout combine performance, you get a mix of players that as a keeper core are already deadly almost regardless of who Evan drafted alongside them. And none of them were above the 3rd round! I expect this team to be a championship contender and anything less than a finals visit would be a disaster.
And with the 54th and FNL’s final draft pick, Evan selected BRG (169). BRG is a complete wildcard, which probably is why they landed so deep in the draft. As a complete rookie to CSC they managed a 0.66 in Recruit but somehow a higher rating at 0.76 in Prospect combines. I have no idea what to expect from this player other than if they do play up to that Prospect 0.76, then they’re going to give FNL management a headache as to who makes the final 5.
Grade: S
Evan has done it again! A core that alone should carry a team to a deep playoff run, while also grabbing another championship winning Recruit player in Razr, and Scomps one of the most plug and play deadly players in the tier, HAS to be an easy S tier for the hopes of a 3peat for TRAINS and FNL.
Moo moo moo, moomoo mooooo moo. Moo. Moo 4th moo, Gekkon (242). Moo moomoo moo. Gekkon has shown serious upside and commitment to learning the ropes of competitive CS through CSC and I know that they will be a force to be reckoned with. A top 5 pick overall for COW, Gekkon is going to have to bring some serious BOOM for this roster, but anyone that watched Gekkon in combines knows that is a lock.
With moo their moo 17th moo moo pick in the moo’th season draft, COW selected SymbolOfLove (242). Symbol has the unique distinction of having had the highest Faceit elo in recruit, at roughly 1300! Their numbers in combines haven’t quite reflected that but the upside of getting Symbol into an organized environment to get their heart pumping is too tantalizing to pass up. They also held their own decently well in Prospect combines, and when you combine those two things along with the fact that this was 17th out of 60 total picks, SymbolOfLove may actually just be a SymbolOfStealOfTheDraft!
Moo Moo Sw3eper (237) Moo 24’oo. Sw3eper is coming off of a shaky rookie season, but from combines alone looks to have leveled up quite a bit. If they can manage to bring that level up into the regular season then holding a 1.00 rating should be more than enough for what this COW roster is looking for out of them. Hopefully this can be their breakout season!
At 37th Saunce selected freshbeanz (155). Beanz’s rating in his previous season completely dwarfs his current MMR, and that alone makes beanz a deadly pick up this late in the draft. The added flexibility of having someone that can be the “weak link” on paper but actually deliver above most teams’ 4th best player is insanely strong and hopefully Saunce drafted a team that can really abuse his cheap cost. Beanz is trending upwards and I could see a world where beanz is this team’s 3rd best player come the end of the season.
BruhItsJoe (241) is a returning player from a few years ago in season 12 and 13. It would stand to reason that Joe would have improved in that time, and they already had managed a 0.87 in season 12. I have my eye on Joe being one of the sneakiest picks in this season’s draft, and Beanz’s bargain MMR could allow this place to stack up and already top heavy drafted roster for COW.
With Cow’s final selection, GM Saunce picked Reddragoness (184). Reddragoness has been a combine GRINDER and it’s high time that they make a team from the dedication to the grind alone. I foresee improvement and an above expected performance from them this season and I’m personally rooting for you all the way!
Grade: B
I think that the duo of Gekkon and SymbolOfLove should be plenty to get this team moving, my biggest questions that need answers come from Sw3eper and BruhItsJoe. Beanz is a nice pick up as well, for their rating to MMR ratio. I think this team has the legs to fight for a to 5 seed into playoffs.
North American Nades came up next with the 5th overall pick in the season 20 draft and selected J-J-B (233). J-J-B comes hot off the AWP with around 25% of rounds landing him a kill with the big green. They’ve also managed to maintain a 0.85 in their Prospect combines, showing that they have what it takes to be a standout in Recruit this season. J-J-B is poised to be the big dog for the Decoys this season.
However… In a puzzling turn of events at 13th overall NAN selected Phoenix12212 (258), another notable AWPer in this season’s draft class! Phoenix also is the highest rated Valve Premier player in Recruit this season topping the charts at just over 20k. So perhaps simply taking the best available player on the board and letting him go after it with a rifle is perfectly acceptable to NAN’s franchise management. Phoenix easily could have slipped into the Prospect draft this season and managed just fine, so having him go all the way to the 2nd round is shocking to say the least. It could have been MMR concerns as they are tier max.
