The Polish city of Katowice is buzzing with eSports excitement. IEM Katowice 2024 has brought together the best Counter-Strike 2 and StarCraft II talents to Katowice, raising the stakes higher than ever before. The StarCraft II chapter of the tournament will take place from February 8 to 11. Twenty-four contenders will fight for a larger share of the US$500,000 prize pool and coveted eSports World Cup 2024 slots.
StarCraft II heats up the final four days of the two-week-long IEM Katowice eSports festival. At the International Congress Center, 24 participants will vie for glory in the group stage, split into six groups of four. After the round robin affair, the top three players from each group advance to the Play-Ins. Group winners secure quarterfinal berths, while second and third place finishers battle in a round of 12 to claim the remaining spots.
With the quarterfinals and semifinals set, February 10th and 11th will see the intense final stages unfold. All matches except the Grand Final will be best-of-five battles, while the ultimate showdown for the championship title will be a best-of-seven clash.
Last time around, Li “Oliveira” Peinan got the better of his South Korean nemesis Cho “Maru” Seong-ju in the grand final. Is he favoured to replicate his success or is Katowice likely to see a new king of the stars? We look at what the latest odds tell us from bookmaker William Hill.
※ Current Odds Date & Time: February 7th, 10:00 A.M. (GMT)
Fresh off his Masters’ Coliseum 7 victory, Joona “Serral” Sotala enters the competition as the clear favourite. The Finnisher boasts odds of 3.20 to win it all in Katowice, followed closely by Team Liquid’s Clément “Clem” Desplanches at 3.60. Maru sits next in line with 5.50 odds, while Riccardo “Reynor” Romiti shares the same chances of lifting the trophy.
South Korean duo Park “Dark” Ryung-woo and Kang “Solar” Min-soo come next in the favorites list, with odds of 7.00. Dark started the year with a successful WardiTV 2023 campaign and a 4th place finish at the Master’s Coliseum 7. Solar, meanwhile, will be riding high on confidence following his World Team League 2023 Winter success with ONSYDE.
Oliveira finds himself tied for seventh with Kim “Cure” Doh-wook at long odds of 17.00. Recent struggles, with three defeats in his last five matches, cast doubt on his ability to retain the title in Katowice. However, these lucrative odds make the South Korean an equally tempting bet.
The DKZ Gaming Terran faces an uphill battle to recapture his form on Polish soil. Cure, on the contrary, has been rising through the ranks over the past few months and will hope to mount a successful title challenge over the next few days.
With so many strong betting options heading into Katowice, we recommend sticking with favourite Sotala. He’s leading at bookmaker William Hill for good reason and should take out yet another title here in Poland this week.
