Vitality due a win at IEM Cologne, or are NAVI still kings?
Published: Aug 16, 2024
Six teams have fought and clawed their way to make it into the IEM Cologne Playoffs. In this betting preview, we’re taking a closer look at the Counter-Strike odds, the remaining teams and our predictions.
Vitality and Natus Vincere are looking superb
Hailed as one of the favorites for this tournament, Team Vitality hasn’t disappointed so far. Seeded into a tough Group B, they’ve taken down the likes of FURIA Esports, MOUZ and FaZe Clan on their way to earning the top seed for the Playoffs. Patiently waiting in the semifinals, they’ll either rematch FaZe Clan or try out SAW to earn a Grand Final spot.
A win is overdue for this team, the last time they won being back in December 2023.
Natus Vincere find themselves in the semifinals after a relatively easy breeze through Group A. Specifically, the likes of paiN Gaming and Astralis were easy sweeps, with SAW being the only team to take a map off of these Ukranian giants.
After winning the Esports World Cup, this Natus Vincere has celebrated a familiar status as top dogs in Counter-Strike.
Nobody SAW them coming
Anybody who claims to have predicted SAW to make it into the IEM Cologne Playoffs is simply lying. Packing an exciting Portuguese roster, SAW’s only achievement this year was a 1-2nd place finish at the BLAST Premier: Spring Showdown. Moreover, they placed 7-8th at the BLAST Premier: Spring Final 2024, but many ruled this down as a one-time affair.
And no, they aren’t simply lucky.
To get here, they took down both G2 Esports (runners up to the Esports World Cup) and The MongolZ (Tier 2 demons). Taking Natus Vincere to a Map 3, they might have what it takes to upset FaZe Clan, especially with their new coach “BERRY”, their strategy has elevated drastically.
FaZe and G2 Esports in a slumber
Is FaZe in a slump? Well, at the past 5 tournaments they competed in, they didn’t manage to place higher than 5th-6th, which is beneath the standards for this organization. Their last win was IEM Chengdu 2024 in April 2024, since then they’ve mainly only lost to other top teams such as Vitality and Natus Vincere for example.
At IEM Cologne 2024, they started Groups with a tough match against Vitality which they ultimately lost. Regardless if they manage to take down SAW, they’ll need to rematch Team Vitality to make it to the Grand Final – does FaZe have what it takes? We think they do, but will they show up?
G2 also made headlines in the wrong way after opening IEM Cologne with a surprising loss to SAW in 2-0 fashion. Bouncing back with wins over Team Spirit, Astralis and paiN Gaming, this G2 Esports is more unpredictable than most, considering their two recent roster changs in the past couple months – even after winning IEM Dallas 2024.
While they are favoured against MOUZ, we’re not sure they can take Natus Vincere in the semifinals.
MOUZ can’t start slow
If MOUZ wants any chance of making it deep in this tournament, they need to show up in a big way against G2 Esports. After finishing second in Group B, MOUZ is ranked lower than G2 Esports but only narrowly.
If they could perhaps revive their former performances from the ESL Pro League Season 19 and BetBoom Dacha Belgrade, they could make this tournament very interesting.
IEM Cologne 2024 Match Odds<
Here’s a look at the outright match odds currently offered by GG.BET for the opening round:
- SAW (+204/3.04) vs FaZe Clan (-271/1.37)
- MOUZ (+125/2.25) vs G2 Esports (-159/1.63)
