IEM Katowice 2022 Preview

With a few tournaments and matches under the belt for newly shuffled teams, it’s time to conclude that the new strats have been fine-tuned, and rust shook off. No place for uninspired Counter-Strike anymore. No place for excuses, no place for losers.

It’s time for arguably the greatest and most historic tournament in CS:GO history: lights on in the dingy town of Katowice. For the tenth time this year.

With a heavy prize pool of $1,000,000, same as that of the Major, the first LAN event of 2022 will be drawing eyes from all over the world. Starting from 15th January, and ending on 27th, 24 teams will fight tooth and nail in Katowice to write their name in CS:GO history.

TEN YEARS of #IEM Katowice ??

We return next week ?

?https://t.co/FjZsCLPh4T pic.twitter.com/fMYBSu74PU

— ESL Counter-Strike (@ESLCS) February 7, 2022

The tournament starts with 16 Play-In teams that will fight amongst themselves to reserve a spot with and against the big guns of CS. 8 will qualify, 8 will falter.

And 8 sit at the top: the Directly Qualified Teams.

After the Play-In Stage comes the Group Stage. 16 teams separated into two groups of eight will have another exciting series of matchups, finalizing three teams from each group that’s worthy to continue.

With 6 teams remaining of the original 24, we’ll have a grand Playoffs, with the two Group Stage winners placed in the semis. Unlike the Group Stages, there will be no second chance for the losers, no place for redemption.

And then the Grand Final. 27th January. A thrilling Best of 5. One winner who takes it all.

Who could that winner be? Here are the strongest contenders.

Vitality

What is it that makes greatness? A pure combination of extreme experience, otherworldly mental fortitude, a winning mentality, and insane raw talent. Vitality has the brains and the aims to crack this case open.

With dupreeh, Magisk, and zonic joining the likes of ZywOo and apeX, there is little doubt that Vitality has cemented their place as one of the favorites of the tournament. Their BLAST Spring Group performances induce nothing but confidence, as they were one of the three winning teams.

The first grand tournament of this squad together calls for a lot of excitement, and motivation. The former Astrails core must be itching to reach the top again, as they had back in their days.

If there’s one team I would pick as the winners apart from NaVi, it’s definitely Vitality, not less because the s1mple vs ZywOo rivalry will finally reach its true peak in 2022.

G2

A prodigy destined for greatness, coupled with a rifler that would put AWPers to shame, G2 is now being led by Vitality’s ex-coach XTQZZZ and Aleksib himself. He’s the genius who took an underdog ENCE into the Grand Finals on this very stage, 3 years ago, and he has tools aplenty to repeat those feats.

The Grand Finalists have had their roster changed, but the hunger persists. With fairly promising performances in BLAST, it’s time for them to do their best and shine their brightest.

Thrust into the same group as NaVi for Group Stage, G2 will have a huge task on their hands. But they also get the opportunity to deal a heavy, early blow to the world champions; a chance to set the record straight and announce to the world that they are here to fight.

With swords sharpened, and battlefield laid barren, the brainy IGL in Aleksib must integrate Counter-Strike’s greatest rifler, all while nurturing the future of the game.

Gambit

A dominant force of young guns, Gambit repeatedly defeated NaVi in the first half of 2021. They fell behind when the boys in yellow cocooned into an unstoppable dragon, but the talent and gluttony remain the same. The defending champions of the million-dollar IEM tournament have the pressure to prove themselves the greater team and retain this grand crown.

Gambit remains the only top-tier team completely unfazed by their local rivals’ dominance. They’re the only team to not go through roster changes, the only one to strongly believe in who they are and what they fight for.

Gambit has had the most optimistic start to 2022, winning Funspark ULTI without getting out of second gear. Is this a declaration of a worldwide conquest? Only time can tell. For now, this newer generation is itching to coup NaVi and plant their flag on this peak.

FaZe Clan

2021 spent on the edge of glory, drowning in the wells of what-ifs and maybes, FaZe Clan have reinvented themselves this year, just by a single player change. karrigan’s mousesports teammate, ropz, has arrived.

And this piper has started deafening our ears with melody off the gates of dawn. With a great performance in BLAST, where the international roster managed to become one of the three winning teams, FaZe Clan is ready to migrate from uncertain greatness to certain glory.

Defeating the likes of Liquid, BIG, and even Vitality, ropz and karrigan are well and truly back.

NaVi

Finally comes the team that has single-handedly forced the entirety of the CS world to shuffle and adapt to their unrelenting madness of world domination.

With no floors at their core, no ceiling worthy of concealing, this NaVi squad is probably the greatest and strongest that has ever been in the history of Counter-Strike.

Despite uncharacteristically struggling in the BLAST Spring Groups, there’s no doubt that NaVi remains the favorite for the Katowice LAN. The Ukrainians won 4/4 LANs they attended in 2021, a harrowing statement of their intent and power. With Blad3 leading the charge, there is no place to slack.

Rewatch NaVi’s Mirage matches in BLAST. They played with the same exact strats over and over again in all three matches. Is the Grand Slam-winning team, the one that won the Major without dropping a single map, running completely out of ideas? Or are they hiding something special for us for Katowice? Only time will tell, but I sure believe in the latter.

Will the NaVi that domino-ed the CS world into chaos, leading to the greatest transfer periods in the history of the game, show up? After all, Natus Vincere stands for Born To Win.

Diverse in regions, in countries, in languages. Diverse in culture, in personality, in nature. Yet the goal remains the same: hunt for eternal glory.

Will NaVi retain their position as truly the world’s best? Will their local rivals, Gambit, take over the mantle? Will the new looks in G2 and Vitality cause a heavy upset to CIS dreams? Will Astralis wind back the clocks under gla1ve, or will the magic of zonic cast its spell in the former French camp?

So many questions. Just a single answer: IEM Katowice.