The Intel Extreme Masters Rio 2022 begins on Monday, October 31, and goes on for two weeks, ending November 13. This is the first CS:GO major to be taking place in Brazil, a country that is known for its passionate esports crowd.
Only the best take part in these tournaments, and it promises to be one of the best yet. Before that, we have open qualifiers that you could wager on that also include some of the best in the business.
Before we give an overview of some of the groups and who the biggest contenders are from each group, be sure to check out our Counter-Strike betting guide.
| Team | Odds |
|---|---|
| FaZe Clan | -909 |
| G2 Esports | -714 |
| Cloud9 | -625 |
Odds as of October 4 at Sportsbook
IEM Rio EU RMR A Betting Analysis
Four of the top 10 CS:GO sides will be taking part in this group: FaZe Clan, G2 Esports, Cloud9 and Astralis. FaZe Clan, ranked No. 1 in the world, will certainly go in as the favorite to win this group and the competition, but it’s not just the three other top-10 sides that’ll be on their tail; the likes of Ninjas in Pyjamas, Fnatic and Team Spirit can beat anyone on their day.
Just listing these teams out together brings a level of excitement that only the majors can elicit. The same goes for some of the other groups that will be dealt with in later sections. FaZe Clan won the last major in Antwerp, their first, and will be hoping to repeat the feat. The Astralis team already knows what it’s like to be multiple winners, having won four majors in the past, but aren’t as strong as they used to be.
Fnatic, a real force in the early years of CS:GO esports as three-time major winners, have fallen off in recent years. Cloud9 were the winners in Boston back in 2018, and G2 Esports will be hoping to do one better than Stockholm last year, where they finished as runners-up.
This group is full of teams with great history in this competition. One almost forgets that Ninjas in Pyjamas were five-time finalists, winning back in 2014 in Cologne. It’s still a bit surreal to see them all in one group. FaZe Clan remains the team to beat, which is why they’re favorites to win this group.
| Team | Odds |
|---|---|
| Natus Vincere | -1000 |
| Team Vitality | -1000 |
| Mouz | -556 |
Odds as of October 4 at Sportsbook
IEM Rio EU RMR B Betting Analysis
This group is no less competitive than A with four of the current top 10: Natus Vincere, Vitality, Mouz and Heroic. The odds for winning this group are the same for Natus Vincere and Vitality, who are ranked second and third in the world, respectively.
Natus Vincere comes with great pedigree, having lost to FaZe Clan in Antwerp last time out but going all the way in Stockholm at the same time last year. Na’Vi have also been losing finalists in three other majors: London in 2018, Columbus in 2016, and Cluj-Napoca in 2015. They also have arguably the best player on the CS:GO circuit on their roster in sImple. With him around, they’re as likely to win this major as any other team.
Vitality is on the rise and have ZyWoo in their ranks, who some would rank as the other great player on the CS:GO circuit. They’ve strengthened their squad by adding Spinx to their ranks but still haven’t been to a final in a major. This looks like their best shot yet and it wouldn’t come as a surprise if they top this group and even go on to win it all.
Heroic is in pretty good form, despite losing to Natus Vincere in their last match, and is capable of beating anyone on their day, but they’re probably a tier below the likes of Natus Vincere and Vitality at this moment in time.
ENCE, Mouz and OG deserve an honorable mention as teams that could upset the apple cart, but it’ll require more than one top side to have an off-day for them to win the group and that’s always going to be a bit unlikely.
ENCE has been to finals not too long ago and Mouz is ranked ninth in the world for a reason. It still feels like the task to topple teams with the likes of sImple and ZyWoo will be far too challenging.
| Team | Odds |
|---|---|
| Team Liquid | -2500 |
| Furia | -1205 |
| PaIN Gaming | -455 |
Odds as of October 4 at Sportsbook
IEM Rio NA RMR Betting Analysis
The group doesn’t need any division into A and B with Team Liquid leading the pack and ranked fourth in the world. Furia is going to be on their tail and have the home advantage. The same applies to PaIN Gaming.
We don’t really know how the crowd will react to these teams, but there’s every reason to believe that Brazilian fans are unlike any in the world. We can only go by what we’ve seen in other sports, and there’s no reason to believe the esports contingent will be any different.
Team Liquid will certainly go into this as the favorite, but Furia and PaIN might not just surprise the group but the tournament too. South American sides don’t really have a history of making it to the finals, but majors have never taken place in South America before, either.
The support for these times might just give them that extra boost that they’ve never had in Europe and North America. It could also get very hostile for some of their opponents. There hasn’t been any real study on home and away form in esports so far, and this could lead to something on those lines.
Furia and PaIN Gaming are great teams regardless of home support, it should be remembered. This group might not be as strong as the others, but it’ll probably be the most instructive.
