Preview: Betting on the IEM Chengdu 2024 Playoffs
Published: Apr 11, 2024
The IEM Chengdu 2024 playoffs are set to begin shortly, with six teams hoping to clinch the title together with the lion’s share of the $250,000 prize pool. Along with some of the usual contender teams, Astralis and Liquid made their way to the arena after a couple of impressive group-stage performances.
With the hottest CS2 betting event of this week commencing soon let’s take a closer look at the bracket and each team’s chances at lifting the IEM Chengdu 2024 trophy in just a few days.
Surprise Showings: Astralis and Liquid
Astralis
The vast majority of the Counter-Strike community was skeptical of Nicolai “device” Reedtz’s transition to the in-game leader role, but the AWPer seems to be thriving under his new responsibilities, having blitzed through the group stage, dismantling Steel Helmet, FaZe, and Virtus.pro along the way.
If the Danes continue to play with such poise and determination in front of a rowdy Chinese crowd, they should have no competition in this tournament. However, the former Heroic duo of Martin “stavn” Lund and Jakob “jabbi” Nygaard are known to underperform in the playoffs, so a big part of Astralis’ success is on their shoulders.
Liquid
After the heartbreak in the American RMR, Liquid had a lot of time to hone in on their craft and bring their level closer to the potential of their players. They’ve shown some of that potential in the group stage, beating Heroic and G2 to make their first playoffs as a roster
Despite having shown obvious improvements in the IEM Chengdu group stage, they are not at the level to compete with the likes of FaZe or MOUZ yet. Getting to play in front of a crowd for the first time in months should motivate them to keep working hard and come in even stronger for the upcoming ESL Pro League Season 19.
Favorites Prevail: MOUZ, FaZe, G2, and Virtus.pro
MOUZ
Despite their playoff shortcomings, MOUZ are yet to lose a group-stage match in 2024. The young squad has shown unbelievable consistency in the early stages of tournaments, but can’t find a way to capitalize on their success.
With the pressure in China being considerably lower than at the PGL CS2 Major Copenhagen, this is the perfect event for MOUZ to finally break through and show everyone that they are a championship-level team, capable of taking down any opponent.
FaZe
FaZe booked themselves an IEM Chengdu playoff spot in true FaZe fashion – grinding their way through the lower bracket, after being dismantled by Astralis in one of Group B’s upper semi-finals.
Since the dawn of CS2, FaZe has been a constant part of every big event Grand Final, let alone playoff bracket. Having come out second best in their last four Grand Final appearances, the international powerhouse will be more hungry than ever to finally lift a CS2 trophy in 2024.
G2
G2’s recipe for success has been largely the same in the last couple of months – just let Ilya “m0NESY” Osipov do his thing. The 18-year-old AWPer continues to deliver every time he joins the server, carrying G2 over the line in close games time and time again.
Unfortunately for G2, m0NESY can’t win every match on his own. Unless some of his teammates ramp up their level of performance in the playoffs, there’s not much hope for G2 lifting the IEM Chengdu 2024 trophy.
Virtus.pro
Although Virtus.pro haven’t made it to a big event arena in a while, they feel like they belong among the CS2 elite in the IEM Chengdu playoffs. As always, VP looked solid to start the event but got destroyed by the red-hot Astralis in Group B’s upper final.
While them going completely missing against the new-look Astralis is alarming, Virtus.pro tend to quickly put their past results behind them and focus on the game at hand, which is a thrilling rematch against G2.
IEM Chengdu Playoffs Schedule
With all that said, if you’re betting on IEM Chengdu this weekend here’s how the IEM Chengdu playoff bracket lines up:
Quarter-finals (12.04.2024)
- Virtus.pro vs G2 (9:00 CEST)
- Liquid vs FaZe (12:15 CEST)
Semi-finals (13.04.2024)
- MOUZ vs Virtus.pro/G2 (9:00 CEST)
- Astralis vs Liquid/FaZe (12:15 CEST)
