Catch up on IEM Chicago before the Playoffs this weekend

Counter-Strike
November 8, 2018
Ollie Green

If you didn’t know already, IEM Chicago, one of the biggest international CS:GO events to take place this quarter, has been underway this week.

As of writing, we are slowly coming to the end of the group stage, but that means we still have a whole weekend of excellent Counter Strike to look forward to. Let’s take a quick recap of how the group stage has been going down and which teams will be moving onto the playoffs.

CS:GO IEM Chicago Group Stage recap

The action started on November 6 as 16 teams from across the globe battled it out in the group stage. There were two groups with eight teams in. Each group featured a double elimination system and all games besides the opening match were best of threes.

iem-chicago-group-stage

© ESL

Below is a look at the participating teams and how they were matched up this week.

Group A

  • Astralis
  • MVP PK
  • North
  • NRG
  • MIBR
  • Renegades
  • LDLC
  • FaZe

Group B

  • NaVi
  • eUnited
  • Fnatic
  • BIG
  • mousesports
  • AVANGAR
  • Luminosity
  • Team Liquid

So far, we are still waiting to see how some of the final upper bracket games and the lower bracket games play out, but here are some highlights.

NaVi Fell To Pieces

NaVi had an embarrassing 16-6 loss to eUnited in their first game and then lost 2 very close maps against BIG in the lower bracket.

Fnatic Looked Strong

Fnatic had a great performance against both BIG and eUnited, the same teams that shut down NaVi.

Team Liquid Still On Fire

Team Liquid fired through their first two games against Luminosity and Mousesports. It’ll be interesting to see how their matchup against Fnatic goes in round 3 of the upper bracket.

Astralis are Powering Through

Astralis aren’t giving anybody any chances – they shot through the first two rounds of the upper bracket versus North and MVP PK and now they are set to face FaZe in the third round.

FaZe Might Be Back

FaZe almost lost out against a surprisingly strong LDLC, but they shot back with an incredible 2-1 series against MIBR. MIBR then later fell to the lower bracket and subsequently lost to NRG, another team that has impressed us this event.

Chances are both FaZe and Astralis will move to the playoffs, but who will win in their first face off?

iem-chicago-results

© ESL

So far, the following teams have been eliminated:

  • MVP PK
  • Renegades
  • MIBR
  • North
  • NaVi
  • AVANGAR

IEM Chicago is easily one of the craziest events so far

When events have a double elimination group stage, it’s usually common to see the top teams make it into the playoffs. However, IEM Chicago has completely taken things into new territory.

MIBR and NaVi have already been eliminated, yet teams like eUnited and LDLC are still somehow holding on.

Of course, the big boss right now is still Astralis, but is there the chance for an incredible upset in the grand final?

There might just be, and thankfully Rivalry are offering outright markets on IEM Chicago. Right now, you can make an incredible return if you bet $10 on one of the less likely teams like eUnited or LDLC. Even a safe bet on Astralis could double your money.

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