Heroic vs OG IEM Katowice CSGO betting analysis

William Davis Published 16/02/2022

Heroic and OG will ring in IEM Katowice with an exciting first-round matchup. Our betting analysis will help you predict the winner.

OG versus Heroic at IEM Katowice might be the most exciting match of the first round. OG’s new roster got a chance to shine at BLAST Premier: Spring Groups, but Heroic is a whole new standard to measure up to. The Danish roster has dodged controversy after controversy while racking up consistent top-eight finishes along the way. While the odds favor Heroic, there’s reason to believe that OG may still put up a fight. Whether you’re looking for match betting tips or fantasy picks, our IEM Katowice betting analysis will help you make the right choice. 

This best-of-three IEM Katowice match will take place on February 17 at 5:30 p.m. CST. CSGO fans interested in pick ‘ems and fantasy should check out PrizePicks.

OG IEM Katowice betting analysis

OG came out as one of the biggest winners in the 2022 roster shuffle. Although losing Aleksi “Aleksib” Virolainen must hurt, the squad earned a valuable asset in Nemanja “nexa” Isaković. G2 Esports’ former leader propelled that team to standout silver finishes at IEM Cologne and PGL Major Stockholm. His magic touch seems to be affecting OG already. OG bulldozed past Astralis and Ninjas in Pyjamas to earn a top seed at BLAST Spring Groups.

While nexa called the shots, Shahar “flameZ” Shushan continued his reputation as an extremely consistent rifler. The Israeli entry went 34-18 in opening kills at BLAST, giving him a monstrous 1.89 entry success rate. Despite his often sacrificial role, he also managed 26 multikills across just six maps. flameZ is the OG player to watch at IEM Katowice, which also makes him a wonderful fantasy pick. Go over on flameZ kills, but look for expected headshots too. 53.4% isn’t as high as it seems for an entry fragger, so going under isn’t a bad idea on PrizePick. 

Heroic IEM Katowice betting analysis

While tons of other teams released players to snatch up prospects at the start of 2022, Heroic is more than happy to stick with what it has. After all, this is the same roster that threatened Natus Vincere several times last year. While the team has somewhat fallen off since the online era, Heroic is still a threat on LAN. The Danish side has only missed a single top-eight placement since the return to live in-person play. But against an opponent like OG, captain Casper “cadiaN” Møller will have his work cut out for him at IEM Katowice.

Though René “TeSeS” Madsen is normally the frontrunner in frags for Heroic, Martin “stavn” Lund has taken the lead as Heroic’s best player in 2022. 85.2 damage and .76 kills per round put stavn on par with most other AWPers, and that’s after Heroic flunked out of Pinnacle Winter Series. Those two players are valuable prospects for IEM Katowice fantasy players. Look at the under on TeSeS headshots and the over on stavn kills to start your dream CSGO squad off right.

OG vs Heroic IEM Katowice betting pick

Despite OG’s dominant streak, Heroic actually won handily the last time these two rosters met. Heroic scored solid wins on Inferno and Overpass to qualify for BLAST Premier: Fall Showdown last October. However, the 11th-place match of IEM Fall just a month before went 2-0 to OG. All of this took place before the addition of nexa, so OG has gotten a big upgrade while Heroic has stagnated.

Assuming OG bans Nuke and Heroic bans Ancient, the map selection should look something like Inferno, Mirage, and Overpass. The exact order is not yet clear, but it shouldn’t make too much of a difference as OG brings a slight map advantage overall.

When it comes to recent performances, this match is OG all the way. The addition of nexa has the team on a tear, and Heroic will be hard-pressed to stop it. Despite recent records, many sportsbooks still seem to favor Heroic. That means a potentially big payout for an OG victory. A $20 bet for OG 2-0 will earn $68, which is way too much to ignore. Even the safer match bet on OG will earn a 1.92 payout.

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