CSGO IEM Katowice 2021 Quarterfinal Matchup Odds and Picks

• IEM Katowice Quarterfinals begin on February 26th, 2021 at 09:00 AM EST when Natus Vincere face off against Gambit
• Astralis vs Virtus.pro will play directly after on February 26th, 2021 at 12:30 PM EST
• Read below for odds, analysis, and my best bet for both IEM Katowice Quarterfinal matchups

We are down to the IEM Katowice quarterfinals, with only six teams left. It comes as no surprise that the top two favorites in the opening tournament odds are still standing. What comes as a surprise is that they could both possibly be eliminated on the same day.

Gambit, who came into this tournament as +2700 underdogs, will face off against the current #1 ranked team in the world. A CIS region derby match between the stable veterans and the up-and-coming youngsters powered by a major champion in Hobbit.

The future of the entire region can be said to be hanging on the outcome of this match. On the other side of the bracket, we pin together the most consistent and winningest team in CSGO history versus the Flashpoint 2 Champions.

With Astralis coming on the tail end of a disastrous group stage final against Team Spirit, can they rebound enough to make another tournament semifinal?

CSGO IEM Katowice 2021 Quarterfinal Odds

Odds taken Feb. 24 at bet365

Gambit Esports vs Natus Vincere

There are a few important data points to assess when deciding who to pick to win outside face value. When looking at this matchup, I find it extremely difficult to find a path of victory for Gambit outside of incredible individual play.

Yes, they do have an advantage in the veto process to ban Nuke and take away Navi’s best map. That being said, they open themselves up for Dust 2, which has been Natus Vincere’s (Navi) strongest map this tournament.

The overall map pool advantage weighs heavily in the hands of Navi. Gambit has been able to pick Vertigo or ban into a Vertigo tie-breaker in three of their last five matches. In their matchup against Evil Geniuses (EG), EG banned Vertigo right away. This put Gambit in a rough scenario, and the only other map they felt comfortable in picking was Overpass. They ended up losing Overpass handily, and when they picked it against Heroic they lost as well.

I do not know a single map I would say I favor Gambit on in this matchup. I see this match as a true bounce-back spot for Natus Vincere, especially when you consider Gambit played a MouseSports team with a brand new IGL twice. They played a slumping Heroic team who’s been struggling to find their AWP presence and a G2 team on the brink of a roster change.

They have not done anything this tournament to tell me they should upset Natus Vincere in this match.

Pick : Natus Vincere ML (-188) MAX

Astralis vs Virtus.pro

Astralis have looked like a shell of themselves in 2021 thus far, coming in with only a 60% match win percentage. They were absolutely dominated on Dust 2 by Team Spirit and were only one round away from being completely skunked. While I would normally say this is worrisome, Team Spirit has been on the rise since picking up Degster into their lineup. What intrigues me the most is these teams have not played each other in almost two years.

The last time these two teams played was at Starladder Major Grand Finals 2019 before Virtus.pro picked up their star player Yekindar.

Magisk has looked awful in 2021 so far, and without him firing on all cylinders I do not think Dupreeh and Device can do it all. This match comes down to Virtus.pro keeping composure against CS giants. Coming off the back of a win against Vitality in two maps, Virtus.pro has shown they are ready for the next big test.

Pick: Virtus.pro ML (+162)