Clearly looking to adjust for their sudden luck getting two of the heaviest hitting AWPers in the draft, NAN pivoted their 3rd pick to looking for whoever the best available mid to lower MMR player was on the board, and with that they found Ragnar (202). Ragnar has been around CSC for a while and has continued to steadily grow. Their first ever combine rating in s14 was a meager 0.49, however each season they have improved to the point of breaking into Prospect and putting up a 0.95 over 2 games last season and a 1.23 in last season’s Recruit combines. To see such a player slide to the 3rd had to have been a stroke of absolute luck for the MMR woes of NAN.
NAN’s next two picks were keepers in the 4th and 5th, HeartBreakMotel (215) and KashMoney (160) respectively. Both players are key pieces of whatever NAN hopes to do with this roster as they have to help balance out the 1st and 2nd round draftees. In any case, both of these players managed to put up good personal performances and should bring some firepower to The Decoys. Should both of them maintain their form or better yet improve on it, then NAN will be spoiled with shooters during this season.
NAN’s final pick of the draft went to REDWOLF0012 (103). Redwolf has been around CSC for a few seasons now and is grinding their way to improvement with their selfless style of play accounting for over 30% of opening duels in their games. I have to respect a player that plays so selflessly in a game that so many care so deeply about personal stats in.
Grade: A
This roster has the low end MMR players to squeak into the S tier, but what worries me is the potential logjam at AWP with their first two picks being most sharp on the big green. If Phoenix turns into a rifling phenom, then this roster instantly turns into an S tier competitor alongside
The Beach came into this draft with the cleanest slate of any team with only 1 keeper in the 5th round. With their wide open book they decided to take forallmattkind (251) with the 6th overall pick. Matt has come out swinging with an above average 1.06 in combines for their rookie debut. That combined with the fact that they appear to be keeping their KAST up, and that BCH were in the back half of the first round tells me that Cagey was probably quite pleased with this pick up.
Beach’s 2nd pick of the draft was Magic474 (257) who appears to be their AWPer for the season, boasting an AWP kill in 22% of rounds. Other than that Magic has managed to keep a fairly low profile in combines and perhaps that level of flying under the radar has allowed BCH to snag a sleeper at 15th overall.
At 26th BCH selected WR3N (160). She is a CSC newcomer and put up a respectable 0.85 in her 6 combine games while still being in the bottom quarter of MMR for the tier. I would wager a guess that she is here to bring balance to the back to back 250+ pick players that BCH selected, and so long as she can continue to have that reasonable output I expect her to be a great asset to the Boardwalk Bruisers.
Fishiness (218) was Beach’s next pick in the 4th round. The most standout thing about Fishiness is just how many games that they managed to grind in combines, a staggering 46. Surely that means that they stand to grow during the regular season after a slightly below average 0.91 in Recruit and 0.83 in Prospect.
Beach’s lone keeper, Fastrunner4 (199) is probably one of the strongest fragging 5th round keepers in the draft with a 0.95 over 14. Runner lays down a very solid baseline for Beach to build a roster around and I would be shocked if they don’t make the final 5.
The most incredible steal of the draft has to be Beach’s 55th overall pick, iLoveScottieBarnes. ILSB is a career Prospect player, and to sneak a Prospect player into the final 5 picks of Recruit is nothing short of a miracle. While ILSB may not be the plan, I would be shocked if they don’t make a case for themself and make the final decisions around Beach’s final 5 exhausting.
Grade: B
While I find Matt and Magic to be an interesting duo, and ILSB a nice option to have, I wonder how this roster manages long term with their 3/4/5th players. I think their season hinges on Fishiness stepping it up majorly or ILSB showing the Numbers Committee why they belong back in their rightful home, Prospect.
TEEs first selection at 7th Mustard Corpse (258) is a nasty shooter. Mustard’s highlight reel far exceeds his 0.93 and 0.94 ratings in combines. I think with some structure and a team around them to set them up, their mechanical ceiling will carry the team to victory more times than not. Hopefully they can clean up their ODR, they’d be a monster.
TEE then did not have a pick in the 2nd round and instead elected for double 3rd round keepers. TK (238) and Theleux (225) bring in some serious punchiness for a keeper duo. TK having a 1.05 regular season rating last season and a season 17 championship to his name, and Theleux boasting a 1.03 in playoffs last season, all for the low low price of two 3rd round keepers is stellar. The question remains though if they are not hamstrung by a lack of 2nd round pick and a poor 1st round pick, meaning that their first two actual drafted picks were pick 7 and pick 31.
