paIN Gaming vs Arctic eSports Prediction: No Sensation Expected

On October 4, the qualification tournament series for the next CS:GO majors, IEM Rio 2022, began. Intel Extreme Masters Road to Rio 2022: European RMR B is a qualification tournament for the upcoming second major CS:GO eSports event, IEM Rio 2022. European qualification is divided into two groups - A and B, in which 16 teams from Europe and the CIS will fight for eight seats in the main tournament of the year's second half. The contest has no prize fund. Only in each of the two groups, the eight strongest teams will receive a ticket to the major in Rio de Janeiro. A lot of exciting matches and games of the highest level. All this awaits CS:GO fans in the coming days.

In the first round of the Intel Extreme Masters Road to Rio 2022: American RMR, paIN Gaming and Arctic eSports will meet. Only one of the teams will get three points in a head-to-head encounter. The match is scheduled for October 5.

After winning the ESL Challenger DreamHack Melbourne 2022, paIN Gaming has sharply upped the stakes for the upcoming RMR qualifiers. The team lost only one map at the tournament, and FalleN was defeated in the final. With $50,000 to their credit, the Paynes enter the battle for the slot in the majors on a merry note.

Predominantly paIN Gaming played Nuke (8 maps, 75% win rate) and Dust2 (7 cards, 86% win rate). All players on the Melbourne event played for a positive rating, and zevy and skullz were among the top 5 players in the competition. The roster is capable of playing well on defense (60%) as well as offense (50%), although few teams manage to win more than half of their rounds in the latter component.

The team's performances over the past three months have left a pleasant impression. The Paynes have been winning against equal competitors in the region, so they could aim to advance to the main stage of the home majors in the coming week. In the first meeting, the team has every chance to earn the first points.

After all the predictable teams went to the American RMR from South America, Arctic eSports managed to qualify for the Rio tournament. The lineup is playing consistently against tier-3 teams, but they are not always winning. So far, the team's maximum is resting on qualifying with occasional appearances at C-type events.

Arctic eSports currently sits at the bottom of HLTV's top 100 teams. The most successful map in the stretch of three months was Overpass - the team played it three times and never failed. Dust2 (77%) and Nuke (71%) are also quite comfortable. The 18-year-old Brazilian stands out as a star, with a 1.25 rating and an average 0.55 frags per round. But in terms of firepower all players average between 70 and 80 damage per round, so the game is not built around one person.

Looking at all of their qualifiers, Arctic eSports has a very small chance of reaching the majors. For the squad this meeting will be the first test from the team speaking at the world level. Considering that the team's résumé does not even contain any high-profile local successes, the result is as predictable as possible.

For this match, we offer the following options: TU (24.5), IT2U (10.5) and paIN Gaming to take the 1st pistol round.