Outsiders vs. IHC Prediction on February 22, 2023

Match info

In the CS: GO ESL Pro League Season 17’s upper bracket quarterfinals of the group stage, the Outsiders and IHC will square off. It’s the first Group A top 8’s duel on the schedule in Malta, starting at 4:00 PM local time on Wednesday, February 22.

Meeting statistics

The Mongolian squad hasn’t yet had a chance to demonstrate its long-term viability, therefore we believe that they are being asked to do too much by their supporters. As a result, we (as well as most of the sportsbooks from the CS: GO betting websites list we came across) wouldn’t put our faith in another sensation if we were them.

In contrast, despite all of their issues, the Outsiders advanced to the playoffs at the most recent IEM Katowice 2023, where they were defeated by NAVI. Yet, the Russian squad typically maintains momentum for a long time and should succeed in this event.

Generally speaking, we wouldn’t hope for a miracle from the Mongols because it will be very challenging for them to demonstrate their abrasive approach against the Outsiders. The Russian team doesn’t fare any worse, quite the opposite because everything depends on shooting. Consequently, in this case, we wouldn’t expect much from the IHC and instead, we see their “logical“ loss.

The current form of the Outsiders

The performance of the seventh-ranked squad in the world at IEM Katowice 2023’s group stage was shaky. Moreover, the Russian team lost to Fnatic in the opening game, displaying a sloppy performance.

On the other hand, they were able to regain consciousness by defeating Ninjas in Pyjamas, OG, and Complexity Gaming to advance to the playoffs. Unfortunately for their fans, in this instance, the team was unable to handle NAVI and fell after a close contest. Nonetheless, there remains a glimmer of optimism that the Outsiders will regain their form and grow stronger than they were in Katowice.

The latest results of the Outsiders:

• Lost from Fnatic with a score of 1-2.
• Victory over Ninjas in Pyjamas with a score of 2-1.
• Victory over OG with a score of 2-0.
• Victory over Complexity Gaming with a score of 2-1.
• Lost from Natus Vincere with a score of 0-2.

Outsiders’ best card is Inferno with 67% of wins, while they refuse the Nuke card.

The current form of IHC

IEM Katowice 2023’s most pleasant surprise was this 19th-ranked squad in the world. Firstly, the Mongols defeated paiN Gaming and FURIA to advance to the group stage. Secondly, IHC were successful in eliminating Cloud9 from the main stage. Yet, given they had nothing to put on the table in the games against Team Liquid and FaZe Clan, the Mongols weren’t able to survive for too long.

IHC just claimed three assured victories in the RMR tournament’s closed qualifiers, and they are still in perfect working order in the ESL Challenger League Season 44: Asia-Pacific.

The latest results of IHC:

• Lost from FaZe Clan with a score of 0-2.
• Victory over CatEvil with a score of 2-0.
• Victory over Kintsugi with a score of 16-8.
• Victory over Vladivostok with a score of 16-9.
• Victory over Eruption with a score of 2-0.

The best card of IHC is Nuke (92% win rate). They don’t play the Vertigo map.

Head-to-head encounters

The teams only faced only once during the previous season, with the Outsiders taking home the victory at the IEM Rio Major 2022 Challengers Stage (16-12).

Match analytics

We believe that the Outsiders are still the clear favorites even with Vertigo and Nuke banned. Their rival’s approach, which lacks a shooting play style, is a bonus. If the rationale of previous competitions is to be believed, IHC still need to adjust before relying on senses. In other words, the Outsiders have a great likelihood of successfully ending the series. Although it’s obvious that the Mongolian team at IEM Katowice 2023 astonished everyone, the sample size is too tiny to provide a comprehensive analysis of them.

As a result, in this scenario, we advise placing a wager on the Outsiders to win by a correct score of 2-0 on MELbet as soon as the odds are launched.

Results of the forecast

Successful forecast. Outsiders vs. IHC 2:0