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BLAST.tv Paris Major 2023: G2 vs FURIA

With elimination at the back of their minds, G2 faced FURIA Esports at BLAST.tv Paris Major 2023.

BLAST.tv Paris Major 2023: Legends Stage

The Legends Stage of BLAST.tv Paris Major 2023 is well underway as we are now done with the round 3 matches. Both G2 and FURIA were placed at the bottom two positions of the standings before the series. Only 8 of the 16 teams of Legends Stage will qualify for the Champions Stage so it was surely a must win for both of the organizations if they want to stay in the competition.

FURIA Esports vs. G2

Rosters

FURIA Esports
  • Yuri ‘yuurih’ Boian
  • Andrei ‘arT’ Piovezan
  • Kaike ‘KSCERATO’ Cerato
  • André ‘drop’ Abreu
  • Rafael ‘saffee’ Costa
G2
  • Nemanja ‘huNter-‘ Kovač
  • Nikola ‘NiKo’ Kovač
  • Ilya ‘m0NESY’ Osipov
  • Justin ‘jks’ Savage
  • Rasmus ‘HooXi’ Nielsen

The Series

Map Picks & Bans
  • G2 removed Overpass
  • FURIA removed Nuke
  • G2 picked Inferno
  • FURIA picked Mirage
  • FURIA removed Anubis
  • G2 removed Vertigo
  • Ancient was left over
Map 1 (Inferno)

The first map, Inferno started off with FURIA on defense. FURIA did start off the map with a win on the first round but failed to keep up. G2 took a round to put their game faces on and then went on to win 9 rounds in a row. FURIA could respond only for a while as they then picked up 3 rounds. The first half ended with G2 picking up the last 2 rounds with the score reading 11-4 in favor of G2.

FURIA started the second half well winning the first four rounds on attack. But G2 quickly recollected themselves and picked up the remaining 5 rounds to seal the map in their favor. G2’s NiKo and huNter stepped up big time to bring G2 the win on Inferno.

Map 2 (Mirage)

Mirage started off with FURIA again picking up the first round of the map. FURIA seemed to be the better team at the start with them picking up 4 of the first 5 rounds. But the rest of the first half was straight up slaughter from the roster of G2. G2 repeated the first half of Inferno staying ahead on Mirage with the same scoreline of 11-4 at the end of the first half.

G2 continued their momentum winning the first 3 rounds of the second half. After that, FURIA did show some resistance by picking the next 3 rounds. But it was too little, too late for the Brazilian roster. G2 picked up their remaining 2 rounds and called it a day picking up their second map. With the win on this series, G2 has revived their hopes of staying in the competition.

G2 is facing Fnatic tonight as they’ll be hoping to pick up a win and boost their chances of clinching a spot for the Champions Stage. But the same goes for Fnatic as they have not confirmed their spot either.

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Team Vitality Are Your Champions Of IEM Rio 2023

Team Vitality have been crowned the champions of IEM Rio 2023. The org has won it big in Brazil after defeating Heroic 2-0 in a best of 3 series. How did the roster make it to the finals and how did the finals turn out? Find out more only at Gamopo!

Road To The Finals

Team Vitality started off their IEM journey at Rio in the worst possible way. Their first match was against OG who had gotten the best of them, beating them 19-17. Thus, the team was forced to be relegated to the lower bracket. In the lower bracket finals, Vitality faced MIBR who they beat 2-0. Vitality was then up against FaZe who had previously lost Furia at the upper bracket finals. To the demise of FaZe, Vitality won 2-0 again and sent them home packing. At the lower bracket finals, Vitality had to face OG yet again. But it was time for vengeance as OG conceded to them 1-2 with Vitality now qualifying for the playoffs.

Vitality’s journey at the playoffs started by facing BIG. In another best of 3 series, they won 2-0 on Nuke and Mirage. It was now time for the team’s biggest test yet as they had to face Cloud9 at the semifinals. Cloud9 were ruthless on their first map which was Inferno and one more map win would mean the end of the journey for Vitality. In their second map as well, Cloud9 was ruthlessly dominating being up by 12-1. But Vitality made the comeback of their lives and went up to 12-14 from 12-1. They eventually took advantage of their momentum and won on Vertigo and then slayed Overpass booking their ticket to the finals.

