IEM Katowice 2023 continues with the final rounds of the group stage on Tuesday, February 7, and Michael Lee is back with his coverage of three games. Today he looks at OG vs Outsiders, G2 Esports vs Natus Vincere and Fnatic vs Complexity.
Check out our esports betting tips below, and make sure to head over to Picklebet to take advantage of some of the best odds in the industry.
Esports Betting Tips: Tuesday, February 7th
OG vs Outsiders
CS:GO IEM Katowice 2023
OG started their IEM Katowice 2023 endeavour in the Play-In stage, where they defeated Sprout and Fnatic to advance to Group B, where they faced much stiffer opposition. Still, they secured a win in the opening round with a solid performance against MOUZ, who they beat 2-1.
Things didn't go as planned on Monday, when OG proved no match to IEM Rio Major finalists, Heroic, who beat them 16-10 and 16-12 on Inferno and Mirage, respectively. Outsiders didn't have to fight through the Play-In stage, but their road to Group B lower bracket semifinal was similarly mediocre.
They lost their opening group stage match against Fnatic (1-2) and then edged past Ninjas in Pyjamas with a 2-1 reverse-sweep victory on Monday. In the series, the Russian squad looked terrible on Vertigo (5-16) but were unstoppable on Overpass and Inferno, which they won with 16-12 and 16-9.
Based on what the teams have shown so far, this is a very winnable match for both. Outsiders are still viewed as favourites since they're the reigning Major champions, but they weren't very convincing in their games in Katowice, so I wouldn't say that this is surely their game.
OG have shown that they can compete with the best, and it's not too crazy to imagine them causing issues to Outsiders. This should be a close match that should reach map three.
Over 2.5 maps
$1.83 (1 Unit)
G2 Esports vs Natus Vincere
CS:GO IEM Katowice 2023
G2 Esports are playing like the next Major champions. This might be a bit of an exaggeration and not really a serious prediction since we're still a fair bit away from the next Major, but there is no denying that G2 Esports are looking very strong.
They've so far demolished BIG (2-0) and showed no mercy against FaZe Clan, who they defeated on Sunday with 16-14 and 16-7 on Nuke and Ancient. Interestingly, Nikola "NiKo" Kovač wasn't the star player of the series (1.17 rating), but instead, Justin 'jks' Savage, who averaged a 1.40 rating and with that continued proving that G2 made the right decision to sign him.
Natus Vincere haven't disappointed so far either, but they've only won against Cloud9 (2-0) and Team Liquid (2-0). Those look like excellent wins on paper, but Cloud9 also lost against IHC Esports, and Liquid are not exactly one of the main contenders for the title either.
This is still a strong team, but NaVi have not been the same this season, nor have they achieved much in the latter parts of 2022, so I have to favour G2 Esports to add another victory. It wouldn't shock me to see G2 sweep NaVi, but as uninspiring NaVi might have been, they're still strong enough to cause G2 issues.
I like G2 Esports to win at 1.53, but I'm taking them to win 2-1 at over double the odds.
G2 Esports to win 2-1
$3.25 (1 Unit)
Fnatic vs Complexity
CS:GO IEM Katowice 2023
Fnatic suffered their second defeat of the tournament on Monday when they lost against Team Vitality (1-2) in Group B upper bracket semifinals. Before that, Fnatic were handed a defeat by OG in the Play-In stage.
Despite Fnatic losing against Vitality, they played well and had their chances to come out ahead. Nico "nicoodoz" Tamjidi looked particularly good, ending the series with a 1.27 series, but Fnatic didn't get enough from Dion "FASHR" Derksen and William "mezii" Merriman, who failed to break the 1.00 mark.
Complexity enter Group B lower bracket semifinals following a 2-1 victory against MOUZ, which followed a rough 1-2 defeat against Heroic in the upper bracket quarterfinals. While I must admit that Complexity are playing better than expected, they've only taken a map against Heroic, who are known to choke, and MOUZ, who've yet to prove that they belong among the world elite.
Fnatic are 1.53 favourites for this game, and that's fair. They're better than Complexity and should win, but they've also shown some unconvincing performances lately, so I wouldn't be shocked if Complexity win at least one map.
I'm not convinced Fnatic can win 2-0, nor would I risk money betting on Complexity. But I can see this game going to three maps.
Over 2.5 maps
$1.83 (1 Unit)
