Sprout and BIG will meet in the first round of IEM Rio Major 2022. I really don't know, but in my opinion the Danish team has too few chances to prove themselves at this level.
Firstly, Sprout has too little experience in big championships, if we consider the phenomenon as a team as a whole. Secondly, after the RMR-tournament, the team had problems with which they could not cope at all.
In turn, BIG has already managed to accelerate during the championship, having suffered only one defeat. It is worth starting from this, as the German team caught a small wave and began to show some confidence.
Sprout form
The 30th team of the world ranking was the revelation of IEM Road to Rio 2022 Europe RMR A. Moreover, there the Danish team was defeated by FaZe Clan, but still managed to break into the "legends".
However, Sprout started having problems later on. First of all, the team managed to fail in the playoffs of the ESL Challenger League Season 42 Europe, where they played clearly not up to par.
Well, from the last one, the team played terribly at Elisa Invitational Fall 2022, from which they flew out from the first round. And even the recent victory over UNGENTIUM should not confuse the cards - Sprout failed to keep up the pace.
Latest Sprout results:
- Victory over K23 with a score of 2:1.
- Lost to BLUEJAYS with a score of 0:2.
- Lost to the Bad News Eagles 1:2.
- Defeat from ex-Finest with a score of 1:2.
- Victory over UNGENTIUM with a score of 2:0.
Best Sprout cards:
- Vertigo - 67% of wins.
- Inferno - 67% of wins.
- Overpass - 64% of wins.
- Ancient - 57% of wins.
- Mirage - 54% of wins.
- Dust 2 - 50% win rate.
Interestingly, the Danish team refuses both Dust 2 and the Nuke map.
Form BIG
The fifteenth team of the world ranking performed ambiguously at the IEM Road to Rio 2022 Europe RMR B, and then completely failed at the BLAST Premier Fall Showdown 2022 Europe.
Nevertheless, at the start of IEM Rio Major 2022, the German team managed to deal with FURIA, even though they lost to Bad News Eagles in the next round.
Still, BIG managed to break into the "legends" by getting important victories over Grayhound Gaming and 9z. Moreover, during the tournament, the team began to open up, which I personally did not expect from the Germans.
Latest BIG results:
- Defeat from Sangal with a score of 1:2.
- Victory over FURIA with a score of 19:16.
- Lost to the Bad News Eagles 11:16.
- Victory over Grayhound Gaming with a score of 16:6.
- Victory over 9z with a score of 2:0.
Best BIG cards:
- Mirage - 60% of wins.
- Dust 2 - 50% win rate.
In turn, the German team continues to refuse the Ancient map, but has not appeared on Overpass for a long time.
Sprout – BIG meeting statistics
The teams have not yet met in the current lineups.
Prediction for the match Sprout — BIG
For some reason, it seems to me that Sprout will fail in the championship and go home, if not without defeat, then with a maximum of one victory. Moreover, the Danish team made it clear after the RMR tournament that they couldn't keep up the pace.
In turn, the main advantage of BIG should be considered the experience in the Challengers Stage. And there the Germans not only got their victories, but managed to play and get used to the roar of the crowd, partly against them.
Therefore, in this case, I would recommend betting on the victory of the BIG team.
