Evil Geniuses and Cloud9 will try not to be eliminated from the IEM Rio Major 2022 Challengers Stage. A couple of years ago, we would have looked at the North American derby, but now the teams are far from their regional compositions.
I must say that Evil Geniuses looks very good, but in some places the team clearly does not finish the game and sags individually. In turn, the Russian team is still failing in the tournament, and even a victory over Imperial Esports looked very doubtful.
And yet, in such a match, the North Americans have very little chance, since Cloud9 is trite tactically stronger. Well, plus the fantastic shape of sh1ro, which fills almost 40 kills on almost every map.
Evil Geniuses form
The 21st team in the world ranking played well at IEM Road to Rio 2022 Americas RMR, where they suffered only one defeat from Team Liquid in the match for a slot in the "legends".
Further, the North American team slowed down a bit, as they had already left the BLAST Premier Fall Showdown 2022 North America from the start.
As for the start at IEM Rio Major 2022, here Evil Geniuses started with a good victory over IHC, but then lost to MOUZ. It seemed that there was nothing to worry about, but then the North Americans give way to 9z and bring themselves closer to departure.
Evil Geniuses latest results:
- Lost to Team Liquid with a score of 0:2.
- Defeated by Fluxo with a score of 1:2.
- Victory over IHC Esports with a score of 16:9.
- Defeat from MOUZ with a score of 10:16.
- Lost to 9z with a score of 17:19.
Best Evil Geniuses cards:
- Mirage - 67% of wins.
- Overpass - 67% of wins.
- Nuke - 50% win rate.
Don't forget that the North American team continues to ban the Vertigo map.
Form Cloud9
The fifth team of the world ranking left a couple of questions following the results of IEM Road to Rio 2022 Europe RMR A, where they could not even get a ticket to the “legends”.
However, at the start of IEM Rio Major 2022, the Russian team failed to show itself in any way, having suffered two defeats from fnatic and Grayhound Gaming. It is clear that these defeats in overtime can be attributed to chance, but Cloud9 looked terrible in terms of the game.
Fortunately, the day before the team found the strength to beat Imperial Esports, and even there there was room for mistakes. In general, while Cloud9 is far from ideal, it still seems like a favorite on paper.
Latest Cloud9 results:
- Victory over 1WIN with a score of 2:0.
- Defeat from Team Spirit with a score of 1:2.
- Lost to fnatic with a score of 17:19.
- Lost to Grayhound Gaming with a score of 17:19.
- Victory over Imperial Esports with a score of 2:0.
Best Cloud9 Maps:
- Overpass - 80% of wins.
- Ancient - 75% of wins.
- Mirage - 75% of wins.
- Dust 2 - 60% of wins.
- Vertigo - 60% of wins.
Let's not forget that the Russian team continues to refuse the Nuke card.
Evil Geniuses vs Cloud9 meeting statistics
As part of the current season, the teams held one meeting - at ESL Pro League Season 16, Cloud9 won (2:0).
Prediction for the match Evil Geniuses — Cloud9
I would like to believe in the North American team. However, based on principled matches, Evil Geniuses has problems with rivals of its level.
It is clear that the Russian team also has its own difficulties. However, there is a feeling that the "cloud" will accelerate and reach the fifth round. Therefore, in this case, I would recommend betting on the victory of the Cloud9 team.
