IEM Rio 2026 semi-finals are stacked with all the best CS2 teams set to battle each other on the server, with Falcons vs. Spirit being the first game on the table.
Can Spirit avenge their loss earlier in the tournament, or will Falcons continue their great run of form in Brazil? Time will tell.
Here’s our IEM Rio 2026 semi-finals preview.
Will kyxsan lift the trophy in probably his last event with the team? Credit: Jonathon Yau | © BLAST
Rumours surrounding Falcons’ roster changes don’t seem to be bothering the players in the slightest. Actually, the Finn “karrigan” Andersen move being nearly confirmed seems to have lifted the pressure off their shoulders in Rio.
With that added looseness, Falcons have been playing lights out, beating 3DMAX and Spirit to get to the playoffs, before besting Vitality and ending their 18-series win streak.
Ilya “m0NESY” Osipov is currently the best performing player at the event, having masterfully wielded the AWP thus far in Rio. The Russian sniper is hoping to grab his first title wearing a Falcons jersey.
Having beaten Vitality in the group stage, Falcons’ playoff bracket shaped up in their favor, with Spirit historically being a relatively easy opponent for Nikola “NiKo” Kovac teams, as evidenced by their previous one-sided meeting.
Will Falcons perform another demolition job against one of the best CS2 players, Danil “donk” Kryshkovets, once again? For the sake of fans wanting to see a competitive affair, let’s hope Spirit at least put up a fight on the stage.
Will donk be able to perform against his nemesis in Rio? Credit: BLAST Premier
Spirit have been very underwhelming in 2026 as a whole. Apart from the 3rd place finish at IEM Kraków 2026, they hadn’t made a single top-four placing until now, and deservedly so, judging by their performances.
While Spirit always was and still is the donk show, the supporting cast seems to be getting weaker year by year. Myroslav “zont1x” Plakhotia and Andrey “tN1R” Tatarinovich especially are underperforming relative to expectations by a big margin.
However, something clicked in their quarter-final matchup against MOUZ, where they destroyed their opponents with everyone doing their part on the server. Although MOUZ have been an easy opponent for Spirit for the past year.
Having already taken a beating from Falcons at this event, there are very few arguments one could make that back Spirit to win this game.
There’s a high chance Spirit come out on the losing side of this semi-final. Credit: © StarLadder
It’s no surprise Falcons are the CS2 betting favorites to take down Spirit in this game and move on to the Grand Final. They have their number more often than not, and they already destroyed them in Rio.
Their victory against Vitality is certainly contributing to the CS2 odds as well. The question is not whether Falcons win this game, but rather how many maps they will need.
The second semi-final of the day will probably be the lengthier and more exciting of the two matches.
Score prediction:
Odds:
Odds courtesy of GG.Bet Esports and are subject to change.
Featured image credit: © StarLadder
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