Imperial Esports and Nouns will meet in the fifth round of IEM Road to Rio 2022 American RMR. The winner will go to the replays, where they will fight for the last ticket to the Major.
It's interesting that I'm not so sure about the Brazilian team, since Imperial Esports is currently playing a terrible game. And in fact, the team plays below their capabilities, clearly underestimating their strength.
In turn, Nouns seems to be the underdog of the match, but not in my mind. On the contrary, looking at such odds, I am almost certainly confident in the map from the North Americans.
Imperial Esports Uniform
The 21st team in the world ranking recently finished second at the ESL Challenger Melbourne 2022, having lost two crucial meetings with paiN Gaming at the tournament.
However, as part of the IEM Road to Rio 2022 Americas RMR, the Brazilian team faced the first problems associated with a shameful game and lack of attack.
This is where Imperial Esports failed to finish 9z, and then lost to 00NATION. Well, at least the day before the team was able to beat TeamOne, but in total the Brazilians look very weak.
Imperial Esports latest results:
- Defeated by paiN Gaming with a score of 1:2.
- Victory over Isurus with a score of 16:2.
- Lost to 9z with a score of 20:22.
- Lost to 00NATION with a score of 11:16.
- Victory over TeamOne with a score of 2:1.
Best Imperial Esports cards:
- Overpass - 75% of wins.
- Nuke - 67% of wins.
- Inferno - 50% win rate.
Let's not forget that the Brazilian team continues to refuse the Vertigo card.
Noun form
The 44th team in the world ranking has shown a weak game in recent weeks, although it managed to get into the playoffs of the ESL Challenger League Season 42 North America.
As for the start at IEM Road to Rio 2022 Americas RMR, here Nouns lost to all serious rivals, but at the same time managed to outplay Infinity and O PLANO.
And yet, despite the modest results and slow play, the North American team can open up, especially at such an important stage.
Latest Nouns results:
- Defeated by TeamOne with a score of 1:2.
- Lost to Evil Geniuses with a score of 7:16.
- Victory over Infinity with a score of 16:2.
- Lost to paiN Gaming with a score of 8:16.
- Victory over O PLANO with a score of 2:1.
Best Nouns cards:
- Vertigo - 88% of wins.
- Ancient - 78% of wins.
- Inferno - 71% of wins.
- Dust 2 - 56% win rate
At the same time, most often the North American team refuses the Nuke card.
Imperial Esports vs Nouns Match Statistics
The teams have not met before.
Prediction for the match Imperial Esports — Nouns
To be honest, I'm a little surprised by the odds, since the North American team has a large pool of cards, albeit with a lot of play on the TIER-2 scene.
In turn, Imperial Esports plays only on a limited number of maps, and even here the team has difficulties. Otherwise, the Brazilian team as a whole plays terribly, so it's strange to put it in the list of favorites.
Therefore, in this case, I would recommend betting on Handicap by cards (+1.5) for the Nouns team.
