IEM Beijing Preview and Predictions – Will Astralis win this one too?

IEM Beijing will be one of the most important CS:GO tournaments held in Asia this year. The event is scheduled to take place between November 7^th – 10^th in China and offers a prize pool of $250,000.

Being a top-level event that features some of the world’s best teams, IEM Beijing provides numerous esports betting options for fans who want to bet on CS:GO. Check out out CS:GO betting predictions.

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IEM Beijing Participants

IEM Beijing brings together eight participants from around the world. Five of these teams are in the top ten. Another one is FaZe Clan, which used to be one of the strongest competitors in CS:GO and still has at least four formidable players. The final two teams are from the local scene. And while they may not be at the same level as the first six, they’re still the best two teams from China. So overall, you can expect to see a lot of great matches by following this tournament.

• Team Vitality
• FaZe Clan
• Evil Geniuses
• Astralis
• ENCE
• Renegades
• TYLOO
• ViCi Gaming

IEM Beijing Prizes

IEM Beijing offers a prize pool of a quarter-million dollars, which is pretty much the standard prize pool you see at CS:GO events. The money will be distributed among the eight competitors in the following way:

• 1^st: $125,000
• 2^nd: $50,000
• 3^rd – 4^th: $25,000
• 5^th – 6^th: $8,500
• 7^th – 8^th: $4,000

IEM Beijing Format

IEM Beijing will take place in two stages.

Group Stage

For this stage, the competitors will be divided into two groups. Each of them will consist of 4 teams and will be played in a GSL format, also known as double-elimination. The matches will be Bo3. In the end, the top 2 teams from each group will advance to the Playoffs.

Playoffs Stage

This stage will be very brief, consisting of only three matches: two Semifinals (Bo3) and the Grand Final (Bo5).

IEM Beijing Favorites

These are the teams that you should definitely watch at IEM Beijing.

Astralis

Astralis is the winner of the latest CS:GO Major, as well as the previous two. In the global rankings, they’re sitting at the number one spot again. Based on what they’ve shown us in recent months, I believe this is one of the two strongest teams at IEM Beijing. Their only real opponents are Evil Geniuses and Team Vitality. Everyone else’s chances against them are remote at best.

Evil Geniuses

Evil Geniuses might sound unfamiliar to CS:GO fans, simply because the North American organization missed from the CS:GO scene for around seven years. Recently however, they acquired NRG Esports’ roster and are now one of the best in this game.

I would put EG at the same level as Astralis, Team Liquid and possibly Team Vitality at this moment in time. Everything about their way of playing the game indicates quality and a thorough process.

Going into IEM Beijing, I expect EG to play in the Grand Final!

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Images Courtesy of ESL