IEM Season XII World Championship Playoffs Betting Predictions

The IEM Season XII World Championship is about to enter its Playoffs Stage, which lasts from March 2nd until March 4th. Only 6 of the initial 16 teams are still in the competition and they are fighting for a total prize pool of $460.000, divided in the following way:

1st place: $250.000.
2nd place: $100.000.
3rd – 4th place: $40.000.
5th – 6th place: $15.000.

IEM World Championship Trophy. Photo via https://twitter.com/iem

The teams that qualified for the Playoffs Stage are Fnatic, FaZe Clan, Ninjas in Pyjamas, Astralis, Cloud9 and Team Liquid. With the exception of two big names (SK Gaming and G2 Esports), all of the top contenders have made it out of the groups.

The Playoffs Stage of Intel Extreme Masters Season XII World Championship offers excellent CS:GO betting opportunities. But before I analyze the matches, let’s do a short recap of what the 6 remaining teams have done so far so you can better understand what they are up to.

IEM Season XII World Championship Playoffs Team Analysis

Fnatic

After their disastrous performance from StarLadder & i-League StarSeries Season 4, Fnatic entered this tournament as an underdog, being given very few chances to qualify for the Playoffs. What they did however was spectacular. They won group B with victories against Heroic, G2 Esports and FaZe Clan, and are looking capable of winning the entire event.

FaZe Clan at the Intel Extreme Masters World Championship. Photo via https://www.twitter.com/iem

FaZe Clan

In the absence of Natus Vincere and mousesports, FaZe Clan entered IEM Season XII World Championship as the team most likely to claim the title. Their performances so far haven’t been bad, but they haven’t been great either. The first two opponents they encountered (ORDER and North) are not top teams, so these victories don’t mean much at this point. Furthermore, their first match against a solid opponent (Fnatic) ended in a loss.

Ninjas in Pyjamas

After losing their first match against North, NiP managed to get a 3rd place finish in Group B by defeating Order, G2 Esports and then North in the lower bracket. However, they’re probably still the weakest team of the 6 that remain.

NiP Faces of Victory. Photo via https://twitter.com/iem

Astralis

Astralis looked almost unstoppable in Group A, claiming 1st spot by defeating Renegades, SK Gaming and Team Liquid. Along with Fanatic, they’re the most likely team to win this tournament.

Cloud9

Finally, the ELEAGUE Major champions and cs_summit 2 finalists are giving signs of life again after a series of poor performances. They still struggled to get a 3rd place finish in Group A and only barely made it to the Playoffs, but I guess it’s a start. They struggled against TyLoo (score 16 – 14) and Renegades (score 2 – 1), got crushed by Team Liquid (score 0 – 2) and then managed to comeback from a 0 – 1 map deficit against SK Gaming, in a very close match.

Cloud 9 at the IEM World Championship in Katowice. Photo via https://www.twitter.com/iem

Team Liquid

Just like in their last few tournaments, Team Liquid looked very strong during the Group Stage, taking 2nd place in Group A after losing against Astralis (score 1 – 2). Given the brackets, they’re likely to make it to the Semifinals and maybe even the Finals.

Intel Extreme Masters Season XII World Championship Quarterfinals Predictions

FaZe Clan vs. Cloud9

FaZe Clan is way above Cloud9 at the moment in terms of skill, so a 2 – 0 victory in their favor is by far the most likely result here. Cloud9 is still in recovery mode for this tournament and to some degree they’re lucky to have made it this far. On the other hand, FaZe Clan is constantly playing at a pretty high level.

Betway puts the odds at 2.30 – 1.55 in favor of FaZe Clan. Given these odds and the huge likelihood of a FaZe Clan victory, so you should definitely bet on the Europeans here.