Action never ceases in CS:GO esports. After last week's high profile PGL Major Antwerp 2022 event, which saw the downfall of NAVI and rise of FaZe, the cards are being dealt again. This time Counter Strike’s world stars will face off at Dreamhack IEM Dallas.
The event, taking place in Dallas, Texas features 16 teams battling it out for the lion's share of $250,000 prize pool, and will throw the teams into a double elimination group stage before a single elimination playoff bracket, all topped off with a best-of-five grand final.
Thirteen of the 16 teams competing have recently returned from the Major, including the champions, FaZe Clan. Not only do they have less than a week to prepare, but the competition will be held in North America, which will add to the pressure.
A slugfest pitting Astralis against Vitality and a Brazilian derby between the local rivals, Imperial and FURIA, headline the opening matches of IEM Dallas, the schedule to which was announced via the IEM Twitter page.
Now let’s take a look at the schedule and format of IEM Dallas.
Format
The 16 teams competing at IEM Dallas have been placed in two groups of eight. The teams in each group will be placed in a double elimination bracket with two teams from the upper bracket and one from the lower bracket proceeding to the playoffs.
Six teams will compete in the playoffs, which will be a single elimination bracket. The top team from each group will be placed in the semifinals and will be one win away from reaching the final.
Or in other terms:
Closed Qualifier
- 8 Team Double Elimination (EU)
- 8 Team Double Elimination (NA)
- 4 Team Double Elimination (SA)
- 4 Team Double Elimination (ANZ)
- All other Matches Bo3
- 6 Teams advanced to the main event
Group Stage
- 2 x 8 Team Double Elimination
- Top 3 of each group to Playoffs
- Opening Matches Bo1
- All Matches Bo3
Playoffs
- 6 Teams Single Elimination
- Quarter- and Semi Final Bo3
- Grand Final Bo5
Schedule & Betting odds
On 28th of May, Heroic was replaced by MIBR. The team did not have the required visas because of the pandemic situation and were unable to make the necessary travel arrangements. The betting odds have been updated accordingly.
Below are the current predictions for the upcoming matches. Teams that are highlighted in bold have the odds in their favour. You can click on the date/time to take yourself directly to the detailed match page, and live bet whilst the matches play out.
You can always visit luckbox.com to watch your favourite team’s matches and bet live.
Monday, May 30
Group A
- 18:00 G2 vs Movistar Riders 1.22 vs. 3.80
- 18:00 MOUZ vs ENCE 1.95 vs. 1.75
- 19:10 FaZe vs Looking For Org 1.04 vs. 8.50
- 19:10 Astralis vs Vitality 2.10 vs. 1.65
Group B
- 20:20 FURIA vs Imperial 1.52 vs. 2.40
- 20:20 Liquid vs Cloud9 2.60 vs. 1.42
- 21:30 NIP vs BIG 2.00 vs.1.72
- 21:30 MIBR vs Complexity 2.00 vs. 1.72
Storylines to watch at IEM Dallas
Only obstacle facing FaZe will be ENCE
IEM Dallas will be the first Big Event staged in North America since the ECS Season 8 Finals in 2019.
It will also consist the freshly-crowned Major winners FaZe, North American teams Liquid and Complexity, as well as other teams listed within the top 20 in HLTV's lists; such as FURIA, Cloud9, or G2, with the newly renamed Encore (previously Looking For Org) being the greatest outlier in the list.
They will undoubtedly defeat their first opponents Encore and force them into the lower bracket.
| Also Read | FaZe Clan: Victory of the believers |
Looking back: FaZe have only lost five games since the start of IEM Katowice, and two of those losses have been against ENCE. If there is one team that can stop them, it’s ENCE.
Speaking about ENCE
Just days before the first round of matches at IEM Dallas, it was reported that Lotan "Spinx" Giladi would be unable to travel alongside ENCE owing to visa concerns.
For ENCE, who have been on a roll this year with an ESL Pro League Season 15 grand final appearance and a semi-final run at the Major, losing their top player (statistically speaking), who presently leads the rest of his squad with a 1.18 rating in 2022, will be a significant problem.
NIP will also be without a vital component in their starting five, namely in-game captain Hampus "hampus" Poser, meaning ENCE will not be the only team without their whole squad.
ENCE and NIP’s faceoffs with MOUZ and BIG are now slightly less advantageous from their PGL positions as the teams are bound to lose a bit of cohesion so these matches have very close odds that could go either way.
North American clubs strive for victory on their own turf
North American teams are still battling to find their footing and a route to the top this year, with the best performance from a North American team coming during Liquid's Pro League campaign, when they finished 5-8th.
IEM Dallas will be the first time that North American teams have competed at a big event on their home turf since 2019. Because there have been many roster changes and alterations in the NA teams, it is up to Liquid and Complexity to offer their supporters something to cheer about.
They must prove themselves against teams of comparable ability levels, thus no lucky breaks here. Their bouts versus Cloud9 and MIBR will be intense.
South America’s stars are looking promising
With most of the teams that gave these teams a hard time are out of contention, eventually one of them will make it to the end.
Brazil's participation in the PGL Major was rather successful, with one of the country's representatives, FURIA, reaching the Champions Stage with a 3-2 record in the Legends Stage, defeating G2 in their deciding match.
They finished in the top eight despite being unable to face the tournament's dark horse Spirit, in the quarter-finals, and will no doubt be looking to replicate their playoff run at IEM Dallas.
Imperial was one of the greatest surprises during the Valve-sanctioned competition, with Gabriel "FalleN" Toledo's 'Last Dance' lineup reaching the Legends Stage and almost missing out on the playoffs, ending in 9-11th place. They may just win against FURIA with their skill set, with odds slightly stacked against them.
MIBR has also joined the fray, and there will undoubtedly be another derby at the competition.
Stakes are again very high with the world’s top 20 battling it out among themselves. IEM Dallas will be another clash of titans.
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