IEM Chicago 2018 starts tomorrow, November 6th. Despite BLAST Pro Series Copenhagen and CS Summit 3 ending last night (with NaVi and NRG as their respective winners), many teams will be right back to compete in the $250,000 tournament. Here are the matchups and predictions for IEM Chicago 2018!

The Group Stages start on November 6th, with the main event running from November 10 – 11. Viewers will be able to watch on Twitch. You can see the full match schedule at the IEM Chicago website.

IEM Chicago 2018 Predictions – Group A

Astralis and FaZe are the safe picks to make it through Group A. After that, North, NRG, and MIBR all have potential to step up. Here’s some predictions.

Astralis vs MVP PK – Astralis

The easiest pick of the tournament. Although MVP PK put up solid performances in their home region, going up against the world #1 team will be too much. Expect Astralis to dominate this game as usual.

North vs NRG Esports – North

This is an interesting matchup where either team could take it. North has been performing well online against teams like Fnatic, FaZe, Mousesports, and even Astralis. Although NRG is the higher rated team and just won CS Summit 3, they may be a little burnt out for this opening match.

MIBR vs Renegades – MIBR

Made in Brazil haven’t been on the best run lately- failing to win a single match at BLAST Pro Series Copenhagen. Interestingly, they also lost 2 online matches to Renegades shortly before the event. Still, playing on LAN is a whole different animal and this is MIBR’s chance to get back in shape.

LDLC vs FaZe – FaZe

Although LDLC could put up a good performance, it seems unlikely they’ll be able to topple FaZe Clan. Expect this one to go the way of the world #4 team.

IEM Chicago 2018 Predictions – Group B

NaVi and Team Liquid look like the obvious choices to top the group. Mousesports, Fnatic, and BIG all have potential here, too.

NaVi vs eUnited – NaVi

The #2 ranked team will be taking on the #35 team in this matchup. Expect this to be the most one-sided match of the group stages.

Fnatic vs BIG – Fnatic

Another interesting matchup between two strong teams. Both seem to be improving and either could take this one, although I’d lean slightly more towards BIG.

Mousesports vs AVANGAR – Mousesports

Despite changing their roster back and forth, mousesports still seems like a strong choice to win this match. However, AVANGAR is underrated and there’s some huge upset potential here.

Luminosity vs Team Liquid – Team Liquid

The Brazilian roster headed by steel have had some decent upsets in the past few months. However, Team Liquid is stronger in every aspect and should have no problem shutting Luminosity out.

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