TEE’s 2nd actual pick of the draft at 31st was Painless (170). Painless has proven in past seasons to be able to crest above a 1.00 rating over the course of a season, and if they can do it again then in theory so far all 4 of TEE’s players are ready to put up self-sufficient numbers all season. Painless also somehow managed to grind out 40 combines this season, somehow their lowest combine total in their time in csc.
Following those players TEE drafted Donut (189) in round 5. Donut comes into TEE after a quiet combines session this season, posting a 0.82 over 7 games played. Not much is known about this player as they are also a rookie to CSC. Hopefully they can find their stride and enjoy their first season at CSC.
And with their final pick at 58th TEE selected D951 (105). D951 played a few Prospect combines in season 18 before apparently bowing out after only 2 played. Then after returning in season 19 and 20 D951 put in a more substantial chunk of games leaving them at a 0.65 over their 5 combine games this season.
Grade: C+
While this roster does have a solid core, I am a bit worried about who the 5th will be. Donut and D951 are both fine players but when comparing this roster to some of the others, they are looking like they might be less well rounded and more top heavy. That said, I do think that this team has the fragging on lock, but it’s going to have to be a very by-committee approach to elevate their floor high enough if their goal is a championship.
Gone Fishin’ went for a completely different approach than most teams and slotted in a 1st and 2nd round keeper. With their first keeper they locked in Cacimar (255). Cacimar had a 1.18 in Recruit combines and an equally impressive 0.84 in Prospect. Given their draft position in the 1st round keepering Cacimar was the only way that they could have guaranteed the ability to roster a player of this level, so it seems like a no brainer for them. Hopefully the all-star level play from Cacimar continues this season, but this should be a no brainer lock in for the Guppies.
Their 2nd keeper was NeKo (244). NeKo is also an all star caliber player having multiple previous regular season ratings scratching near to the 1.10s. Their combines this season were pretty quiet though, but I have no worries about their ability to lock in and step it up in a team setting. These two should make for an incredible duo to build a team around in the draft, but was there enough on the board by the 3rd round that they felt comfortable making a functional five?
And to answer that question GF slammed their 3rd pick down with full force to pick up Rounnie (243). Rounnie is a returning recruit player who once again, has put up all-star level performances in his past outings in Recruit. So if I’m keeping track that’s 3 players that have all put together regular season ratings over 1.05 consistently, and Rounnie is a much needed AWPer for this roster. But with 3 very top heavy MMR players GF needs to take MMR into consideration surely?
Their 4th pick of the draft was a bit of a reach for a low MMR player to pair with their final keeper to make the trio above fit under cap space together. JonahJameZyn (175) caught my eye in combines as someone that despite not having outright fragging was a team player and was doing what he needed to do to be a strong teammate. If with the natural progression of the season they can bring up their mechanical level, just a little bit, then this team will be in a very solid place. However, if they are only expected to be a supportive player then I think they fit in perfectly for this team.
Their 5th pick was longtime keeper Tripleman (161). Tripleman is exactly what this team needs to make this core function solidly, and he has past experience playing with Rounnie. Things for this team are looking high with their potential lowest MMR player being the big Tripleman. #AP4Lyfe.
Shockingly GF has managed to hoard all the good players around 100 mmr! They snagged CSC’s own CameronKing (137). CameronKing has been in CSC for ages, and they have always put in a respectable performance, which to me is worth more than his mere 137 MMR. If the goal is to make that top 3 picks fit, then GF has infinite options with the rest of their picks to make it fit, and all of them are very solid.
Grade: S
This team has the distinction of having 3 players that have all been on the cusp of all-star’ing multiple seasons, then you mix in long term experience with Tripleman and this team has to be part of the big 3 in Recruit this season. They should easily run the regular season table.
All Good is hoping to put together an ALL GOOD roster this season around Kust3r (252) who they used a keeper pick on in the 1st round (9th). Kust3r shouldn’t have any trouble flexing into any role for this team after their history in CSC. There isn’t much to say about this, extremely solid 9th overall pick.
Coming in hot at 12th in the draft was Biggie (217). Biggie is looking to rebound after a timid performance last season. They have what it takes to be an all star AWPer but they need to really lock in on this season and come out swinging to make up for their shortcomings last season. Ideally Kust3r is able to get them set up for greatness and they can steal the tier’s top AWPer title this season with a little bit of grit and elbow grease to get back to season 18’s form.
