The opening round of the IEM XV Katowice play-in stage starts in roughly twelve hours. It features eight bo1 matches featuring a solid level of competitiveness. Even though we’re talking about the play-in stage, there are several notable participants. One of them is the star of this matchup – Virtus.pro! They’re going up against Wisla Krakow in round one, but must already be eyeing the better of NiP vs. Complexity in the second round.
One year of collecting points has come down to this 🔥
• 24 of the world's best CS:GO teams
• 32 of the leading SC2 playersAll with the same goal; their name on the #IEM trophy 🏆 pic.twitter.com/lSdb2lLaZS
— Intel®ExtremeMasters (@IEM) February 13, 2021
As for today’s piece, it’s all about Virtus.pro vs. Wisla Krakow predictions! It’s an interesting matchup, not the most high-tier one tomorrow (OG vs. Fnatic and Liquid vs. MIBR take that spot), but definitely one that promises a good show!
Virtus.pro vs. Wisla Krakow Predictions
Obviously, Virtus.pro is the heavy favorite here. It’s not surprising at all considering just how well they closed 2020 off, and how superbly they kickstarted 2021 too. Virtus.pro have won three out of last four matches they’ve participated in.
Wisla Krakow, on the other hand, are going up and down the pecking order and aren’t getting enough exposure on the international stage. The Polish org won’t go down without a fight, that I can tell you… but I don’t think it will matter much in the end because YEKINDAR and the boys will dismantle them in no time!
Form
What about recent matches of VP and Wisla K? Virtus.pro have just one defeat in their last ten outings. Wisla Krakow, on the other hand, have just four wins in the same number of matches. Another thing has to be emphasized too – Wisla Krakow had much easier opponents too.
Everything in the form department points towards Virtus.pro and let me be clear right away – the majority of this Virtus.pro vs. Wisla Krakow piece will be pointing in the same direction. But, let’s no get ahead of ourselves and move onto the next section, map pool stats!
Map Pool Stats
Believe it or not, Wisla Krakow is actually better than VP on some maps. Mainly Inferno and Nuke, though some of you probably know Nuke is VP’s permaban. Train is a map Wisla should feel comfortable on as well. They have a 64% win rate over eleven matches, whereas VP has 67% over nine.
By looking at the stats, and knowing there’s just one map to go with, we can say with enough certainty that Virtus.pro will get something they’re comfortable on.
Individual Aspects
There’s only a handful of teams that can go toe to toe with Virtus.pro’s individual talent! I’m not just referring to in-form YEKINDAR here, but his mentor, VP’s designated AWPer Jame. They are a level above everyone playing for Wisla Krakow, and they’re bound to make their presence known tomorrow. You can expect to see them topping the fragging charts.
Odds are courtesy of BetOnline. You can check out our BetOnline review here.
Let’s face it, no one should bet on -834 – it’s not even worth the hassle for accumulators since it’s a bo1 match. The chaotic nature of bo1s spices things up quite a bit. If you don’t like the above-featured combo, either bet on the underdogs or skip this matchup altogether!
I’ll leave you to decide which stake to go with.
Don’t forget to enjoy the show live tomorrow on the ESL Twitch channel!
