IEM Cologne 2023: Playoffs Preview & Quarterfinals Picks

IEM Cologne 2023 quarterfinals are just around the corner as four rosters are clashing heads on August 4th in order to fight for the fame that this CS:GO event brings. In this piece, you will find a general overview of playoffs and the safest picks for the upcoming matches.

Go to: How to bet on IEM Cologne with BC.Game

IEM Cologne Playoffs Format

A total of six teams qualified for the playoffs. Teams that won their group, that being G2 and ENCE booked themselves a ticket for the semifinals. Heroic and Vitality advanced through as high seeds.

Credit: ESL

Last but not least, Astralis and Cloud9 came out on top in the lower bracket as they defeated their opponents in the last stand. This means that they advanced to playoffs, but only as low seeds. Keep in mind that quarterfinals and semifinals are played in the best-of-three format, while the grand final is contested in the best-of-five series.

Vitality vs Cloud9

In our books, this match is going to be a real barn burner. Both Vitality and Cloud9 are coming to this bout fired up and ready to go. When it comes to IEM Cologne betting, you should know that betting sites are heavily favoring Vitality in this one.

ZywOo and his squad looked great up until they faced off against G2. On the other hand, Cloud9 was on the brink of being eliminated as they crawled their way back by winning three straight against mediocre teams such as 9INE, Monte, and GamerLegion.

The fact is, both teams are sharing a similar map pool. With Nuke and Ancient being out of the way, we are positive that this bout will take place on Vertigo and Inferno. We believe that this is going to favor Vitality big time.

Let’s conclude this one. Cloud9 just recently went for a massive overhaul as they brought in electroNic and Perfecto. The fact is, it takes time for teams to build chemistry and team play, and sadly, at a high level, when you play less than five games together against a serious opponent, you end up losing. Do not forget to claim your IEM Cologne bonus to increase your bankroll.

• Prediction: Vitality to win
• Odds: 1.52
• Betting Site: BC.Game

Heroic vs Astralis

According to the best CSGO betting sites, Heroic is the biggest favorite in the playoffs so far. Many punters out there believe that this bout should be a one-way street, but Astralis will have something to say about this.

Heroic looked absolutely brilliant until they faced off against ENCE in the final match of the IEM Cologne 2023 group stage. On the other hand, no one gave Astralis much of a chance in this event, but here they are, locking horns in the quarterfinals of an IEM event against the best CSGO team in the world right now.

The fact is, these two teams played against each other not so long ago. Even though Heroic dropped the first map, they picked up the slack and completely dismantled Astralis Vertigo (16-4) and Mirage (16-4).

Here is how the map veto could turn out. Heroic is likely to ban Anubis while Astralis will look to remove Mirage in this one. This leaves Heroic with that Inferno pick while device and co. will try to capitalize on Ancient where they showed promising gameplay.

On paper, it seems like Heroic should have it their way in this game. We believe that this is the case, but Astralis will prove to everyone how good they really are on Ancient as we favor them heavily on this map. Let’s go for a riskier bet.

• Prediction: Heroic to win 2-1
• Odds: 3.10
• Betting Site: BC.Game