The quarter-finals kick off on Saturday and there are eight formidable teams ready to take up arms for their share of over $100,000
Helmets on, guns loaded and hand grenades… at hand.
The Intel Extreme Masters San Jose is just around the corner and the SAP Center will host a Counter-Strike: Global Offensive competition that’s set to be a real battle of attrition.
There are eight formidable teams ready to take up arms for their share of over $100,000 in prize money.
The quarter-finals kick off on Saturday and we’ve got all the key info for the upcoming matches and which teams are looking strongest.
Team SoloMid vs. Cloud9
SoloMid will undoubtedly be one of the toughest squads in the tournament, consistently ranking in the top three teams in the world.
They have an eye-watering all-time win-rate of 71 per cent, so the five Danes will be seeking to terrorise their opponents in San Jose in true Viking spirit.
All five players were scooped up from Team Dignitas at the start of the year and since then have finished first in a string of Premier and Major competitions.
It’s fair to say, then, that Cloud9 have a tough challenge. The American team will play SoloMid first, and will have to bring their A game to stand any chance.
Their team spirit, however, will hopefully be buoyed by their recent victory at the iBUYPOWER Cup, in which they beat fellow competitors Team Liquid to take the trophy.
Outright winner: Team SoloMid 2/1 – Cloud9 15/1
Virtus.pro vs. G2 Esports
Polish powerhouses Virtus.pro are looking to set San Jose alight and sustain their reputation as one of the world’s leading CS:GO teams.
Currently ranked second in the world, Virtus.pro have a remarkably solid team of players, with a steady, unchanged line-up since 2014.
Snax is probably the one to watch, but the team as a whole are doing well – having won their last six matches.
Their first match will be against G2 Esports after Ninjas in Pyjamas pulled out of the competition to give their players an end-of-season break.
Don’t underestimate G2 though – just last week the European team beat Virtus.pro in the FACEIT League 2015, proving that this will be a close match.
Outright winner: Virtus.pro 2/1 – G2 Esports 10/1
EnVyUs vs. Team Liquid
The fearsome French squad of EnVyUs are probably the team to beat in this competition and are ranked first in the world.
This summer saw a so-called ‘French shuffle’ occur, as the underperforming team shed star player Shox and support player SmithZz.
Titan’s KennyS and apEX were signed, much to the dismay of fans who now expected the new line-up to perform even worse.
However, after a striking run of wins up to the Cologne 2 finals, the naysayers were soon proven wrong.
Once again a world class team, EnVyUs’ biggest likely rivals are Team SoloMid, but first they’ll need to liquidate their opposition, Team Liquid, in the quarter-finals.
Liquid fought their way to San Jose by coming second in the iBUYPOWER Cup (Cloud9 won the cup, but were already invited), and find themselves underdogs in the competition.
Liquid has had a strong month but mostly faced off against fellow Americans. It’ll be interesting to see how they cope against the more challenging European teams.
Outright winner: EnVyUs evens – Team Liquid 20/1
Na’Vi vs Luminosity Gaming
Eastern European team Na’Vi will be pitted against Brazilian team Luminosity Gaming, which should make for an intriguing showdown.
The last time these two fought in the arena together was at the DreamHack Open Cluj-Napoca, with Na’Vi winnting the match 2:0.
Currently ranked fifth worldwide, Na’Vi will need to pull out all the stops if they want to stay hot in the game as they’ve lost their last six out of seven matches.
And what of their opponents? Up until losing to Cloud9 in the iBUYPOWER Invitational, Luminosity Gaming have enjoyed a remarkable win streak against their fellow Americans.
Let’s see how they fare against intimidating opposition.
Outright Winner: Na’Vi 5/1 – Luminosity Gaming 40/1
It’s hard to look past EnVyUs and SoloMid as the strongest of the tournament. But the competition is fierce.
Who will you back in the tenth season of the IEM tournament?
