Just a few more days separate us from the start of the long-anticipated IEM XVI Fall! This is the final series of events before the grandiose PGL Major 2021. This event is in charge of deciding which teams will kick things off from which stage. There’s a lot on the line for everyone involved, with several spots still up for grabs.
It’s time to reveal the RMR #IEM Fall groups for all regions!
Follow this thread to see all teams participating and it which group they’ll duke it out! 🤜💥🤛
— Intel®ExtremeMasters (@IEM) September 21, 2021
Let’s start our IEM XVI Fall betting preview with some key facts!
Key Facts About IEM XVI Fall Events
There are a total of six events, one for each of the game’s regions. We’re talking about European, CIS, NA, SA, Asian, and Oceanic iterations. The starting dates for Oceanic, EU, and CIS are 29th September, while another start on 5th October.
The number of contestants varies from one event to another. The biggest event, of course, is the European iteration with 24 teams, followed by 12-team events in NA and CIS. SA, Asia, and Oceania will have four team events.
The groups of all regional events have finally been revealed yesterday, meaning we can now take a closer look and come up with research-driven betting predictions!
Where to Bet on IEM XVI Fall Events?
IEM XVI Fall events will be heavily overed on all online esports betting sites. Match-winners, totals, player props, you can expect a ton of in-depth coverage across the board, especially for the three biggest and most interesting events – EU, CIS, and NA.
Unfortunately, outright winner IEM XVI Fall betting odds are only available for the biggest, 24-team European event. Others don’t have such coverage, meaning if you’re into futures, you’ll have to explore the final European RMR.
As for where to bet on IEM XVI Fall events, the answer is straightforward as it can be. Simply navigate to our top real money CSGO gambling sites in 2021 and check out our list. You can thank us later!
European IEM XVI Fall Betting Preview | Favorites
Coming into the final RMR event, Heroic are on top of the RMR standings. G2 and Mousesports line up behind them, but everything can and will change, depending on the results of IEM XVI Fall.
As things stand now, only two teams are out of the equation – Anonymo and HYENAS. Neither of them will be competing on this event, meaning they have no chances of qualifying for the Major.
As far as big teams with questionable qualifications are concerned, Faze and Fnatic are in the stickiest of situations. They have just 248 and 294 points, respectively, and will need to place higher than the likes of Complexity, OG, and Sprout (among others) if they are to ply on next month’s PGL Major.
First up, the four groups of the European region! ⤵️
In total 24 teams are taking each other on with 4 groups of 6! 🔥
A stacked line-up for sure, who can make it out of their group? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/wYgWQVukfo
— Intel®ExtremeMasters (@IEM) September 21, 2021
Before we go any further, here’s a look at the top outright winner odds for EU IEM XVI Fall betting campaign:
Sentinels +100
Vitality +200
G2 +300
Heroic +400
OG +800
Faze +900
Astralis +1000
Mousesports +1100
NiP +1200
Now let’s see which of these teams offer the best value going forward! As you know, some of them are already pretty safe in terms of PGL Major qualifications. Others, however, will have to do their fair share of work on this final RMR event.
Let’s take a closer look!
Vitality to win at +200
Seasoned CSGO betting enthusiasts know well enough not to bet on Vitality to win tournaments. They are the unluckiest, choke-prone team in the world, always reaching far into the playoffs but rarely stealing the titles. Unfortunately, I wouldn’t be surprised if a similar scenario happens here.
On the bright side, Vitality are currently ranked fifth, which means they’re almost certainly going through to the Major. However, knowing ZywOo and the boys, they’ll want to start off from the Legends stage, and that’ll take quite a few wins on IEM XVI Fall.
Should you include Vitality outright winner among your IEM XVI Fall betting slips? No! Should you follow through on their match-winners? Yes!
G2 to win at +300
Let’s address the elephant in the room right away – G2 aren’t in a good form! For that simple reason, I can’t recommend investing money in their outright betting option. At +300, their form combined with the risk just doesn’t work for me.
NiKo is brilliant, though, and once he gets the show going there’s nothing you can do to stop him. But, other top-tier teams have shown us they can fight with one-trick-ponies this season. If G2 continue to be just that, I expect even bigger trouble along the way. Their PGL Major qualification shouldn’t be endangered, though I can already tell they’re going to bottle it…
Heroic to win at +400
Heroic to win at +400 isn’t half bad! In fact, it’s probably the best option out of all IEM XVI Fall betting opportunities available right now. It’s the only outright I’d be willing to invest more than low stake on. They might not be in the best of form, but they’re still a formidable side no matter who is on the other side of the server.
Heroic start the event from group B with Astralis and Complexity (among others) and won’t have any issues with qualifying for the playoffs. But, once playoffs kick off, everything can happen!
OG to win at +800
OG had an absolutely wonderful group stage on ESL Pro League Season 14. A quick reminder, they beat all five of their opponents, including heavy names like G2, Virtus.pro, Complexity, and ForZe. These guys aren’t messing around, that’s for sure!
Looking at the overall standings, OG will have to continue with their fine form as they are currently ranked eleventh. Remember, eleven European teams will play on this year’s Major, and OG are bordering on not qualifying for the biggest event in 2021 competitive CSGO.
The likes of FPX, Double Poney, and Sprout are above them. These three teams are the biggest surprises and could very well complicate things for the likes of OG, Fnatic, and Faze. As far as outright winner OG at +800 goes, I wouldn’t invest my money in that one!
Faze to win at +900
Faze to win is actually a solid scenario. At +900, the value is definitely there. But, what exactly makes me think Faze Clan will do well on IEM XVI Fall? Well, for one – a good result is imperative for them. In case they choke early on, they will be left without a spot on the Major. That doesn’t just mean massive financial repercussions but potentially imminent roster alterations too.