The Finals

Rosters

Team Vitality

  • Dan ‘apEX’ Madesclaire
  • Mathieu ‘ZywOo’ Herbaut
  • Peter ‘dupreeh’ Rasmussen
  • Emil ‘Magisk’ Reif
  • Lotan ‘Spinx’ Giladi

Heroic

  • Martin ‘stavn’ Lund
  • Casper ‘cadiaN’ Møller
  • René ‘TeSeS’ Madsen
  • Rasmus ‘sjuush’ Beck
  • Jakob ‘Jabbi’ Nygaard

Map Picks & Bans

  • Vitality removed Ancient
  • Heroic removed Anubis
  • Vitality picked Vertigo
  • Heroic picked Inferno
  • Vitality removed Mirage
  • Heroic removed Nuke
  • Overpass was left over

The Series

The chosen maps for the finals of IEM Rio 2023 were Vertigo, Inferno and Overpass.

Map 1 (Vertigo)

Vitality’s pick of Vertigo came off the back of their insane comeback against Cloud9 on the map just the day before. At the start of the map, it looked like a great pick. Vitality won the first five rounds of the map with relative ease and Heroic seemed to be suffering. A rather unsettled Heroic roster seemed to have comeback way later in the first half as they equaled the score at 7-7. The first half ended 8-7 in favor of Vitality.

As the sides were reversed, it was Heroic who were now leading as they had won the first three rounds. When the going got tough, it was Magisk that stepped up for his team. Picking up multi kills every round had turned more of a hobby for this lad. A determined Vitality roster soon made a comeback. Heroic did their level best to resist by picking up a few rounds when Vitality was ahead but it wasn’t enough. Vitality had won their first map of Vertigo 16-13.

Map 2 (Inferno)

It was now time for Heroic’s map pick of Inferno. Unfortunately for them, Vitality had won the first two pistol rounds. While Heroic had shown some resistance, the first half was all Vitality. An in-form apEX and ZywOo took matter into their own hands and collectively picked up 29 kills together in the first half. Thanks to their ruthlessness, Vitality finished the first half being ahead 10-5.

With the roles reversed, it was now a fresh start for the roster of Heroic. The team recollected themselves and put on quite the performance at the start of the second half. Vitality turned nervous for a second as Heroic won 6 of the first 7 rounds to tie the score at 11-11. With few rounds remaining before a possible overtime, it was now or never for both teams. Team Vitality turned the momentum around and picked up 5 more rounds to finish off the series. And thus, Team Vitality were crowned the champions of IEM Rio 2023.

With the lion’s share of $250,000 in the bank, Team Vitality are going home not only with heavier wallets but also with tickets to Cologne. IEM Cologne 2023 begins this July and Vitality are expected to go big at the tournament.

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IEM Rio 2023: Group A Upper & Lower Bracket Finals

IEM Rio 2023 is turning hot as we turn to some of the bigger matches tonight. We are at the business end of Group A. With BIG facing NaVi and NIP going against Heroic, we have two top matchups of this tournament. With high stakes on the line, we take a look at the matches and come up with predictions for these two matchups in group A of IEM Rio 2023.

IEM Rio 2023: Group A

Group A of IEM Rio 2023 started off with some top world-class teams. The likes of Heroic, BIG, MOUZ, NIP and NaVi are all in group A. But now it’s time for the upper and lower bracket semifinals. BIG will be facing Natus Vincere in the upper bracket final first and then Heroic will be going against Ninjas In Pyjamas.

BIG vs. Natus Vincere

Rosters

BIG
  • Johannes ‘tabseN’ Wodarz
  • Josef ‘faveN’ Baumann
  • Karim ‘Krimbo’ Moussa
  • Nils ‘k1to’ Gruhne
  • Marcel ‘hyped‘ Köhn
NaVi
  • Oleksandr ‘s1mple’ Kostyljev
  • Denis ‘electroNic’ Sharipov
  • Ilya ‘Perfecto’ Zalutskiy
  • Valerij ‘b1t’ Vakhovsjkyj
  • Andrij ‘npl’ Kukharsjkyj

Our Prediction

NaVi vs BIG seems to be a bit of a straightforward matchup in our opinion. NaVi has won four of their last five competitive matches while BIG has won only two. The last time the two teams faced each other was at the IEM Rio Major 2022 where NaVi won 2-0. The NaVi team looks stronger on paper and has a better recent form heading into this match. So, we predict a win for NaVi tonight and they’ll be moving forward to the next stage of the tournament.

