2019 iBUYPOWER Masters IV Picks & Predictions

There is a big chance of an upset here. Alongside Astralis, we have top two teams, FaZe and Liquid. However, after a long analysis, I have my money on FaZe to win the entire thing. There are a couple of reasons why I made this bet so hear me out.

Firstly, FaZe has a lot of potential and firepower. Every single player in FaZe is capable of carrying his own weight, and they have proven that over the course of last year. Furthermore, they probably have the best rifler in the world on their side, that being Nikola “Niko” Kovač. That guy is so insane that he is able to make something out of nothing. Now that finally they got rid of karrigan, they are able to compete on a high level, and I hope they will show up guns blazing, especially Niko.

Secondly, they added Janko “YnK” Paunović to their roster. Even though he is still relatively inexperienced as a coach, I think he is a great one. He has everything a great coach needs. As he said in his last interview, he only needs authority, nothing else. He is definitely getting that in FaZe, and he definitely has something up his sleeve, especially if they have to face off against Astralis.

Lastly, odds on FaZe winning this years iBUYPOWER Master IV are out of this world. At the moment, Betway is offering 7.00 on FaZe to lift the trophy. Even though Astralis is heavily favored, I think that FaZe should never be underestimated, especially with their recent changes.

Astralis – compLexity

There is not much to say about this match. Astralis is coming off from a spectacular year, eager to carry on with their outstanding performances, while compLexity has been in a serious slump, and they just changed half of their roster.

Furthermore, I do not think Astralis will have any problems in this match, and I strongly believe that they will win this match with a big round difference. CompLexity simply can not parry them in any department. They do not have adequate firepower to win duels against them, needless to say, that their strategies are nowhere near as good as Astralis’ are.

Easy win for Astralis in my books. Since odds are too low for them to win, I will take round handicap win in this one.

Betting prediction: Astralis -6.5(round handicap)

Odds: 1.65

Bookmaker: GG.bet

Cloud9 – fnatic

This will probably the best match in this group. Both of these teams will fight for that second spot and their ticket for the playoffs. Neither Astralis or fnatic had a good year, and they will look to make amends in 2019. Where better to start than on the first event of the year?

Even though Cloud9 had to fill in their roster with another stand-in, they definitely have a chance in this one. They were finally able to build a full roster, but organization was kinda unlucky with injuries. On the other hand, fnatic is having occasional blitzes, but it is nothing spectacular as they did not improve in 2018.

There is nothing separating these two teams, they have similar firepower, almost identical map pools, and overall they are in the exact same form. I do not feel like I want to predict a winner in this one since this game can go either way, so I will make a smart move and bet on rounds.

Betting prediction: total rounds 26.5 over

Odds: 1.90

Bookmaker: GG.bet

Liquid – Luminosity

Another match where both teams are coming off from fresh changes. Liquid lost their support player and their coach, while Luminosity is in shambles. It seems like everyone wants to leave this famous Brazilian organization, especially twin brothers, who are the core of their roster.

At the moment, Liquid is ranked as the second-best team in the world, and there is a reason why they are ranked so good. They have been defeated only by Astralis in every tournament they played. However, I am a bit worried that their recent roster changes may affect their game, and that maybe some of their hard hitters will not be as efficient as they were with support player in the line-up.

But still, Luminosity is nowhere near their level, and I do not think they should have any problems defeating Brazilians. My bet is going to be a pretty straight forward one, Liquid to win. Even though odds are not so high, I am afraid that their opening match will take some time for them to adjust, and that is the main reason why I did not go for handicap win.

Betting prediction: Liquid to win

Odds: 1.25

Bookmaker: GG.bet

FaZe – Ghost

The last game of the first day. FaZe will face off against the only team that kept their roster intact. Even though Ghost had a good run in the late stage of 2018, I do not think they will be able to do much against fired up FaZe.

As we mentioned in our darkhorse prediction, FaZe is coming off from fresh changes, good ones if I may add. They definitely needed to change something in their strategy, hence why they replaced their coach with a new one. Furthermore, they no longer need an in-game leader who will not in-game lead, and they opted for even more firepower. I feel like this is a great move made by FaZe and we will see how will they do in their opening match.

I strongly believe that they have what it takes and that Niko and co. will have no problems against Ghost. Furthermore, they will probably tear them apart, just to tell everyone that they are back. Handicap win in my books.

Betting prediction: Faze -4.5(rounds handicap)

Odds: 1.93

Bookmaker: GG.bet