The quarter-final matches are set at IEM Rio 2022, and there are plenty of intriguing match-ups as the eight remaining teams will fight to decide the ultimate winner.

The Championship stage has plenty of powerful players to keep an eye on and Thursday's first two matches will present plenty of opportunities for the four teams in action.

This whole event has seen the top players in CS:GO show why they are among the most elite Esports players in the whole world. All eight teams left in this event were able to punch their tickets by outlasting some strong competition during the Legends Stage of IEM Rio.

This is win or go home time for the teams left, with not only the major prize money but also spots at BLAST Premier Final 2022 and IEM Katowice 2023 on the line. That just adds more anticipation to these quarter-final draws.

Let's look at Thursday's slate:

Outsiders has edge over Fnatic

The first quarter-final pairing should offer plenty of storylines to follow as Outsiders and Fnatic meet for a spot in the semi-finals. IEM Rio has been a successful run for both organizations in terms of their standing on the World Stage. Both have secured a top eight finish, but both have hopes of reaching the top three.

Fnatic was able to fight its way all the way out of the Challengers Stage, and even that didn't go smoothly for the team. Fnatic finished at 3-2 and was one of the bottom three teams to advance out of the initial 16 teams in that stage of this event. They weren't alone in the Challengers Stage as Outsiders also had to play through that portion of IEM Rio.

They however had a much smoother path as they went 3-1 and even had a head-to-head win against Fnatic. The teams played in a two-map match as Fnatic was able to win both.

Both teams were able to claw their way to the Legends Stage of the event and both ended that stage with a loss apiece. Luckily for them they didn't have to play each other in that portion of the event. They both had some work to do though as they were the 4th and 5th place teams heading into this stage of IEM Rio.

Outsiders enters this match on a three-match winning streak, including a 2-0 win against MOUZ. When these teams last met it was a very interesting match to say the least. Fnatic only managed one round win on the opening map of Overpass in a 16-1 win for Outsiders. 

The second map Mirage proved much more challenging as Outsiders escaped with a 16-14 win to close it out. FL1T has been a strong contributor and leader for Outsiders, and he should help give his team the edge here.

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Cloud9 is on Fire and could be bound for Glory

The final quarter-final on Thursday pits the top seeded Cloud9 team against a MOUZ team that is stumbling into the final eight. MOUZ did itself no favours as they lost a much-needed match against Outsiders 2-0.

Now they face their toughest opponent of the event as Cloud9 has won six-straight matches coming in. Cloud9 has picked up its play after qualifying as the final team out of the Challengers Stage of this event. They beat the right teams in that stage as they held wins over Imperial, Evil Geniuses and Team GamerLegion.

They then proceeded to the Legends Stage and stole the show winning all three of their matches against historic organizations including wins over FaZe Clan, Natus Vincere and a very convincing 2-0 win against Heroic. Two of those three teams made the final eight.

MOUZ needs to get something going or they will bow out quickly in this elimination bracket. Frozen has been a solid leading player for MOUZ, but he needs some help from someone else in the line-up. 

Sh1ro will show his worth in this match and Cloud9 has gotten things rolling at the right time. They can win it all and should get the win without much pressure from MOUZ.

bet365 News Team

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