The CS:GO IEM Sydney 2018 tournament will be one of the biggest events in May. In this article, we take a look at the key dates for the event and give some predictions for who we think will come out on top. If you’re looking for some high tier Counter Strike in May, look no further than IEM Sydney 2018. There’s a huge $250,000 prize pool, eight invited teams and eight slots that were open for qualifiers.

Here is everything we know so far about the event.

 IEM Sydney 2018 Start And End Dates

Below, we have provided all of the dates and information you need to know about the qualifying rounds and the main event for the IEM Sydney 2018 tournament.

IEM Sydney 2018 Group Stage

May 1 – May 3, 2018

Starting on May 1, the group stage for IEM Sydney 2018 will have two groups with eight teams in. There will be a double-elimination group format used.

First matches for the group stages will be best of one, whilst all other matches will be best of three.

The two group stage winners will go straight to the playoff semifinals.
The group stage 2nd place teams will go to the group stage lower bracket quarterfinals.
The group stage 3rd place teams will go to the group stage lower bracket quarterfinals.

IEM Sydney 2018 Playoffs

May 4 – May 6, 2018

The playoffs for IEM Sydney 2018 will start on May 4, straight after the group stage is over. The first day will be the semifinals. The second day will be the quarterfinals, and the final day will be the grand finals. The quarterfinals and semifinals will be best of three games, whilst the grand final will be best of five on May 6. First place will take $100,000, 2nd gets $42,000, 3-4th get $20,000 whilst the remaining prize money will go to the other teams.

Teams And Predictions For IEM Sydney 2018

Below we have a full list of the CS:GO teams attending IEM Sydney 2018 and our predictions for the most interesting teams.

Full IEM Sydney 2018 Team List

Group A

• FaZe Clan
• ORDER
• Space Soldiers
• Renegades
• Cloud9
• Grayhound
• TyLoo
• SK Gaming

Group B

• Mousesports
• B.O.O.T-d[s]
• NRG Esports
• Astralis
• Natus Vincere
• MVP PK
• Chiefs ESC
• Fnatic

IEM Sydney 2018 Group Stage Predictions

Below are top predictions for the top 8 teams in the IEM Sydney group stage. Keep in mind that this information is just based on speculation and there could be variations in the end results.

FaZe

Even with Xizt filling in for Olofmeister, FaZe has a lot of potential. We feel that FaZe could easily fight their way into the playoffs.
They’ll be up against ORDER, which will be an easy first match for them. After that, they’ll most likely come across Space Soldiers. This is where FaZe face their first biggest hurdle.

We then expect FaZe to face Cloud9 or SK in the round 3 of group A. We think they’ll fight it through to the playoff semifinals but if they don’t, they’ll have a free pass into the playoff quarterfinals anyway.

Space Soldiers

Space Soldiers have a good chance to win their first match against Renegades. After that, they’ll be going up against FaZe. They’ve shown potential against them before. If Space Soldiers can fight through here, they’ll fight their way into the playoffs.

If they lose, they’ll fall into the lower bracket and should have an easy time defeating any of the other losing teams. We feel Space Soldiers has a strong chance to proceed to the playoffs.

Cloud9

Cloud9 has been performing surprisingly well despite Stewie2K leaving for SK. Only time will tell if they can perform as well in IEM Sydney as they have in past events. Cloud9’s first match is against Grayhound, which should be an easy win for Cloud9. After that, Cloud9 will be going up against SK Gaming in a very important match in the second round in the group stage. With ex-team member Stewie2K now on the SK side, there will be a lot of tension in this match.

Things look stronger for Cloud9’s side – SK has had issues recently, whilst Cloud9 has been strong, even without Stewie there.

SK Gaming

SK Gaming will have an easy first game against TyLoo in the group stage. After that, SK Gaming will face up against Cloud9. Like mentioned above, things might go in Cloud9’s favor here. Ultimately, it won’t matter too much. If SK Gaming falls into the lower bracket, they’ll face either FaZe or Space Soldiers, and I personally think both aforementioned EU teams will have a great chance to defeat SK here.

Mousesports

Mousesports will have a free ride in group B. First against B.O.O.T-d[s], then up against Astralis. Mousesports first real challenge will be with Fnatic in round 3.

We think this is where Mousesports will fall into the playoff quarterfinals.

Na’Vi

Na’vi has had a difficult time recently – they are performing very well, but just not good enough to defeat the very best. Their first game against MVP PK will be a walk in the park. After that, their first challenge will be Fnatic.

I do not see Na’Vi defeating Fnatic, so they’ll fall into the lower bracket. I then have the suspicion that Na’Vi will do well enough to beat Astralis in the lower bracket finals.

Astralis

Astralis haven’t been performing the best as of late, and I feel they will fall into the lower bracket as soon as their first challenge arrives in round 2. This challenge will be Mousesports, a force that’s looking more unbeatable as the days go by.

In the lower bracket, Astralis will find an easy win against their first opponent, but after that they’ll find themselves up against Na’Vi, which is likely to be the point where they are sent home.

Fnatic

Fnatic has been having a blast recently. Their first target will be Chiefs ESC – this will be a quick, clean game for them. After that, Fnatic will face up against Na’Vi, which shouldn’t be too much of a task for them.

Following that, Fnatic will face off against Mousesports in the grand finals. This game could go either way, but it’s likely Fnatic will have the upper hand.