Eternal Fire vs Astralis Prediction: Good Start for the Turks

Prediction for the Intel Extreme Masters Rio 2024 match, which will take place on October 7th. Who will turn out to be stronger? Check the teams' conditions! Several betting options are available.

Eternal Fire

The Turkish team had a great run after the summer break, finishing in the top two at BetBoom Dacha Belgrade and repeating their success at ESL Pro League Season 20. Even though they didn't win any trophies, Eternal Fire's two consecutive finals appearances can be seen as stable. The Turkish team is back in seventh place in the HLTV rankings, thanks to their recent wins. They could even make it into the top five if they do well in Rio. XANTARES and his team have never reached this level before.

XANTARES leader is in great form this year, taking the team to new heights. Over the past three months, XANTARES' stats are on par with the top rifflers: 1.23 HLTV rating, 86 damage per round, 0.77 kills, and IMPACT score of 1.4. The team relies heavily on the leader's performance because he can both find an opening in a round and deliver clutch plays with composure. XANTARES also encourages his teammates, including Wicadia and woxic, to play well. They're less stable than XANTARES, but they're great at connecting and making a difference on the server. Eternal Fire has come on in leaps and bounds since the Copenhagen Majors, and they've moved on from relying on mindless aggression alone. In the ESL Pro League Season 20 finals, the Turks repeatedly surprised Natus Vincere with their strategies. B1ad3 had to think fast and survive a nervous end to the HE5 final.

In September, Eternal Fire beat Team Vitality, faced Natus Vincere, and ended their losing streak against The MongolZ. The team is in good shape and can win against even the best teams. The Turks also had a good run in early 2024 and then did well at the Copenhagen Major. Now history is repeating itself—XANTARES and company have played out and are approaching a new peak of opportunity.

Astralis

Astralis has gone through another leadership change. The company decided to make a change before RMR, removing br0 from the roster and putting cadiaN in charge of the game. It's a bit like the Virtus.pro reshuffle, which also had a negative impact on the Bears, although the scale here is even more global. Kasper has taken on a new role, moved on from AWP, and is now learning to play with automatics while the team has a new captain.

In terms of names, it looks good: cadiaN has won tournaments with stavn and jabbi in the past, the device has lots of experience in winning majors, and Staehr has been showing stability at tier-1 level for a long time. Astralis's first performances with this new line-up didn't go as well as hoped. At the autumn BLAST Finals, the Danes lost to Team Vitality quite badly, winning only four rounds in the series. In the series against Team Spirit, they only managed to win one map. They didn't do so well in the second and third and were knocked out in the playoffs. CadiaN had a rough time as captain in Team Liquid, so he needs to show he can handle the role in front of device, who also wanted to lead Astralis. Kasper isn't the most efficient, so the rest of the Danes must make a few more kills per game to even out the difference. Understandably, Astralis will adjust the game's structure and change the map approach, which will take time, too.

After the changes, teams have two possible outcomes: either they'll experience a 'honeymoon period' and a significant improvement in playability, or they'll face difficulties and further problems. At the BLAST Autumn Finals, it became clear that Astralis didn't take the first path. CadiaN and his team will try to make a comeback in Rio, but their performance in Copenhagen left much to be desired.

Expert Betting Tips

Bookmakers think Eternal Fire will be the favorite in this match. The Turks had been playing well before IEM Rio 2024, but there are doubts about Astralis' playing condition. The only previous match between the teams ended in a Danish victory. The current situation favours the Turks, and we also think Eternal Fire will do well.