IEM Katowice will be the first big CS:GO event of 2023 with eight qualified teams and sixteen play-in teams facing off for US$400,000 in prize money and a slot at the IEM Cologne scheduled in July.
BLAST Global Finals winner G2 Esports are given odds of 7.00 by sportsbook bet365. G2 Esports are on par with some of the other highly-regarded teams such as Faze, Heroic, and Navi who are priced at 5.00, 6.00 and 7.00 respectively.
※ Current Odds Date & Time: January 3rd, 10:00 A.M. (EST)
G2 currently sits in 3rd in the HLTV rankings, and despite the glaring inconsistencies the team struggled with throughout 2022, they ended the year with a strong showing in the final tier 1 Counter Strike event of the year, only dropping one map after losing their first best of three against Faze Clan in a very tight 2-1 defeat.
It seems like the team has finally found their form with guys like jks and Hunter stepping up and flourishing within the team. While it continues to be a m0nesy and Niko show, the rise in jks and Hunter’s production has elevated the team to new heights. In-game leader Hooxi is also starting to pick up the tier 1 games better both mechanically and through his shot-calling.
Instability is the issue of Ukrainian organization Navi as well. The team has yet to recover from the loss of their igl Boombl4. The burden of being the igl has seemingly taken a toll in electronics ability to become the star rifle that he has been for the team since his arrival. Bringing up npl from the academy squad to replace sdy is a bold move for sure and their performance in this tournament is a benchmark to determine whether their gamble will pay off or not.
Faze clan on the other hand, seemed to have plateaued after putting together a very dominant 2022 that saw them win four big events: Antwerp Major, EPL 15, IEM Katowice and IEM Cologne. The defending champions of Katowice will look to defend their throne and secure themselves the coveted Intel Grand Slam that entitles them a bonus of US$1,000,000, which is given to any team who wins four out of ten ESL sponsored events from their first victory.
Major second placers Heroic are also vying for a win in Katowice. The team won BLAST Premier Fall quite convincingly but failed to show up during the Global Finals. However, despite not winning any S-tier trophy, Heroic is perched at number 1 in the HLTV rankings because of their consistent high placements in the tournaments they play. The addition of Jabbi has finally paid off after a few rough stretches during his first matches with the team as they tried to integrate him.
Will Heroic finally score a trophy here? Or will G2’s hot streak continue?
