PinUp’s Top Predictions for CS2 Teams at IESF World Championship 2024

The championship of the International Esports Federation (IESF) is one of the biggest events on the esports competition calendar. The 2024 championship marks the 16th edition competition, with top talent all over the world competing in various games. This year's event will take place in Saudi Arabia from November 13 to 17. Counter Strike 2, Dota 2, PUBG Mobile, and Mobile Legends Bang Bang are the four main games that will be played in the comp.

It follows a standard championship format with group stages and playoffs. The national esports teams that register for this event will compete in a double elimination bracket where the winner takes the World Esports Champion title and $100,000 from a $240,000 prize pool. As the esports industry keeps growing, events like the IESF world championship have a lot to contribute to its growth and development.

Historical Context on Previous IESF Counter Strike Events 

Ever since its creation in 2008, the IESF world championship has had a huge influence on the competitive arena for esports. It wasn't until 2016 that Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO), a precursor to CS2, was introduced in IESF tournaments. National teams have showcased rising talents and notable performances in IESF CSGO liquipedia rankings, some of which will shape the expectations for the current season of CS2, a new addition to the world championship.

Sweden, Poland, and Germany have proven to be strong contenders for the CS:GO title, and with the new release of IESF CS2 we expect them to build on past successes and stand their ground in this competition while the underdogs also stand a chance to dethrone the established powers.

IESF Group Stage Breakdown 

The current group stage of the IESF CS2 goes thus:

Teams Most Likely to Advance to the Playoffs

Based on the iESF world championship 2024 CS2 rankings, Group A has the strongest contenders with Sweden and Poland leading with a 4-1 record. Group B also has top contenders like Germany with a 5-0 record and Portugal with 4-1. Group C has a similar situation as group B having Kazakhstan with 5-0 and Romania in second place with 4-1. Lastly group D is led by Serbia with 4-1, while others like Mongolia and Czech Republic are close behind with 3-2.

The group stage looks like it'll be full of a lot of tough matches across groups seeing as teams aren't relenting in their fight for playoff spots. Germany and Kazakhstan’s perfect record make them top contenders in this competition and the most likely to proceed to playoffs.

PinUP’s Selection Criteria for Predictions

In analyzing the top teams for the world championship, Pin-Up focuses on team history, current rosters, and recent performances in CS2 tournaments. The following are the top contenders:

Underdogs to Watch out for:

Kosovo: They have had a lot of surprising matches and with the presence of emerging talent like Hyper1, we expect them to surprise fans with unexpected match outcomes.

Argentina: The Argentina team has been formidable and we expect them to turn the odds in their favor.

Matchups to Watch Out For

The match ups between the top contenders looks promising, some of the most anticipated are:

Sweden vs Poland: These two teams have had a strong 4-1 record. The strength of the team lies in Star players like Plopski from Sweden and Dementor from Poland. 

Germany vs Portugal: Germany is one of the strongest contenders presently, with its 5-0 record, a match up between Germany and Portugal with a 4-1 record will be a battle of the titans.

Kazakhstan vs Romania: These two teams also have a good record, with Kazakhstan having a 5-0 record and Romania with a 4-1 record. A match up between them would be interesting.

Players to Watch out For

Also read: Sunday's matchups at the Shanghai Major

Changes in CS2 Compared to CS:Go

CS2 has had several game-changing updates compared to CS:GO, its predecessor. Some of the changes to the game are:

Gameplay: Smokes can now interact with other gameplay events. Players can now use bullets or grenades to push smoke out of the way to clear sightlines. Smokes were also updated to seep out of doorways and broken windows, go up stairs, as well as expand in long corridors to combine with other smokes, giving the game an overall natural look and feel.

Sub-tick updates: The previous CS;GO servers only evaluated the world in discrete time intervals (called ticks). The new and improved servers know the exact instant that motion starts, shots are fired, or a grenade is thrown thus making moving and shooting responsive regardless of the tick rate. This will significantly reduce lags leading to a more precise gameplay.

Introduction of Source 2 engine and tools:

Players now have access to source 2 tools and rendering features that are available for community map makers, making it a whole lot easier to build, experiment and iterate new maps.

Updated weapon sounds and graphics: The new source 2 lighting and particle systems give the game an all new look and behavior for water, fire, smoke, muzzle flashes, bullet tracers, and more. Players can now see blood impacts that fade over time giving more information as they move through the game world.

Accurate Audio: The audio has also been reworked to reflect the physical environment better, and be more distinct.

Impact of Transition to CS2 on Team’s Performances

Increased precision and reaction time: Sub-tick updates will allow players to have quicker reactions and more precise aim, causing players to make decisions a lot faster than before 

Tactical depth with smoke grenades: The improved smoke grenades can easily cause enemies to reveal their locations if they try to engage the smoke as it clears out in the spot where it was shot and players can easily guess where the bullet came from.

Adapting to New Map Layouts: The layouts of the CS:GO maps were improved in CS2 and players have to relearn the map layouts and create strategies that allow them to take advantage of the maps

Audio: The increased audio will also increase reaction time as players can now accurately hear where shots are being fired from and listen to enemy movements.

Conclusion 

The CS2 tournament will showcase strong matchups and top CS2 talent, with unpredictable underdogs. PinUp's expert predictions offer valuable insight into the action, helping players stay informed about the top teams to watch out for.