Another year, another Minor. Just like in a previous year, 8 teams from CIS region will battle it out for 2 spots in the IEM Katowice 2019 and an additional $50,000 prize pool. This tournament will start on 16th January, while the last match will be played on the 20th of January.
Even though CIS region is not as exciting as European is, we will definitely see a lot of talented players trying their best to prevail.
CIS Minor – IEM Katowice 2019 winner odds
- AVANGAR 3.5 @ gg.bet
- Gambit 4 @ gg.bet
- Pro100 5.5 @ gg.bet
- Spirit 6.5 @ gg.bet
- Runtime 8.5 @ gg.bet
- Winstrike 13 @ gg.bet
- Syman 15 @ gg.bet
- Nemiga 17 @ gg.bet
Groups and format
Just like every Minor, CIS is no different, at least when it comes to the format of the event. Standard double-elimination has been put in place. 8 teams are split into two groups of 4. All opening matches are played in a best-of-1 format, while every other game is played in a best-of-3 series. Furthermore, the top two teams from each group will advance to the playoffs.
GROUP A
- Gambit
- Syman
- Nemiga
- Spirit
GROUP B
- AVANGAR
- Pro 100
- Runtime
- Winstrike
Day 1 match-ups and predictions
- Nemiga – Spirit
- Gambit – Syman
- Runtime – Winstrike
- AVANGAR – pro100
Runtime – Winstrike
This a match between two very experienced teams. Runtime has CS:GO veterans on their roster, such as Sergey “starix” Ischuk and Denis “seized” Kostin. On the other hand, Winstrike acquired two former Quantum Bellator Fire players and they are former Major legends as well.
To be honest, I do not understand why bookmakers decided to favor Runtime in this one. On paper, it might seem like they have better individuals, but I assure you that this is not the case. Everyone from Winstrike is able to carry his weight, and the same can not be said about Runtime.
When it comes to map pool, I would give an edge to Winstrike. They have been more active than their opponents, and if we are to compare their map pools we will find a big gap. Runtime has never been tested on any map except Dust 2, and they won all 4 of their bouts there. However, what will happen if Winstrike bans Dust 2? Well, you probably know what is going to happen, since Winstrike has a very solid map pool and they are able to play almost all the maps.
To conclude, most of the Runtime players are well beyond their prime, and I do not think they can parry against players like David “n0rb3r7” Danielyan and Kirill “Boombl4” Mikhailov. Furthermore, map veto could be a big problem for Runtime, as they do not feel comfortable on most of the maps Winstrike play. As I mentioned above, the key factor should be Dust 2 ban by Winstrike, and if they do that, there is no way they are going to lose this match.
Winstrike to win – 2.10 @ gg.bet
