The 2019 CS:GO Major is now less than a week away and the first stage matchups have been announced on Twitter. These were based on IEM Katowice 2019 Team Rankings determined by the teams themselves.
https://twitter.com/IEM/status/1093177499222192130
IEM Katowice 2019 Team Rankings
In order to make the seeding system fair, the matchups in IEM Katowice are determined by team rankings made by the teams themselves. Here are the final ranks for the Challengers Stage.
- fnatic
- NRG
- Cloud9
- NiP
- ENCE
- Vitality
- G2
- AVANGAR
- Renegades
- Vega Squadron
- TYLOO
- Spirit
- FURIA
- Grayhound
- Winstrike
- ViCi Gaming
The #1 seed fnatic faces #16 ViCi Gaming, while #2 NRG faces #15 Winstrike and so on. This system allows us to see who the players themselves rank highly and who they underestimate.
IEM Katowice 2019 Challengers Stage Matchups
The IEM Katowice 2019 Challengers Stage begins on February 13th. Here’s how the initial matchups look.
- Fnatic (#1) vs. ViCi Gaming (#16)
- NRG Esports (#2) vs. Winstrike Team (#15)
- Cloud9 (#3) vs. Grayhound (#14)
- Ninjas in Pyjamas (#4) vs. FURIA Esports (#13)
- ENCE (#5) vs. Team Spirit (#12)
- Vitality (#6) vs. TYLOO (#11)
- G2 Esports (#7) vs. Vega Squadron (#10)
- AVANGAR (#8) vs. Renegades (#9)
While the system favors the top seeds, the losers of each matchup will get another chance to redeem themselves. Elimination and Advancement matches will all be Bo3s so teams don’t lose via Bo1 games.
There are some interesting takeaways from the IEM Katowice 2019 team rankings. Five of the top ten (NRG, ENCE, Vitality, AVANGAR, and Renegades) made it in through the Minors. You can see more about the rankings on the IEM Katowice website.
There may also be some underrated teams. Despite their #11 position, TYLOO has shown multiple times in the past that they’re able to take games from top teams.
Nonetheless, the opening stage of the major should provide plenty of excitement with some of the top CS:GO Major Teams competing.