Photo: By Adam Lakomy for ESL

After finishing all the regional qualifiers from around the world, we already know the 24 teams that will compete in the IEM Katowice 2019. The first major of this 2019 will have the not insignificant figure of one million dollars in cash prizes. In the past weeks, several teams around the world in different. Official Prediction: ViCi lose three straight, going 0-3 and get eliminated in the first swiss system at IEM Katowice 2019. Click here to go back to the hub and learn more about the teams involved in the IEM Katowice 2019 major.

‘Chiu on This’ is a short and regular opinion blast

The IEM Katowice 2019 Major is set to start tomorrow with the Challengers Stage. This section (formerly known as the Major qualifier) has gotten more competitive in recent iterations as the tier 2/tier 3 levels of the scene have dramatically improved in recent years. Rather than do a raw pick’em, I’m going to categorize each team based on the range of expectation I have for them.

Teams that are a lock

Expected Range of Results: 3-0, 3-1, 3-2

These are the teams that are favorites to make it out of the Challengers stage. If they get eliminated in this section of the tournament, I’d consider it a massive upset. These teams include:

• Fnatic
• NRG
• NiP
• ENCE

Among those four teams, I consider NRG to be the best, however I wouldn’t pick them to go 3-0. The biggest problem NRG faces is their lack of experience on their star players. They’ll have to adjust to that particular atmosphere, so even though they’re the best team here, they don’t have the best odds to clean sweep. The team that I think does is Fnatic. Every player outside of Brollan has plenty of veteran experience, so I’ll pick them to go 3-0.

Teams that are likely to go through

Expected Range of Results: 3-1, 3-2, 2-3

A tier below the for sure locks. These are the teams that should go through, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they got upset on the last day. These teams include:

• Cloud9
• TyLoo
• Vitality
• AVANGAR

While Cloud9 showed a lot of good things at the ELeague Invitational, it was still a small tournament with a low sample size of teams. I don’t how that team will react to the wide dispora of players and play styles that are coming into this section. Even so, I think the firepower between kioShiMa and autimatic almost makes them a certain lock to get through this stage.

As for my other picks, I think both Vitality and AVANGAR showed themselves to be solid reliable teams in the Minors. Vitality is a bit more on the edge for me as their superstar player is ZywOo and we’ve never seen him play at this level of competition or pressure before.

My final pick is one that is based purely on paper potential. TyLoo have a wealth of firepower so I think they should be able to blow through this stage.

Puncher’s Chance

Expected Range of Results: 3-1, 3-2, 2-3, 1-3, 0-3

These were the teams that have a chance, but it will depend on the form of the day. The four teams I put in this category were:

• Furia
• G2
• Vega Squadron
• Renegades

G2 has the highest potential firepower with Shox and kennyS, but I don’t have any data on how they’ve been doing since their recent roster change. The last time I saw them, Shox was their best performing player.

Among the teams here, I think the two with the highest level of upset here are Furia and Vega Squadron. Both have a decisive aggressive style that should work for them in the bo1 games. The problem for both is putting them in a bo3 against the better teams. What I like about both is that aggressive styles of play are rewarded in high pressure tournaments like the Challengers stage of the Major.

The fourth team is Renegades. My biggest fear for this team is that the core of this squad has often let the pressure get to them whenever it came to the majors. They have the least potential among the four to make it to the Legends stage. If Renegades do make it, my guess is that it will be off the back of Gratisfaction.

Bottom of the pack

Expected Range of Results: 0-3, 1-3, 2-3

The teams in this category should be fighting to ruin the lives of other teams. They should try to play their best and gain some experience. The final four teams include:

• Winstrike
• Spirit
• Grayhound
• Vici Gaming

These are the teams who require multiple conditions in order to win. These can include things like having a good day, winning a critical pistol round and breaking the economy, or having the opponent have a bad day. The best example of this was in the play-ins when VG took out North to qualify for the Challengers Stage. If any of these teams make it to the Legends stage, it should be considered a great achievement relative to their skill level.

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We started covering CSGO majors early in 2016 and we have been quite successful since then. We are up almost +28 Units from 149 bets, which makes around 18.5% ROI. We have also started sending bets for the IEM Katowice in January (Minors). From 10 predictions, we won 7 and gained a+2.52 units of profit. You can download all stats in an excel file if you would like to check them out.

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In short; we sent out a total of 149 bets, made a profit of 27,85 units,18.5% ROI at a healthy 60.4% win rate. We plan on covering more matches in the upcoming months with pre-match bets along with in play predictions, thus enabling a possibility for even more profit.

IEM Katowice 2019 Main Qualifier – Round 1 Previews and Predictions

Date & Time	Match	Prediction	Odds & Stake	Preview
13.2.2019, 13:00	Renegades vs. AVANGAR	AVANGAR to win	1.74 & 1 Unit	LINK
13.2.2019, 13:00	Fnatic vs. ViCi Gaming	Fnatic -4.50 rounds	1.86 & 1 Unit	LINK
13.2.2019, 14:10	TYLOO vs. Vitality	Over 25.50 rounds	1.76 & 1 Unit	LINK
13.2.2019, 14:10	Cloud9 vs. Grayhound	Cloud9 -4.50 rounds	1.78 & 1 Unit	LINK
13.2.2019, 15:20	ENCE eSports vs. Team Spirit	Team Spirit to win	3.40 & 1 Unit	LINK
13.2.2019, 15:20	ENCE eSports vs. Team Spirit	Over 25.50 rounds	1.70 & 1 Unit	LINK
13.2.2019, 15:20	G2 Esports vs. Vega Squadron	Vega Squadron to win	2.57 & 1 Unit	LINK
13.2.2019, 16:30	FURIA Esports vs. NiP	NiP -3.50 rounds	1.81 & 1 Unit	LINK
13.2.2019, 16:30	Winstrike vs NRG Esports	Winstrike to win	3.75 & 1 Unit	LINK

Katowice 2019 Predictions 2020

We decided to share all of the Round 1 predictions for free, but if you want our outright predictions, bets for the later rounds, along with in play predictions, contact us and we will make a fair offer, which will take into consideration the bookmakers you can bet on and the size of your bankroll. All of our in-play predictions will be sent from our traded to subscribers via Skype or Discord during the arranged hours between our in play trader and subscriber. You can contact us at: info@betting-previews.com.