IEM Rio Major Predictions and Fantasy

General thoughts

The RMR’s are over and the majors Challenger Stage now have a complete list of teams. We saw Imperial qualify last in an incredibly close game vs Complexity ending in overtime, 22-20 to Imperial’s favour. The Brazilians yelled out of happiness when the game was done, knowing that they now will play on home soil in Rio.

There awaits the nr.1 ranked team in the world, Vitality as their first opponent which doesn’t make anything easier. We’ll see 16 teams battling for a spot at the legends stage where only half of them will make it. Other teams that should claim a spot are Cloud9, but also the recent ESL Challenger Rotterdam winners: Outsiders.

On the other side of the rankings, we see a little less known teams like IHC, Greyhound and Gamerlegion. The underdogs will do their best to accomplish an upset in the swiss system but they shouldn’t expect too much because of the level of the teams they have to defeat.

Fantasy

In this tournament, you could get your hands on some awesome CS:GO skins but also gaming gear from XTRFY. To have a chance of winning, creating a stable good team from the beginning will be crucial. There will be a lot of bo1 matches in the start where players could either receive a high amount of pointsor barely any at all so choose your players wisely.

There will also be a league called de_fantasy where the top 3 players will recieve an avatar. You can follow de_fantasyCS on twitter to get Thoughts, tips & tricks for upcoming CS:GO fantasy tournaments. @de_fantasycs‍

Challengers Stage

Players to avoid

I wouldn’t recommend any players from the teams what are less likely to qualify, such as IHC, Greyhound and Gamerlegion. If you pick a player from here that do good however, you will probably be in the top from the start since not many other users will have that player. I find those players either too expensive or that you can get a better player for a cheaper price.

*KSCerato 193$
*FalleN 181$
*dgt 191$
*autimatic 184$
*Brehze 175$

Valueable players

I think the following players are worth more than their cost and are all playes I consider having. Some of the players are AWPers who tend to get good amount of points in the E-GO system. They’re all cheap options and could be great as a budget pick for your lineup.

*Magisk 159$
*Jame 153$
*syrsoN 167$
*torzsi 163$
*F1KU 156$

Good to know

Vitality is the highest ranked team. #1.
IHC is the lowest ranked team. #42.
Swiss system with bo1. Progression/Elimination matches will be bo3.
Wipe phase between Challengers and Legends stage.
Use sell tokens wisely.

Predictions

It is not easy to predict who of the teams to go 3-0since there are Bo1 matches and alot of upsets. However, here are four teams I think will go through:

-Vitality
-Cloud9
-Outsiders
-OG

Four teams I think will get eliminated:

-IHC
-Greyhound
-Gamerlegion
-00Nation

Wipe Phase & Legends Stage

When Challengers stage is over, it is time to wipe your team to create a new one. Here awaits 8 new teams to pick players from. I bet some of the most popular teams like NaVi and FaZe will be favourites but we'll see what kind of teams we can cook together.

Players to avoid

I find most of the following players too expensive or that there just are better players for a more valueable price. For example, you can get REZ for 158$ who should perform better than hampus for 168$. I wouldn't recommend to pick any player from Sprout since I think they will go out early from the legends stage.

*Hampus 168$
*Staehr 179$
*sjuush 171$
*s1ren 173$
*lauNX 181$

Valueable players

These are players that you can get in the legends stage that I find attractive for my lineup and so should you. Really good performing players or decent players to a low cost.

*Perfecto 148$
*b1t 162$
*Jabbi 162$
*REZ 158$
*w0nderful 156$

Good to know

Wait until you see the bracket until you complete your lineup.
FaZe #2 and NaVi #4 are two of the favourites.
Use sell tokens wisely.
Swiss system with bo1. Progression/Elimination matches will be bo3.
Playoffs: Single elimination Bo3.