The 2020 Intel Extreme Masters (IEM) tournament is scheduled to begin on Friday, February 28 at the SPODEK Arena in Katowice, Poland. StarCraft II group matches will start at 12:00 and the quarter-finals matches for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) will begin at 15:00. The event is scheduled to last for three days, concluding on Sunday, March 1.

A total of 16 teams will be competing in the IEM Katowice CS:GO tournament. They are Astralis, Cloud9, 100 Thieves, Evil Geniuses, FaZe Clan, Fnatic, G2 Esports, MAD Lions EC, Natus Vincere, Ninjas in Pyjamas, mousesports, Team Liquid, Renegades, Team Vitality, Tyloo Lbet, and Virtus.pro.

The IEM Katowice 2020 CS:GO event features a US $500,000 prize pool, with the winners taking home half that sum and the runners-up collecting $100,000.

IEM Katowice Group A betting predictions

There are eight teams participating in Group A, which includes Team Vitality from France, Natus Vincere from Ukraine, Astralis from Denmark, Fnatic from Sweden.

While Fnatic are well known within the gaming and betting communities, we predict that their chances of winning this tournament are not that good. Their latest CS: GO event was the ESL Pro League Season 10 which was held back in December 2019 where they managed to advance to the finals. Since they were missing from the CS: GO esports scene for more than two months, we expect them to be going to Poland very rusty and out of shape.

Natus Vincere, on the other hand, has been doing quite well recently and since swapping GuardiaN with Perfecto, they have been on the rise. They did well at BLAST Premier Spring and if they come here with the same determination, anything is possible.

Team Vitality is currently fourth on the list when it comes to favorites, but we can’t help but feel that they are being underestimated at least slightly. While they did have some mishaps along the way at BLAST, they are still an extremely well-coordinated team and are capable of taking the victory home.

Astralis is actually one of the top favorites to win the entire competition. While many doubt their abilities due to the fact that they have recently lost to mousesports, it is likely that they will be trying to prove that they are the best here so they will be coming in all guns blazing.

The rest of the teams from Group A are considered to be underdogs and likely won’t be able to compete with the teams mentioned above.

Group A prediction: Astralis to win Group A

IEM Katowice Group B betting predictions

Group B also consists of eight teams, among which are big-time favorites mousesports, Team Liquid, Evil Geniuses.

When it comes to Group B, both Team Liquid and Evil Geniuses who are big names have around the same chance of doing well at this tournament. Both teams didn’t perform very well during BLAST and it would appear that both teams are in a slump which many don’t find appealing when it comes to placing bets.

Mousesports, on the other hand, are the biggest favorite for placing at least in the top four at numerous betting sites which is fair enough considering their latest performance. The team will also be in top form and we can be sure that they will be bringing their A-game.

While mouz are currently the world’s number one CS: GO team, it is important to note that they have snagged that title by playing more smaller tournaments while other teams have been skipping them and only participating in the big ones. Nevertheless, this will be the place for them to prove themselves worthy of the number one spot.

Group B prediction: mousesports to win Group B

Intel Extreme Masters 2020 CS:GO odds

As the tournament draws closer, some of the betting websites have started providing odds for the Intel Extreme Masters 2020 tournament. Below you will find a few bookies and their official odds.

William Hill
Astralis – $3.00
Mousesports – $7.50
Team Liquid – $9.00
FaZe Clan – $6.00
Vitality – $8.00
Natus Vincere – $11.00
Evil Geniuses – $12.00

UNIBET
Astralis – $2.75
Mousesports – $7.50
Team Liquid – $9.00
FaZe Clan – $7.50
Vitality – $8.00
Natus Vincere – $11.00
Evil Geniuses – $13.00

Thunderpick
Astralis – $3.45
Mousesports – $5.36
Team Liquid – $7.19
FaZe Clan – $9.49
Vitality – $11.78
Natus Vincere – $14.56
Evil Geniuses – $18.65