Off the back of the BLAST Paris Major, the Intel Extreme Masters Dallas is the latest major event on the Counter Strike: Global Offensive calendar and the tournament's group stage is already drawing to a close.

The IEM Dallas is an S-Tier event taking place at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in the USA and features 16 of the biggest teams in the Esport.

The winners of the event will scoop $100,000 and will secure their spot at the IEM Cologne later this year, while they will also be rewarded with 2,400 BLAST Premier points.

The IEM Dallas has started with a double-elimination bracket group stage and Group A already has its upper-bracket and lower-bracket finals scheduled with both taking place on Wednesday.

Wednesday also features the lower-bracket semi-finals in Group B, including Team Liquid up against FaZe Clan. After the group stage, the teams will advance to the single-elimination bracket playoffs and battle it out for the title.

FaZe Clan have looked vulnerable in recent events

Currently third in the HLTV world CS:GO rankings, FaZe Clan remain one of the biggest names in the Esport but their recent tournament form has not been convincing.

Back in March, it looked like FaZe were back as they won season 17 of the ESL Pro League but at the IEM Rio and the BLAST Paris Major, they failed to make much of an impact.

In Paris, FaZe Clan made it through the Challengers Stage and the Legends Stage as expected but they looked out of their depth in the Champions Stage, losing to Heroic in the quarter-finals.

Team Liquid exited that event at the same stage, going down 2-0 against Apeks, and they should fancy their chances of running FaZe Clan close.

The fact that FaZe have been knocked down to the lower-bracket in their IEM Dallas group shows they are not at the peak of their powers and over 2.5 maps looks the best bet at -120 when these teams meet in the lower-bracket semi-finals.

Consistent Heroic can win blockbuster tussle with G2 Esports

This blockbuster clash should attract plenty of attention. G2 Esports are sixth in the HLTV world CS:GO rankings while Heroic are up in second and both are expected to go far at the IEM Dallas this year, especially with Vitality and Natus Vincere missing from the event.

To get to this upper-bracket final, Heroic eased past 9z 16-9 and then beat MOUZ 2-0, while G2 Esports were 16-5 winners against Nouns Esports and 2-0 winners against OG.

Not a lot has separated them in this tournament but looking at overall competition form throughout 2023, Heroic look the better-placed of the two teams.

G2 Esports won the IEM Katowice back in February but have not done a lot since then and do not look as devastating as the side which won the BLAST Premier World Final in December.

Heroic, however, remain one of the most consistent teams on the circuit, having finished second at the IEM Katowice, second at the IEM Rio and in the 3rd-4th spots at the BLAST Paris Major.

They are still after a first title since November's BLAST Premier Fall Final but are shaping up nicely and are a great bet to win at +100.

MOUZ and OG tough to separate in lower bracket

Group B's lower-bracket final could be as competitive as its upper-bracket final with MOUZ and OG -150 and +110 respectively to win this encounter and book their spot in the playoffs.

They are just one spot apart in the HLTV world rankings - MOUZ are 18th and OG are 17th - and they performed similarly at the recent BLAST Paris Major.

Both crashed out in the Challengers Stage in France with OG posting a 1-3 record and MOUZ posting a 0-3 record.

This really could swing either way and punters could look to back this match to go over 2.5 maps at -120.

bet365 News Team

• FaZe Clan
• G2 Esports
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