Edit: head over to our IEM Katowice 2020 page for this year tournament’s preview.

Where to Bet on IEM Katowice 2019? As we mentioned above, this is the biggest event of the year. Every Esports bookmaker will jump into this event, and logically, they will try to best their competition. You should definitely expect high odds on IEM Katowice 2019 betting. So far, these are the bookmakers you should definitely stick with. IEM 2019 Katowice. Intel® Extreme Masters is the longest running global pro gaming tour in the world. Started in 2006 by ESL, the competition features Counter-Strike: Global Offensive.

IEM Katowice 2019 is upon us. The only qualifier that is left is Major Main Qualifier, that is going to take part on February 13th. However, IEM Katowice 2019 will start on February 20th, while the grand finals will be played on March 3rd. A total of 16 CS:GO teams will battle it out for their share of $1.000,000 prize pool.

The New Champions Stage Schedule – Betting Tips & Predictions

Click on each game to read the analysis and see our prediction:

Final

• Mar 3: ENCE Esports vs. Astralis

Semifinals

• Mar 2: MIBR vs. Astralis
• Mar 2: Natus Vincere vs. ENCE Esports

Quarterfinals

• Mar 1: Astralis vs. NiP
• Mar 1: MIBR vs. Renegades
• Feb 28: Liquid vs. ENCE
• Feb 28: Natus Vincere vs. FaZe

Betting Odds – Who is favourite to win IEM Katowice 2019?

Here are the outright odds from March 3 for the winner of the event:

Event Preview

Even though some bookmakers are including IEM Katowice Main Qualifier on their outright bet, we are going to skip those for now. As you can see from the betting odds, Astralis is heavily favored in this one. However, they were defeated on their first LAN event in 2019, iBUYPOWER Masters 2019. To be honest, Liquid was able to dominate them over the course of three maps. Given the fact that you can only double your money if you are to bet on Astralis, I would rather skip it then place a lot of money on them.

However, if you are looking for a good bet that will be worth your money, Liquid is the way to go. Ever since they replaced Epitácio “TACO” de Melowith Jacky “Stewie2K” Yip, and their former coach Wilton “zews” Pradowith Eric “adreN” Hoag, they have been stellar. Hence why they were able to lift their first trophy in 2019. Even though it felt like Stewie2K’s addition could ruin Liquid’s chemistry, that did not happen. It seems like Jacky was the missing piece of the puzzle, and him being so aggressive definitely helped Liquid to win iBUYPOWER Masters 2019. Furthermore, they have momentum on their side, and I feel like they lost that “choke” effect that was always surrounding Liquid. To conclude, Liquid has everything they need in order to win IEM Katowice 2019. They have incredible individuals followed by veterans with vast experience. In my personal opinion, odds are too good to turn down, so I have my money on Liquid to win IEM Katowice 2019.

Outright betting prediction: Liquid to win IEM Katowice 2019
Odds: 5.50
Bookmaker: esportsbetting.com

Betting tips – Is it worth betting on the favorites?

In my personal opinion, betting on favorites is a bad idea, especially on such an important event. You need to understand that certain teams are preparing for IEM Katowice for months. They are basically coming to this event to outstrat anyone. This probably paints the image for you on why it is not a good idea to bet on IEM Katowice 2019 favorites.

Secondly, every player is coming to IEM Katowice with a desire to be crowned as an MVP of the event. So you can imagine how good will these player perform individually. Do not get me wrong, all the favorites are filled with firepower and incredible individual skill, but the only reason why they are among the best is that they are playing like a well-oiled machine. Players like Özgür “woxic” Eker, Russel “Twistzz” Van Dulken, İsmailcan “XANTARES” Dörtkardeş are all incredibly skilled, and the only thing they need to do in order to prove to the world they are the best is to start playing a team focused match of CSGO.

Lastly, all Esports bookmakers are going to cover IEM Katowice 2019. We can expect really big odds and promotions for a couple of reasons. Each of these Esports bookmakers will want to best their rivals, and hence why this will lead to increased odds for every match out there. Secondly, we will enjoy a lot of deposit bonuses, because this is the biggest event of the year. Popular bookmakers like gg.bet and Betway are already announcing their deposit bonuses and odds enhancers.

To conclude, I am not going to bet on favorites on IEM Katowice 2019. There are a couple of reasons for that. To start off with, odds on underdogs are going to be through the roof, and they most certainly will have value. Secondly, each team that will compete on IEM Katowice 2019 is coming to the event with only one goal in mind, to win the entire thing and cement themselves as the legends of the game.

However, I would also strongly advise not to bet against Astralis, since they are on an entirely different level once compared to the teams like Natus Vincere, FaZe, BIG and others. The only team that is capable of beating them is Liquid, and you can read more about Liquid and our outright betting prediction above.

Schedule & Format

The New Challenger Stage (February 13th – February 17th)

There are three stages to IEM Katowice 2019. It is all starting with The New ChallengerStage. 16 teams will battle it out to secure their place in The New Legends Stage. What is interesting about this is that seeding it will be player-selected. Basically, every player will rank teams, and once all the lists have been completed, hosts will determine the first matches.

Advancement and Elimination matches are all played in a best-of-3 series, while all the other matches are played in the best-of-1 format. Only the best 8 teams will advance through to The New Challengers Stage, while the other 8 teams are eliminated.

The New Legends Stage (February 20th – February 24th)

Once again we will have 16 teams who are competing in one big group. Just like in The New Challenger Stage, players will rank each team individually.

The format is exactly the same. Top 8 teams will advance through to The New Champions Stage, while the bottom 8 teams are eliminated from the event. Every match is going to be played in a best-of-1 format, while all the elimination and advancement matches are played in a best-of-3 series.

The New Champions Stage (February 28th – March 3rd)

There is not much to stay about this stage. These are basically the playoffs. A single-elimination bracket has been put in place, so there are no second chances for anyone in this event. Lastly, all of the matches in this stage are played in the best-of-3 series.

Iem Katowice 2019 Odds Ncaa Football

Prize pool

Iem Katowice 21

A total prize pool of $1.000,000 has been put in place. This is the prize pool breakdown:

Iem Katowice Starcraft 2

• 1st – $500,000 + Legends Status
• 2nd – $150,000 + Legends Status
• 3rd – 4th – $70,000 + Legends Status
• 5th – 8th – $35,000 + Legends Status
• 9th – 11th – $8,750 + New Challenger Status
• 12th – 14th – $8,750 + New Challenger Status
• 15th – 16th – $8,750