Bet on Intel Extreme Masters 2026

Deep Dive into CS: GO for Zimbabwean Gamers

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, or CS:GO as it's widely known, is one of the most-watched and played esports tournaments within the Intel Extreme Masters circuit. In 2020 alone, it captivated over 1 million viewers. CS:GO is a free-to-play first-person shooter (FPS) game that was first released back in 2012.

The original Counter-Strike game actually began as a mod for Valve's highly popular game, Half-Life. Today, the CS series boasts four distinct titles in its lineup.

Developed by Valve and Hidden Path Entertainment, the core gameplay of CS:GO involves two teams – Terrorists and Counter-Terrorists – engaging in combat across various game modes. This game remains incredibly popular within the gaming community, and Valve consistently provides regular updates to keep it fresh.

In 2018, Valve introduced a battle royale mode named "Danger Zone." Alongside this, there are nine other game modes, with "Bomb Defusal" standing out as the most popular. The game has garnered numerous accolades in the esports industry, including awards at The Game Awards in 2017, 2019, and 2020.

This title is the fourth installment in the CS series and is accessible on Windows, macOS, Xbox 360, and PS3. Since its launch, Valve has rolled out a plethora of new features, including new maps, weapons, game modes, and cosmetic skins. These skins were instrumental in forming a "virtual economy" within the game, which subsequently paved the way for esports betting and even online gambling.

CS:GO Esports Betting and Tournaments in Zimbabwe

The CS:GO tournaments that boast the largest prize pools are known as Major Championships. These events began with a prize pool of $250,000 USD and have escalated to as much as $1,000,000 USD. While Intel Extreme Masters has hosted a Counter-Strike Major, it was for CS 1.6, running from 2008 to 2012.

Before CS:GO's release, the future of the Counter-Strike series in the esports arena was somewhat uncertain, as many players globally were hesitant to engage with CS 1.6 in a competitive setting. The launch of CS:GO in 2012 breathed new life into the esports spirit within the CS community, reigniting passion among players.

Although the initial version of the game had its teething problems, Valve diligently released patches to enhance its performance and features. The very first CS:GO Major Championship, financially backed by Valve, took place in Sweden at DreamHack Winter 2013.

However, the game hasn't been without its share of controversies. Numerous players have been caught using cheats, but they are promptly banned by "Valve Anti-Cheat (VAC)" upon detection. Players found cheating in tournaments face permanent bans and, in some cases, are removed from their teams entirely. This ensures fair play for everyone, including those in Zimbabwe who follow the scene closely.

The introduction of weapon skins led to the creation of online esports betting sites specifically for wagering these virtual items. Unfortunately, this practice led to issues such as underage gambling, resulting in two significant lawsuits filed against Valve and several betting platforms.

Betting on Intel Extreme Masters Events in Zimbabwe

When you're looking to place a bet on IEM or other esports events, you'll typically encounter three main types of betting odds:

• Fractional odds
• Decimal odds
• Moneyline odds

Intel Extreme Masters offers a variety of options for those who want to bet on their favorite or the underdog. The most common type of betting odds that Intel Extreme Masters has are decimal odds and moneyline odds. The difference between the two is that the former is used in Europe and the latter in America.

At the IEM Dallas tournament, "Looking for Org" turned out to be the underdog, having odds of 301.00. Team Vitality and Astralis both had odds of 18.00 which made them the safest bet of the tournament.

In the ongoing Intel Extreme Masters Season XVII, Astralis has odds of 3.82 and Natus Vincere has odds of 1.26.

Chances of success are high when you know what odds to bet on. Betting on the most likely outcome and your favorite team may seem like the best option, but the more sensible thing to do is to bet for value.

There are different online esport betting sites where you can look for the best odds. There's not a big difference between the values across these sites, but the small differences can accumulate to give significant returns.

Why is Intel Extreme Masters a Popular Tournament to bet on?

Every year, millions of gaming and videogame betting enthusiasts from all over the world tune in to watch the Intel Extreme Masters leagues. It's a highly competitive tournament that attracts a global audience.

What's the reason for its popularity? It hosts tournaments for some of the biggest games in the world. Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and Starcraft II are fan-favorite games to bet on.

Another reason that attracts gamers and betters alike to it is the big prize pool. The Intel Extreme Masers Katowice 2022 wasn't a Major, but it had a prize pool of $1 million. $400,000 were given to the top winners.

It has held Major Championships for Counter-Strike and another Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Major Championship is going to be held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 2022, the first ever IEM Major to take place in Brazil.

Intel has repeatedly said that their goal is to bring gaming technologies to every part around the globe. The Brazil Major will be Intel Extreme Master's 10th Major. It's one of the oldest esports company and you'll find it on every list of esports tournaments.

Its global appeal is one of the major reasons why it's so popular today.

Intel Extreme Master's Best Teams

Astralis and Natus Vincere are regular players of the tournament. In the 2020 tournament that took place in Katowice, Natus Vincere bagged the first prize of $250,000 while Astralis got the 3rd prize of $40,000.

Team WE (World Elite) is another regular that has won a total of 3 tournaments since 2011. The team is a China-based esports organization.

In the 2017 Intel Extreme Masters tournament that took place in Australia, SK Gaming took the trophy after four days of CS:GO. The team fought against FaZe Clan and won 3 out of 4 matches.

Flash Wolves, or FW, a Taiwanese esports team that was created in April 2013. Its original name was “yoe IRONMEN” and wasn’t changed to Flash Wolves until August 2013. They’re considered one of the best teams in League of Legends and won the Intel Extreme Masters Season XI World Championship.

Gambit Esports is another esports organization that’s known to be one of the top teams in League of Legends. It’s a Russian team that’s based in the United Kingdom. They won several titles in the Intel Extreme Masters from 2013 to 2014. They haven’t announced any plans to participate in future Intel Extreme Masters tournaments.

Intel Extreme Masters’ Biggest Moments

It would be a disservice to the esports industry to not mention the very first Intel Extreme Masters tournament when teams from 24 different countries played Counter-Strike and World of Warcraft III. The prize pool was €160,000.

The Poland-based Team Pentagram and H2K Gaming fought for the final prize and the former took home €40,000. It was a fierce competition that also had Fnatic and SK Gaming participate in it, two teams that would go on to compete in future tournaments as well.

With each season, Intel Extreme Masters expanded not just in terms of games, but also countries and cities. Starcraft 2 was introduced in Season V and it also had a League of Legends invitational tournaments which got fans excited about the next season.

After the invitational tournament, League of Legends was finally introduced in Season VI. In Season XI, for the first time in the tournament’s history, the final event took place in Katowice over the span of two weekends.

Where to Bet and the Best Strategy to Bet on IEM

There are many different esport betting sites where you can bet on Intel Extreme Masters’ tournaments. Here are a few sites that you can use:

• Cyber.bet
• Betaway Sports
• 1xBet
• 20 Bet

Betting on esports Is a very simple process. You pick the site you want to use, look at the odds and place a wager on the team you’re siding with, deposit your money, and then wait to see who wins.

The best strategy to follow is to analyze the odds. Remember that the higher the odds, the lower the chance that the team will win. A team with higher odds would give greater returns, but it would have a low chance of winning.

Another thing to keep an eye on is the team’s history. How have they been performing in the past matches? These are a few factors that you should include in your betting strategy to increase your chances of winning.