Additionally, Faze Clan have been upping their form lately. Even though they don’t really have any silverware to show off, they’ve been playing better and better with each passing event. If we’re going to see a big surprise on the European IEM XVI Fall event, then Faze Clan is the likeliest candidate!
Astralis to win at +1000
Now, this wouldn’t be such a crazy scenario either! Astralis, even though they’re playing in a mix-and-mash roster at the moment, have what it takes to win crucial events. IEM XVI Fall definitely falls into this category, even more so considering Astralis’ current qualification drama.
At the moment, the Great Danes are ranked right, just four spots away from not going to the October-bound PGL Major at all. With the likes of OG, Complexity, Faze, and Fnatic beneath them, the competition surely won’t be lacking.
Astralis have to get a good result here, hopefully qualifying as one of six European challengers. We know they have the quality to do so, but the question still remains – can they step up to the task?
Mousesports +1100
Mousesports at +1100 just isn’t worth it! While ropz and the boys are a top-quality team on paper, CSGO matches are rarely won that way. They’ve been struggling for a while now, failing to beat lower-ranking opponents on a consistent enough basis.
But, they’re still standing well on the EU RMR Rankings. Mouz are currently on the third spot, behind Heroic and G2. They haven’t mixed things up in the roster department, meaning no points have been deducted from their tally. But, they still have to finish off strongly on IEM XVI Fall if they are to keep their Legend status for October-bound PGL Major in Stockholm.
NiP to win at +1200
Ninjas in Pyjamas still trust the system! They still trust their academy levels and are using the young player to their advantage. Earlier this month, NiP reached the quarterfinals of ESL Pro League with an 18-year-old in their roster.
Despite the fact they had replaced ztr with LNZ and THREAT with calc (temporary coach switch), NiP secured a spot on BLAST Premier Fall Finals in a pretty tough group. At the moment, they’re in the fourth spot according to RMR rankings and will have to do all they can to remain in the Challengers’ group going forward.
At +1200, I wouldn’t bet on NiP to win this one outright, that’s for sure. It’s just too risky! I would, however, bet on them to finish off on a strong note if they manage to take one of the two top spots in Group D.
Quick Bits About Remaining IEM XVI Fall Events
Unfortunately, most CSGO bookmakers only feature outright bets for the European IEM XVI Fall event. But, if you’re interested in match-winner IEM XVI Fall betting options, you should know a bit more about the five remaining events as well.
CIS Event
Natus Vincere are the only team that has cemented its spot on the PGL Major. With 3680 points, there’s no way other CIS teams beat them in the RMR standings race. But, NaVi still has a lot to play for! You see, Team Spirit and Gambit are pretty close to them in terms of points… and, mind you, only two CIS teams advance to the Legends stage.
NaVi are bound to be one, but who will be the second? Spirit are leading the charge in front of Gambit, but Gambit’s form is way better. Sh1ro and ax1Le should be superior and will, if push comes to shove, stomp over Team Spirit.
As far as other CIS teams go, Virtus.pro and Entropiq (among others) are still below the qualification line. Everyone expects Virtus.pro to qualify, though it won’t be easy. True, Virtus.pro are in the easier group, but the likes of Gambit and ForZe are bound to cause issues. CIS RMR will be interesting right up until the very end, that’s for sure!
NA Event
I reckon a similarly interesting event awaits us in North America too! At the moment, EXTREMUM are the top-ranking team with 1880 points, followed by Liquid in second place with forty points fewer. Three NA teams will have the Legends status coming into the Major, and realistically, the third-place fight will be between FURIA, EG, Extra Salt, and EXTREMUM.
Yep, EXTREMUM could even end up without a spot in the Major, though it isn’t that likely at this point. Several results have to align for this to happen, which I doubt will happen. What’s likely to happen is Liquid climbing to the top of the rankings and Extra Salt rising up for the occasion and qualifying for the Major. You’ve heard it here first!
SA Event
MIBR are coming into the South American event as the outright favorites. They are at the top spot with 5461 points, with Sharks still contending for the Major with 5406. This final event will decide everything, perhaps even right off the bat.
You see, Sharks are going up against MIBR in the first round. Of course, the opening-round winner will have the upper edge, but these two are likely to meet again in a later stage. Either way, Bravos, and Imperial don’t have much to play for here. They can’t qualify for the major, but they can spoil the fun for Sharks or MIBR.
Asian Event
In Asia, TYLOO and VICI are still in the mix. Coming into IEM XVI Fall, both teams are at exactly 1600 points, with 2031 being the bare minimum they can win on IEM Fall. In other words, the team that places better on this event will end up going to the PGL Major – as simple as that! TYLOO should be the crown champion here, but the likes of zhokiNg and aumaN will want to spoil the fun, no doubt about it.
Oceanic Event
The last four-team event will be between Renegades, ORDER, VERTEX, and LookingForOrg. As you’d expect, only Renegades and Order have a chance of qualifying for the Major. Renegades are leading the charge right now, but things will change if ORDER has a better placement than them on this one.
Wrapping Things Up
There’s a bunch of information to swallow here. Six events, lots of points on the line, and with them, all sorts of Major qualification scenarios. The most important takeaways are the following:
CSGO bookies only allow outright IEM XVI Fall betting on the European event
You can expect exceptional props coverage for EU, CIS, and NA events
The first events start on September 29th, with the rest following on October 5th
All in all, lots of quality CSGO action awaits, so make sure you don’t sleep on it!