Ninjas in Pyjamas vs Heroic

Rosters

NIP
  • Fredrik ‘REZ’ Sterner
  • Ludvig ‘Brollan’ Brolin
  • Aleksi ‘Aleksib’ Virolainen
  • Danyyl ‘headtr1ck’ Valitov
  • Kristian ‘k0nfig’ Wienecke
Heroic
  • Martin ‘stavn’ Lund
  • Casper ‘cadiaN’ Møller
  • René ‘TeSeS’ Madsen
  • Rasmus ‘sjuush’ Beck
  • Jakob ‘Jabbi’ Nygaard

Our Prediction

NIP vs Heroic is a bit of a tricky matchup in our opinion. NIP has a better form going into this match winning three of their last five matches. Heroic has a decent form as well winning four of their last six matches. The last time the two teams have faced each other was at the BLAST Premier Fall Finals 2022. Heroic won that matchup 2-1. But it’s NIP that won 3/3 series before that. While this matchup can go any way, we predict a win for Heroic.

Both NIP and NaVi would look forward to making it into the next round of IEM Rio 2023 as they had done so in their first matches. Let’s see what the night has in store for them!

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NIP & NaVi Begin IEM Rio 2023 With Wins

You know what the best part is about competitive Counter-Strike? The fact that there’s almost always a top tier tournament going on. With the IEM Rio 2023 kicking off today, that means another tournament full of action, drama and much more! Good news for NIP & NaVi fans is that their teams started off the tournament picking up wins.

NIP & NaVi Wins Their Opening Matches

NIP vs Imperial Esports

Rosters

NIP
  • Fredrik ‘REZ’ Sterner
  • Ludvig ‘Brollan’ Brolin
  • Aleksi ‘Aleksib’ Virolainen
  • Danyyl ‘headtr1ck’ Valitov
  • Kristian ‘k0nfig’ Wienecke
Imperial Esports
  • Gabriel ‘FalleN’ Toledo
  • Ricardo ‘boltz’ Prass
  • Vinicius ‘VINI’ Figueiredo
  • Marcelo ‘chelo’ Cespedes
  • Jhonatan ‘JOTA’ Wilian

Map Picks & Bans

  1. Imperial removed Vertigo
  2. Ninjas in Pyjamas removed Overpass
  3. Ninjas in Pyjamas removed Inferno
  4. Imperial removed Nuke
  5. Imperial removed Anubis
  6. Ninjas in Pyjamas removed Ancient
  7. Mirage was left over

The Match

It was Mongolia vs the rest of Europe in the first match of IEM Rio 2023. With Mirage being the battleground, both teams looked to move to the upper bracket semifinals from group A.

The Ninjas started off the map winning the first two pistol rounds. But Imperial responded right after picking up the next 3 rounds without flinching. It was then NIP’s turn to pick up consecutive rounds as they won the next 4. For the rest of the first half, it was pretty much NIP domination. The first half ended 11-4 in favor of Ninjas in Pyjamas. In the second half, there was little to show from the side of Imperial Esports. They won only one round in the second half as NIP finished off the map 16-5. It was Brollan that really stood out on NIP’s first match of the tournament.

NaVi vs The Mongolz

Rosters

NaVi
  • Oleksandr ‘s1mple’ Kostyljev
  • Denis ‘electroNic’ Sharipov
  • Ilya ‘Perfecto’ Zalutskiy
  • Valerij ‘b1t’ Vakhovsjkyj
  • Andrij ‘npl’ Kukharsjkyj
The Mongolz
  • Garidmagnai ‘bLitz’ Byambasuren
  • Sodbayar ‘Techno4K’ Munkhbold
  • Baatarkhuu ‘Bart4k’ Batbold
  • Tuvshintugs ‘ANNIHILATION’ Nyamdorj
  • Chinguun ‘hasteka’ Bayarmaa

Map Picks & Bans

  1. TheMongolz removed Ancient
  2. Natus Vincere removed Anubis
  3. Natus Vincere removed Inferno
  4. TheMongolz removed Vertigo
  5. TheMongolz removed Overpass
  6. Natus Vincere removed Nuke
  7. Mirage was left over

The Match

For NaVi vs The Mongolz, Mirage was the playground once again. NaVi started off their IEM Rio 2023 run winning the pistol rounds against Mongolz. They followed it up by winning three more rounds at a stretch. But it was now time for Mongolz to respond. For the rest of the first half, it was total domination from the Mongolian side. Their aggression and tactics outshined the entire NaVi roster. The first half ended 8-7 in favor of the NaVi side. NaVi were looking at an imminent upset if they were to let this continue. However, they did turn things around in the beginning of the second half. They consecutively picked up the first four rounds in the second half regaining their lead over their opponents. The Mongolz could do very little after as NaVi soon picked up the map. The match ended with NaVi winning on Mirage 16-9. Gotta feel bad for bLitz who put up an impressive show for the Mongolz.

