IEM Chengdu Group A Favorites

IEM Chengdu is starting next week, on April 8, and group A is full of strong competitors but offers just three tickets for the playoffs.

The battle takes place in the double-elimination format, which means that each participant will have two tournament lives. However, losing early means that you will have to fight for a single qualification spot with a lot of other teams.

An upper bracket competitor needs to win two consecutive matches to advance to the playoffs. A lower bracket competitor needs to win three.

Group A Participants and Favorites

Here are the eight teams who will compete in group A of IEM Chengdu:

• G2 Esports
• 9z Team
• HEROIC
• Team Liquid
• FURIA Esports
• Lynn Vision
• MOUZ
• TYLOO

Among these eight teams, five have a real chance to qualify for the playoffs.

G2 Esports

HooXi > donk confirmed?? pic.twitter.com/FrGAkiwRYm

— G2 CS (@G2CSGO) April 5, 2024

G2 have NiKo and m0NESY, two of the world’s best CS2 players. With them in great shape, it’s hard to believe that their team will not finish in the top three in this group.

At PGL Major Copenhagen, G2 finished 3^rd – 4^th, clearly proving that their objective to become the best team in CS2 is not out of reach. At the moment, G2 is ranked 5^th globally but a victory here would help them climb a few more positions.

Assuming that they will win their opening match against 9z, G2 will face HEROIC or Liquid in the second match. This means that all they need to do to qualify for the playoffs is the win two matches against opponents who are not even in the top 10. In the case of 9z and Liquid, we’re talking about teams who aren’t even in the top 30!

Team Liquid

Liquid is among the favorites for the simple fact that their roster is formidable and has the potential to become one of the best in the world. So far, that hasn’t happened. But maybe IEM Chengdu will mark a new beginning for cadiaN and his crew.

The first match, against HEROIC, is crucial. If they can’t win it, Liquid will be sent to the lower bracket, where they’ll have to win three times in a row to make it to the playoffs. That’s not likely to happen.

HEROIC

Unfortunately for Liquid, HEROIC’s roster is quite strong. The fact that this team qualified for the Major and then finished 12^th – 14^th clearly proves that it has what it takes to beat anyone who’s not in the top 10.

Even if HEROIC lose their first match, they have good chances of winning the lower bracket because they’re extremely versatile. On Ancient and Mirage, few opponents can beat them.

MOUZ

First night in 🇨🇳Chengdu! 明天见! pic.twitter.com/CI4q7qQvgj

— MOUZ (@mousesports) April 6, 2024

MOUZ were eliminated in the quarterfinals of PGL Major Copenhagen but not because they weren’t good enough. It was because they weren’t experienced enough and crumbled under the immense pressure of the tournament and its live audience.

Despite that failure, MOUZ is still ranked 6^th globally right now and will almost certainly play in the group’s Grand Final.

FURIA

FURIA had a nice comeback in the first stage of PGL Major Copenhagen, going from 0 W – 2 L to 3 W – 2 L. But in the second stage, they were destroyed by their opponents. This is a team that doesn’t know how to beat the world’s best competitors. But at IEM Chengdu, it’s enough for them to win one big match and they’re guaranteed a spot in the playoffs.

Lynn Vision will be easy to defeat. The question is: can they beat MOUZ in round 2? Because that’s the opponent they will face if everything goes according to plan.

Overall Favorites

Out of group A, only two teams have a real chance to win the trophy: G2 and MOUZ. One of them is probably going to start the playoffs in the semifinals, which means that they will need only one victory to reach the Grand Final.

It all depends on what will happen in group B. But based on the seeding, FaZe Clan, Cloud9, and Virtus.pro will be the qualified teams. This means that G2 and MOUZ will need to defeat these teams to reach the Grand Final. And it won’t be easy.

At PGL Major Copenhagen, MOUZ were defeated by G2 in the quarterfinals. We might see a rematch between these two teams, ending with another victory for G2. Everything we saw at the Major indicates that G2 is the strongest team in group A of IEM Chengdu.

Header: ESL