As the IEM Katowice Group Stage progresses, we’re taking a moment to gather the results and predict which teams will qualify for the Playoffs stage. Read on as we weigh the esports odds and the tournament so far.
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In these betting preview, we’ll be referencing GG.bet for some of the outright match odds accessed at the time of writing.
Group A – Vitality Leading the Charge
Seeded directly in the Upper Bracket Quarterfinals, Vitality was always favoured to come out on top at IEM Katowice by the CS2 odds. Although constantly favoured, this team did fall short at both Perfect World Shanghai Major 2024 and the recent BLAST Bounty Spring tournaments with 5-8th place finishes.
However, after two promising wins over the likes of 3DMAX and FaZe Clan, Vitality is in a perfect position to take down Virtus.pro and claim one of the three seeds. Moreover, Vitality took down Virtus.pro in their last meeting at the BLAST Bounty Spring Qualifiers.
Speaking of Virtus.pro, they are defying all the odds right now after beating G2 and Eternal Fire after fighting through the play-In Stage. While we don’t think they’ll take down Vitality, they have a solid chance to make it to the Playoffs – but will they get any deeper into the competition against the best CS2 teams?
Indeed, Virtus.pro’s position in the competition is thanks to their massive upset over G2 Esports. While upsets do happen, G2 Esports lost in a tough overtime match. Bouncing back with a win over Team Falcons, now they’re matched up against one of their oldest rivals with odds barely favouring G2 Esports (1.81) over FaZe Clan (1.98).
Besides Eternal Fire and 3DMAX, eyes are on FaZe to see if they can replicate their outstanding 2nd place finish at the Perfect World Shanghai Major 2024. On the other hand, Eternal Fire recently finished 2nd at the BLAST Bounty Spring tournament.
Group B – The MongolZ Are Back?
Back at the Perfect World Shanghai Major, The MongolZ impressed everybody with a surprising 5-8th which deserves massive props for an Asian team. Coming out of a region that has historically struggled for CS2 betting, The MongolZ has an opportunity to maintain this form after an opening win against a weaker team liquid.
Otherwise, the opening round of Group B went according to plan, with Team Spirit and Natus Vincere winning their matches as expected. Now, the Upper Bracket Semifinal between Team Spirit (1.50) and Natus Vincere (2.56) is one of the most anticipated games of the entire events. While the odds favour Spirit, we wouldn’t be surprised for this to go the distance and either way.
Meanwhile, this Group seems a little less competitive than the other one, as we’re struggling to see any of the other teams taking down The MongolZ. Firstly, GamerLegion recently made two roster moves, MOUZ just signed a player from Vitality while both Astralis and FURIA haven’t come close to winning in ages.
Then there’s Liquid, who did give The MongolZ a hard time – maybe they can come back and reap revenge on The MongolZ.
Our Final Six Teams
Overall, here’s a look at the six teams we think will be heading to the Playoffs:
- Team Vitality
- Team Spirit
- Natus Vincere
- The MongolZ
- Eternal Fire
- Virtus.pro
Those are our best guesses – we can’t wait to be surprised.
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