Match Prediction: IHC - paiN Gaming | CS2 (CS:GO)
IEM Katowice 2023 Play-InIHC and paiN Gaming will meet in the first round of the lower bracket of IEM Katowice 2023 Play-In. Everything is extremely simple here - the losing team will leave the championship, while the winner will get another opportunity to get into the group stage
However, I wouldn't give hope to the fans of IHC and paiN Gaming, because in their first matches the teams didn't show anything, and failed to impose a fight on the favorites.
However, if you look at the teams from a distance, then the Mongols even here lose in skill and are unlikely to be able to create a miracle. Besides, paiN Gaming doesn't deserve to leave the tournament without a win, because the team has been asking for TIER-1 for a long time, but constantly hits the wall.
Therefore, here I would take a closer look at the banal victory of the Brazilian team, which is essentially stronger than its future rival not only in terms of the status of the region, but also in terms of names.
Form IHC
The 36th team of the world ranking only in recent months failed at the eXTREMESLAND Festival 2022 and Perfect World Arena Premier League Season 3, from which they flew out at very early stages.
However, recently the Mongolian team qualified for ESL Pro League Season 17 and IEM Brazil 2023, showing signs of life in the qualifiers. At the same time, IHC also flew out of MESA League Season 3, which again confused all the cards.
As for the performances at the start of IEM Katowice 2023 Play-In, here the team lost without a chance to Cloud9, taking only five rounds on the Mirage map. And one gets the feeling that one can say goodbye to the Mongols.
Latest IHC results:
- Defeat from Eruption with a score of 0:2.
- Victory over Team Renewal with a score of 2:0.
- Victory over Eruption with a score of 2:0.
- Victory over Lynn Vision with a score of 2:0.
- Defeated by Cloud9 with a score of 5:16.
Best IHC Cards:
- Nuke - 89% of wins.
- Ancient - 67% of wins.
- Overpass - 60% of wins.
- Inferno - 50% win rate.
It is worth recalling that the Mongolian team still refuses the Vertigo card.
form paiN Gaming
The 27th team in the world ranking at the end of last season became the champion of CBCS Invitational 2022 and CCT North America Series 2, and also won two victories at the ESL Challenger League Season 43 North America Relegation.
However, towards the end, the Brazilian team failed at the ESEA Autumn 2022 Cash Cup North America, where they suffered several optional defeats and closed the season for themselves.
So at the start of IEM Katowice 2023 Play-In, the paiN Gaming team could not cope with ENCE, having stumbled upon a severe lack of experience. However, there is a feeling that the guys will be delayed in the tournament, since it should be much easier with the Mongols.
paiN Gaming latest results:
- Victory over Snakes Den with a score of 2:0.
- Victory over Villainous with a score of 2:0.
- Victory over Nouns with a score of 2:0.
- Defeated by ATK with a score of 0:2.
- Lost to ENCE with a score of 7:16.
The best paiN Gaming cards:
- Nuke - 88% of wins.
- Inferno - 80% win rate.
- Vertigo - 50% of wins.
In turn, the Brazilian team continues to refuse the Mirage card.
IHC Match Statistics — paiN Gaming
The teams have not met before.
Prediction for IHC — paiN Gaming
I hardly believe that the Mongolian team can shoot. First, the IHC has been in decline for some time now. Secondly, at the start of the tournament, the guys did not play against Cloud9 at all.
It is clear that paiN Gaming did not surprise ENCE either, but this team is objectively stronger than the Mongols. In addition, in BO3 the Brazilian team will have much more chances to play their game.
Therefore, in this case, I would recommend betting on paiN Gaming to win.
Bookmakers & Statistics
IHC are listed as the favorites of the match in the majority of bookmakers and odds on them are equal to 2.25. paiN Gaming, in turn, are the outsiders of the match. Odds on their victory are about 2.254.
Team statistics in recent matches
Last Matches | IHC | ENCE |
5 matches (wins) | 3 | 5 |
10 matches (wins) | 5 | 8 |
It will also be necessary to mention the history of face-to-face meetings between the opponents. The teams played 0 matches with each other before. In these matches IHC won 0 times, ENCE active consisits of 0 wins.