Heroic vs NAVI at CS:GO IEM Katowice 2023 Semifinals: Predictions, where to watch, and more

CS:GO's Intel Extreme Masters (IEM) Katowice 2023 kicked off on February 1, 2023, featuring twenty-four of the best rosters from all over the world. After ten days of enthralling matchups, only four teams remain in contention for the IEM title and a grand million-dollar prize pool.

Day 2 of the IEM Katowice 2023 Playoffs will feature both of the semifinals matchups being played out. In the first match of the day, the Danish organization Heroic will take on Ukrainian powerhouse Natus Vincere in a best-of-three matchup. The winner will proceed to meet the winner of G2 vs Liquid in the Grand Finals, whereas the loser will be eliminated.

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Heroic vs NAVI: Who will win this semifinals matchup of CS:GO's IEM Katowice 2023?

Predictions

Heroic and NAVI are inevitably among the most procifient CS:GO teams in recent times. Both teams have had a notable presence in recent Majors as well, with Heroic's runner-up performance at the IEM Rio Major 2022, and NAVI's second-place finish at PGL Major Antwerp 2022 and their victory at PGL Stockholm 2021.

Heroic is a roster of young talent that's led by the veteran AWPer and in-game leader - cadiaN. The roster has a core lineup who have been playing together since early 2020. With the addition of young talents like sjuush and Jabbi in recent times, Heroic has risen through the ranks to become one of CS:GO's finest teams.

NAVI, on the other hand, is an established roster of remarkably talented individuals like s1mple and b1t as well as experienced players like Perfecto and electroNic. The only weak link on NAVI's roster is their wavering fifth-man spot, which has slowed down the team's progress recently.

Currently, NAVI has npl as their fifth man. The Ukrainian youngster was recently promoted to the main roster from NAVI's Junior squad, and hasn't had the time to get fully ingrained into the squad yet.

Given the current form that both teams are in, Heroic has a fair advantage. The Danish roster has been in their best form throughout IEM Katowice 2023, and certainly has the momentum to bulldoze through any of CS:GO's most competent teams. Although NAVI is likely to give Heroic a good run for their money, fans can expect Heroic to win this semifinals matchup, given the incredible form that they're in.

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Head-to-head

The current core of Heroic and NAVI have played against each other a total of 12 times in the past. NAVI has won 11 of those matches, leaving Heroic with just one series victory. The Ukrainian side have won 22 out of the 31 maps that they've played against each other.

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Recent results

Heroic was among the eight teams that directly qualified for the IEM Katowice Group Stage. The Danish roster emerged victorious in all three of their Group Stage matchups, dominating teams like OG, Complexity, and Vitality. Having completed their group bracket in first place, Heroic earned a direct entry into the semifinals stage.

NAVI was also among the eight directly qualified Group Stage teams, similar to Heroic. NAVI maintained a 2-1 run in their group matches, after defeating Cloud9 and Team Liquid, and losing only to G2 Esports. They eventually defeated Outsiders in the quarterfinals to qualify for the IEM Katowice 2023 semifinals.

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Potential lineups

Natus Vincere

• Oleksandr "s1mple" Kostyliev
• Denis "electroNic" Sharipov (IGL)
• Ilya "Perfecto" Zalutskiy
• Valerii "b1t" Vakhovskyi
• Andrii "npl" Kukharskyi
• Andrii "B1ad3" Horodenskyi (Coach)

Heroic

• Martin "stavn" Lund
• Casper "cadiaN" Møller (IGL)
• René "TeSeS" Madsen
• Rasmus "sjuush" Beck
• Jakob "Jabbi" Nygaard
• Richard "Xizt" Landström (Coach)

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Where to watch

CS:GO fans can watch the upcoming IEM Katowice 2023 Playoffs live on ESL CS:GO's official Twitch channel using this link. Heroic will take on Natus Vincere on February 11, 2023 at 6:30 am PST/ 3:30 pm CET/ 8:00 pm IST.