Following that selection with 21st overall AG snatched up DJ0 (222). DJ0 is a complete newcomer to CSC and has played the minimum 6 combine games, making them as unknown of a quantity as possible. I have no notes on this player and no insight into what they bring other than they are a wild card for AG this season.
The next pick of AG’s draft, and the first of their double 4th round picks, is LD (208). LD has been around the block a bit in CSC and has always delivered a solid performance with steady growth. Their raw output might look a little weak, but take note of the fact that LD is one of if not the hardest entry in Recruit. Their nearly 30% opening duel attempt rate will be the can opener for this team all season long should they make the final 5.
At the end of the 4th AG kept Jack The Bipper (213). Jack’s coming off a breakout performance in playoffs last season, a 1.16 over 6 maps. While their regular season performance was quiet, if GMs overlooked their sharp playoff time uptick then they completely overlooked this gem. If they pick up where they left off then Jack is going to turn some heads and make teams very angry.
Immediately following with the 1st pick in the 5th round AG had their third and final keeper pick via Zer0 (211). Zer0 played a solid rookie season and would hope to continue to trend upwards. A very solid 5th round keeper for AG to continue to try and build off of in the draft.
Grade: B-
A low B here is most appropriate as I do believe that they have roles figured out, playoff clutch potential in Jack, and a solid AWP with Biggie. My main concern though is just how little ready to go star power they acquired. Kust3r is great and biggie and Jack have high potential, but what does that do for the team on match days if they don’t collectively hit their stride right away? This roster feels speculative but not bad. The floor is pretty average, but the ceiling looks to be really high.
Last season’s regular season dominators went into what appears to be a full rebuild as they have no remaining keepers carried over from the previous season after the total collapse in playoffs. They also were destroyed in the horse race and finished dead last, leaving them with 10th overall, which they used to draft Brennan (257). It’s unclear why Brennan slid so far as he had a 1.15 in recruit and a 0.94 in prospect combines, but it seems BOA were happy to take him to bring in much needed firepower.
Their next pick immediately followed at 11th with which they drafted g00seg0d (235). G00seg0d managed to crest just over the 1.00 mark in Recruit combines over 12 games and also managed to get in a handful of Prospect games of which he posted a solid 0.77 rating. Will this be BOA’s golden goose this season like AJ_ or Brody and carry them to the playoffs?
For the first keeper of BOA’s team this season they signed bigwillydos (245) with the 18th pick in the second round. Willy appeared to fall apart in playoffs last season but during the regular season they crushed their enemies with an impressive 1.15 rating and 8-4 record. Hopefully bigwillydos is ready to come out swinging to right themselves after what must have been a frustrating post season.
BOA had to wait quite a while to claim their next keeper pick as they didnt have a pick in the 3rd round, and ultimately used their 4th round pick on the keeper Jbsnipes20 (219). Jbsnipes is coming off of a decent personal performance (0.95) with a pretty abysmal record of 3-10 last season. Hopefully the games will go better this season for him so that he can keep the AWP in his hands more as despite the team last season struggling he still managed to find an AWP kill in 40% of rounds.
BOA’s next selection was another keeper, this time all the way at the very bottom of the 5th round with Mechler (159). Mechler kicked off last season as the IGL and hard support player for the now defunct ACA. His individual rating was nothing special, but his utility stats were among the highest in the tier, and his devotion to being a team player makes him more than worth his tiny MMR cost of 159.
The Kingsnakes didn’t have long to wait before their next draft as they had the pick immediately following their keeper Mechler, of which they used to grab Shupert (238) out of the pile of remaining players. Shupert was a former player in season 15 and 16 though ultimately they didn’t play any regular season matches. With their return in season 20 and being taken 1st in the final round of the draft, hopefully they can show their stuff and land on a roster this season.
Grade: S
Brennan sliding to last in the first round is criminal given that he was one of the highest rated Recruit players in combines and was very solid in Prospect. Pairing him with bigwillydos and the capable AWP of Jbsnipes gives me the feeling like this team has the potential of repeating their AJ_ and Brody connection last season and have overwhelming firepower in the tier. I expect to see the two players fighting for every kill to squeak out the MVP against each other while Mechler tags along behind throwing 900 flashes a game.