The two victors of the opening matches, NIP & NaVi will be facing each other tonight later on. The winner of that matchup will be moving onto the upper bracket finals from group A.

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NaVi vs Astralis At ESL Pro League Season 17

It’s misery for the fans of Astralis and Natus Vincere as their teams have been relegated to the mid bracket of ESL Pro League Season 17. Instead of these two, it’s actually ENCE and Forze at the playoffs from group D. But before, NaVi and Astralis even think of making it to the playoffs, they have to get rid of the other. Find out how the series turned out of NaVi vs Astralis.

NaVi vs Astralis

Rosters

Natus Vincere

  • Oleksandr ‘s1mple‘ Kostyljev
  • Denis ‘electroNic‘ Sharipov
  • Ilya ‘Perfecto‘ Zalutskiy
  • Valerij ‘b1t‘ Vakhovsjkyj
  • Andrij ‘npl‘ Kukharsjkyj

Astralis

  • Andreas ‘Xyp9x‘ Højsleth
  • Lukas ‘gla1ve‘ Rossander
  • Benjamin ‘blameF‘ Bremer
  • Nicolai ‘dev1ce‘ Reedtz
  • Christian ‘Buzz‘ Andersen

Map Picks & Bans

  • Astralis removed Anubis
  • Natus Vincere removed Vertigo
  • Astralis picked Ancient
  • Natus Vincere picked Overpass
  • Astralis removed Mirage
  • Natus Vincere removed Nuke
  • Inferno was left over

The Series

Map 1 (Ancient)

Ancient was the first map of the group D NaVi vs Astralis series. Astralis started off their map pick just the way they wanted. It was blameF who was taking frag after from at the start of the first half. They won the first three rounds straight but NaVi responded right after with three rounds of their own. The first half kept going back and forth like this but eventually ended up in favor of Astralis as the scoreboard read 9-6. On attack, NaVi simply bounced back. They picked up eight rounds straight without even flinching for a second- much of the credit going to electroNic and Perfecto. NaVi soon wrapped up Ancient 16-11 in their favor despite being down two rounds in the first half.

Map 2 (Overpass)

It was now time to play on the map pick of Natus Vincere. Astralis started off their opponents’ map pick their way by winning the two pistol rounds. NaVi soon responded by picking up two rounds of their own, thus leveling the score. However, what followed later was total annihilation by Astralis. Astralis then went on to win… not one, not two, not even six but eleven rounds at one go. They made NaVi look disoriented and helpless throughout the first half. NaVi didn’t even get the plant down on four different rounds in the first half. The first half ended 13-2 in favor of Astralis. There was not a lot to witness in the second half. Astralis just needed three more rounds and they picked it up within four rounds. The map scores were leveled as Astralis won the second map 16-3.

Map 3 (Inferno)

It was now time for the deciding map- Inferno. Astralis yet again started off the map their way by not only winning the pistols but following it up with two more rounds. NaVi responded but only for a while as they won two rounds. Three more rounds were picked up Astralis as they looked to widen the gap. A shift in momentum then took place as NaVi tried their level best to reduce the gap in the first half. It ended 8-7 in favor of Astralis. The second half started with NaVi putting their game faces on as they won four straight rounds. While Astralis did try their level best to put a stop to the NaVi show, it was too little, too late. Thanks to s1mple and electroNic, they brawled their way into picking up the map 16-12.

Not all hopes are lost for Astralis, however. They have now been relegated to the last chance bracket. It’s a different story for Natus Vincere, however. They will be facing Rare Atom tonight for a chance at moving into the mid bracket final. It will surely be an interesting sight to watch as the two teams clash later on tonight.

