Intel Extreme Masters Season XII World Championship is an upcoming Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) tournament that brings together 16 of the world’s best teams. The event is organized by IEM, has a prize pool of $500.000 and is scheduled to take place in Katowice, Poland between February 27 and March 4.
Image via https://www.hltv.org
Intel Extreme Masters Season XII World Championship participants, format and prize distribution
Intel Extreme Masters Season XII World Championship features 16 teams from 5 different regions:
- North America: Team Liquid, Cloud9, Renegades.
- South America: SK Gaming.
- Asia: TyLoo.
- Europe: Heroic, Astralis, FaZe Clan, Fnatic, G2 Esports, Ninjas in Pyjamas, Virtus.pro, Avangar, North, Gambit Esports.
- Oceania: ORDER.
The tournament will be played in two stages. The Group Stage will consist of two groups of 8 teams. Each group is played in a double elimination bracket format (GSL). The winner of each group qualifies for the Semifinals. The second and third placed teams qualify for the Quarterfinals, where 2nd place from Group A plays against 3rd place from Group B and vice versa. The Playoffs are played in a single elimination bracket format.
The initial matches are Bo1. All the other matches are Bo3. The Grand Final is a Bo5 series.
The prize distribution for Intel Extreme Masters Season XII World Championship is the following:
- 1st place: $250.000.
- 2nd place: $100.000.
- 3rd – 4th place: $40.000.
- 5th – 6th place: $15.000.
- 7th – 8th place: $7.000.
- 9th – 12th place: $4.000.
- 13th – 16th place: $2.500.
Betting predictions for Group A
IEM Katowice 18 Tournament Bracket Group A. Photo via http://en.intelextrememasters.com
SK Gaming vs. Avangar
This should be an easy match for the Brazilians from SK Gaming, who are not exactly at the top of their game but still remain one of the best teams in the world (top 4 for sure). Avangar is nowhere near top 20 right now so in theory, their chance of producing an upset is fairly small. However, that chance increases significantly when you consider Avangar’s recent results. They qualified for this tournament by winning Farmskins Championship #2 and beating teams like Space Soldiers and mousesports (who recently beat SK Gaming) in the process.
SK Gaming Squad at STARSERIES Season 4. Photo via https://www.flickr.com/photos/starladder
Esportsbetting.com puts the odds at 1.09 – 6.00 in favor of SK Gaming and at these odds, you might want to consider betting a smaller amount on an upset. Especially if you’re using a long-term betting strategy to optimize your profits.
Renegades vs. Astralis
Astralis is no doubt the better team here and they have at least an 80% chance to win this match. Esportsbetting.com puts the odds at 2.60 – 1.45 in their favor, so the returns are excellent for such a likely result.
Astralis at the STARSERIES Season 4 Playoffs. Photo via https://www.flickr.com/photos/starladder
Team Liquid vs. Gambit Esports
Team Liquid has looked unstoppable in the last few tournaments and capable of beating any team in the world. A championship title at cs_summit 2 and back to back victories against SK Gaming proved that with their new lineup, they’re a top contender at any event.
Team Liquid at the STARSERIES Season 4 Playoffs. Photo via https://www.flickr.com/photos/starladder
At the same time, their opponent Gambit Esports has had a completely disappointing performance in recent weeks, losing match after match even against much weaker teams. So this confrontation should easily be won by Team Liquid.
Esportsbetting.com puts the odds at 1.65 – 2.15 in favor of the North American team, so the returns are absolutely huge for an almost certain result.
TyLoo vs. Cloud9
Even with Cloud9’s recent performance issues, this should still be an easy game for the ELEAGUE Major champions. TyLoo is one of the weakest teams in this tournament and they have absolutely no chance against a lineup of Cloud9’s caliber.
Esportsbetting.com puts the odds at 4.45 – 1.16, as this is almost in the bag for Cloud9 even before the start of the match.
