IEM Rio Major 2022 - Betting Preview

The championship system has changed over the years. We now have three stages known as the Challengers, Legends, and Champions. In the early CS:GO major championships, making the playoffs would obtain your place in the next major. Now you have to qualify to gain a place in the Challengers and Legends stages respectively. These qualifiers are known as the Regional Major Rankings or the RMR. After qualifying, the teams are split into three categories depending on how well they did. These are the Contenders, Challengers, and Legends.

Contenders

The Contenders list features GamerLegion, Outsiders, 00 Nation, FURIA, Fnatic, IHC Esports, Imperial Esports and Grayhound Gaming. Pinnacle’s Futures odds for the Contenders are as follows:

This is a mixed bunch of teams with a lot of regional representation. IHC Esports come in from Mongolia, Grayhound Gaming represent Australia and Brazil is represented in Rio by 00 Nation, Imperial Esports, and FURIA. These eight teams will be paired with the Challengers to compete in the Challengers stage. The top eight from this stage will progress to the Legends stage to get a shot at the Champions stage.

FURIA and Outsiders are teams that you wouldn’t expect to see in the Contenders list, but 2022 has been a tough year for both teams. FURIA have struggled to find any real consistency and Outsiders have had to replace two of their players and have only just gotten into a position where they look competitive again. After the RMR, Outsiders claimed the trophy at Dreamhack Rotterdam against ENCE. Don’t be fooled by where Outsiders sit, they are a team that shouldn’t be underestimated at the major.

Imperial and 00 Nation will be the crowd favourites in Rio. Featuring names from the legendary Brazilian team, Luminosity Gaming, to win back-to-back majors, Gabriel "FalleN" Toledo, Fernando "fer" Alvarenga, Lincoln "fnx" Lau, Marcelo "coldzera" David, and Epitácio "TACO" de Melo will take to the stage in their respective teams. It wouldn’t be a major in Rio without these guys.

Challengers

This year’s Challengers are OG Esports, Team Vitality, Evil Geniuses, Cloud9, BIG, Bad News Eagles, MOUZ, and 9z. This is where those who didn’t catch the entire RMR will begin to see some familiar names. Team Vitality come into this event on the back of a win at ESL Pro League Season 16 and will be one of the favourites if they can make it through the Challengers Stage. Pinnacle’s Futures odds for the Challengers are as follows:

There are a few top teams in this stage that many would have expected to have seen in the Legends stage. The main two here are Team Vitality and Cloud9 who had a disappointing RMR. Cloud9 have become a particularly difficult opponent for teams playing at the peak of Counter-Strike and will be sure to take down some of the game’s giants.

Bad News Eagles were a team that shocked everyone at the previous major championship. Many had them as their 0-3 prediction for the official CS:GO pick’em. They fought their way out of the Challengers stage and then couldn’t repeat this performance in the Legends stage. It will be interesting to see if they can repeat this same underdog story.

OG Esports and MOUZ are two of the youngest teams in the major and have big expectations. OG Esports have looked promising since the summer player break, after bringing in Abdulkhalik "degster" Gasanov. They were able to take down FaZe Clan 2-0 at BLAST Premier Fall but fell short of accomplishing anything at IEM Melbourne. MOUZ have been surprising everyone since they were able to reach the playoffs at IEM Cologne. It will be interesting to see if they can do it again in Rio.

Legends

Being in the Legends group at a major is one of the best positions you could sit. You get to observe all the Contenders and Challengers as they battle through the first stage. It puts you one step closer to that playoff single-elimination bracket that every team wants to reach the end of. The Legends in Rio are FaZe Clan, Natus Vincere (NAVI), Ninjas in Pyjamas (NiP), ENCE, Sprout, Heroic, Team Spirit, and Team Liquid. Pinnacle’s Futures odds for the Legends are as follows:

This is where many of the favourites sit. FaZe Clan and NAVI are going to be the favourites for Rio as they’ve been consistently battling in events for titles and trophies. Both teams have slowed down drastically recently, though, showing weakness in the tournaments building up to Rio. It is expected for them to make the Champions stage, but there’s a chance they could lose out there.

NiP have been a major talking point recently, after going through roster and role changes. These could work either way for the team at this major. Doubts surround Fredrik "REZ" Sterner, the team’s new AWPer. Only time will tell if his appointment was the correct move as he’ll compete against the likes of Oleksandr "s1mple" Kostyliev and Helvijs "broky" Saukants.

Team Liquid are a team that have been doing very well since the addition of Mareks "YEKINDAR" Gaļinskis as a stand-in. This has become an official signing as of October 2022 and the team look stronger than ever. Coming off the back of a close finals match versus Team Vitality at ESL Pro League Season 16, the attitude in the camp is sure to be positive.

Our Top Picks

The IEM Rio Major 2022 is looking to be one of the most competitive major championships to date. Although FaZe Clan and NAVI have won most tournaments this year, a decline in form has left the event wide open. If we had to pick three teams that aren’t the big two, they would have to be Team Vitality, Team Liquid, and Cloud9. As of late, these three teams have been the king-killers on the scene. If anyone is going to deny NAVI and FaZe Clan their second major championships, it’ll be these three.

Our picks for teams that we think could surprise us the most are Ninjas in Pyjamas, Outsiders, MOUZ, and OG Esports. We could slide Fnatic into this category as well, but we’d like to see a bit more from them. NiP and Outsiders have very strong rosters and are always a difficult match for opponents.

NiP have recently undergone a leadership change which could make them particularly difficult to anti-strat and Outsiders have had enough time now to iron out any issues and there’s no doubt Dzhami "Jame" Ali has gotten his team adapted to his system. We pick MOUZ and OG Esports down to the level of talent their individuals can offer. David "frozen" Čerňanský and Shahar "flameZ" Shushan are two of best young players competing at the top level.