Natus Vincere vs Team Liquid at CS:GO IEM Katowice 2023 - Predictions, where to watch, and more

16 top-tier CS:GO rosters convened in Katowice, Poland, earlier this week to fight for the IEM Katowice 2023 title. Day 1 of the tournament kicked off on February 4, 2023, as the participating teams entered the double-elimination Group Stage, which will ultimately send six of them to the single-elimination playoff bracket.

On day 2 of the IEM Katowice 2023, fans will witness several interesting matchups being played out, one of them being NAVI's much-awaited Upper Semifinals matchup against Team Liquid. The winner will proceed to meet the winner of the G2 vs FaZe battle in the Upper Finals, whereas the loser will be sent to face the winner of the Spirit vs BIG matchup in the lower bracket.

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NAVI vs Liquid - Who will win this Upper Semifinals matchup of CS:GO's IEM Katowice 2023?

Predictions

NAVI and Liquid are two remarkable rosters that are among the top CS:GO teams at present. The former has an experienced core that consists of players like Perfecto, electroNic, and one of CS:GO's all-time greats, s1mple. They also have young prodigies like b1t and npl, who have proven their strengths with NAVI's junior team.

While NAVI does have a strong roster, they often place themselves in difficult situations. Their newest signing, npl, joined the team only a month ago, and is yet to gel with his teammates on the server. On top of that, NAVI's performances in recent events have not been up to the mark.

Similarly, Team Liquid also has an impressive CS:GO roster with the right mix of veteran players like nitr0, NAF and EliGE, and talented youngsters like oSee and YEKINDAR. Their latest addition, YEKINDAR, also brought in a lot of flair and helped the team secure a top-four finish in the BLAST Premier Fall Finals and a runners-up medal in World Finals 2022.

Liquid did have a rough start to the year, as seen from their performance at the BLAST Spring Groups. However, the team has picked themselves up after their recent defeats and are ready to give it their all at the IEM Katowice 2023. Considering their current form and chemistry, Team Liquid has an advantage over NAVI in this Upper Semifinals matchup.

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Head-to-head

The core rosters of NAVI and Team Liquid have faced off in a total of six series prior to this matchup. Their tally against each other is tied at 3-3.

However, out of the 12 maps they've played in those six matches, NAVI has won seven, leaving Liquid with only 5. The most recent encounter between the two sides was at the BLAST Premier World Final 2022, when Liquid beat NAVI 2-1 in the Quarterfinals.

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Recent results

NAVI sealed a 2-0 victory over Cloud9 in their opening match of the IEM Katowice 2023. Prior to that, the CIS roster competed in BLAST Premier Spring Groups 2023, where they finished in 4-6th place. They've won four out of the six matches they've played this year, defeating teams like Complexity, NIP, and Cloud9, while losing to G2 Esports.

Team Liquid triumphed over IHC with a 2-0 scoreline in their first match of the tournament. They had a relatively poor start to the 2023 season, finishing BLAST Premier Spring Groups in 10-12th place. So far this year, they've won only two out of five matches. Liquid lost to OG and BIG this year, while defeating Complexity and IHC.

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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)

Team Liquid

• Jonathan "EliGE" Jablonowski
• Keith "NAF" Markovic
• Joshua "oSee" Ohm
• Nicholas "nitr0" Cannella (IGL)
• Mareks "YEKINDAR" Gaļinski
• Damian "daps" Steele (Coach)

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Where to watch

Readers worldwide can watch the IEM Katowice 2023 live on ESL CS:GO's official Twitch channel using this link.

CS:GO fans can also tune into the various official watch parties held by streamers and players from all over the world to watch the event. NAVI will take on Liquid on February 5, 2023 at 10:30 am PST/7:30 pm CET/12 am IST (next day).