In the group stage of the IEM Katowice 2025 Play-in, there will be an intense match between MIBR and Virtus.Pro for advancing to the main stage of the tournament. In this article, we will analyze the current form of the teams, their map pools, and provide a forecast for the upcoming match.
Current Form of the Teams
The average rating of MIBR at S-tier tournaments over the past month is 6.5. The team started the season by participating in the BLAST Bounty Spring 2025: Closed Qualifier, where they lost to FlyQuest 0-2 and were eliminated. However, at the IEM Katowice 2025 Play-in, MIBR showed a confident start by defeating Astralis 2-0. In their second match against 3DMAX, the team faced difficulties and lost 0-2.
The average rating of Virtus.Pro at S-tier tournaments over the past month is slightly lower — 6.2. Their season also began with the BLAST Bounty Spring 2025: Closed Qualifier, where they defeated Complexity but couldn't handle Vitality. At the start of the IEM Katowice 2025 Play-in, the team lost to paiN but managed to recover by winning the next match 2-0.
Map Pool
MIBR is highly likely to ban Dust2, as they have done 46 times before. They will most likely choose Ancient, where they have an impressive win rate of 74% over 19 games, or Nuke (60% win rate over 25 games). Despite average performance on Anubis, this map might remain in the pool as it's less comfortable for Virtus.Pro.
Virtus.Pro is likely to ban Nuke, on which the team has the lowest win rate — 0% over 29 matches. Their priority choice is Mirage, where they have a 67% win rate over 15 games, or Anubis (50% win rate over 6 games), which they have played quite frequently.
- Ancient — MIBR's choice
- Mirage — Virtus.Pro's choice
- Anubis — decider
Match Prediction
Both teams show a similar level of preparation, but there are differences in their strengths and weaknesses. MIBR looks more confident at the start of the tournament, especially after the victory over Astralis, and their deep map pool could play a key role. Virtus.Pro has good potential on Mirage, but their weaknesses might be vulnerable.
MIBR 2-1 Virtus.Pro
IEM Katowice 2025 takes place from January 29 to February 9 in Katowice, Poland. Twenty-four teams will compete for a prize pool of $1 million. You can follow the schedule and results of the event through this link.
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