 

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Vitality vs OG At ESL Pro League Season 17

It was Vitality vs OG at the Upper Bracket Semifinals of Group C at ESL Pro League Season 17. A loss for either team meant being relegated to the mid bracket from the upper bracket. So, which team was forced to take the harder route? Find out only at Gamopo!

Vitality vs OG

Rosters

Let’s take a look at the rosters of Team Vitality and OG.

Vitality

  • Dan ‘apEX‘ Madesclaire
  • Mathieu ‘ZywOo‘ Herbaut
  • Audric ‘JACKZ‘ Jug
  • Emil ‘Magisk‘ Reif
  • Lotan ‘Spinx‘ Giladi

OG

  • Shahar ‘flameZ‘ Shushan
  • Adam ‘NEOFRAG‘ Zouhar
  • Maciej ‘F1KU‘ Miklas
  • Abdulkhalik ‘degster‘ Gasanov
  • Nikolaj ‘niko‘ Kristensen

Map Picks & Bans

  • OG removed Nuke
  • Vitality removed Ancient
  • OG picked Anubis
  • Vitality picked Vertigo
  • OG removed Overpass
  • Vitality removed Mirage
  • Inferno was left

The Series

The Vitality vs OG series was a best of 3 with the maps being Anubis Vertigo and Inferno. Let’s see how it turned out.

Map 1 (Anubis)

Anubis started with OG on terrorist side as they looked towards making the most out of their map pick. But to their demise, it was Team Vitality that won the first few pistol rounds. While OG did manage to respond on the third round, Vitality kept making the right calls. Vitality won four rounds straight as they set up a massive gap against OG. The first half ended 10-5 in favor of Team Vitality. In the second half, it was now Team Vitality starting on the terrorist side. We weren’t able to witness much of the second half since Vitality thought it was in their best interest to finish off the map. They took just 6 rounds to finish the map 16-5. Advantage to Team Vitality!

Map 2 (Vertigo)

Vitality started their map pick of Vertigo on the terrorist side. While OG did lose the first pistol round, they made amends in the second. But it was just another case of Vitality domination as they kept picking up rounds with ease. The first half ended 9-6 in favor of Vitality. The second half saw Team Vitality starting it off strong. It was ZywOo being ZywOo as he kept picking up frags and clutching for his team. In the end, Team Vitality picked up the second map as well on a scoreline of 16-9.

With this series win, Team Vitality are now off to the playoffs. The two teams will be facing each other soon. That should be quite the exciting matchup! Wonder who will win- guess we will have to find out!

 

 

 

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G2 Vs Heroic At IEM Katowice 2023 Grand Final

As we draw the curtains on IEM Katowice 2023, we have finally crowned a new CS:GO Major champion. It was G2 vs Heroic at the Spodek Arena in the grand finals. Who are returning home with another championship under their belt? Find out!

G2 vs Heroic

G2 beat another title contender, Team Liquid to make it to the finals of Katowice 2023. On the other hand, Heroic annihilated NaVi to reach the finals this year. Last year, they missed out losing to FaZe Clan in the semifinals. The stage was now set for G2 vs Heroic!

Rosters

G2 Esports

  • Rasmus “HooXi” Nielsen (IGL)
  • Justin “jks” Savage
  • Ilya “m0NESY” Osipov
  • Nikola “NiKo” Kovač
  • Nemanja “huNter” Kovač

Heroic

  • Casper “cadiaN” Møller (IGL)
  • Martin “stavn” Lund
  • René “TeSeS” Madsen
  • Rasmus “sjuush” Beck
  • Jakob “Jabbi” Nygaard

Map Picks & Bans

  1. G2 removed Overpass
  2. Heroic removed Anubis
  3. G2 picked Nuke
  4. Heroic picked Mirage
  5. G2 picked Inferno
  6. Heroic picked Ancient
  7. Vertigo was left

The Series

Map 1 (Nuke)

Nuke was the first map in the grand finals of G2 vs Heroic. The map started off well for G2. They picked up the first three rounds with relative ease. However, Heroic was quick to remind everyone why they’re in the finals. The first half ended 10-5 in favor of Heroic. G2 started off the second half quite well, again picking up the pistol. HuNter really turned heads in the second half with a 2.01 rating. Thanks to him and support from the rest of the G2 roster, Heroic could barely pick up a map or two on the T-side. G2 picked up the first map 16-12.

Map 2 (Mirage)

The G2 vs Heroic series continued with Heroic’s pick of Mirage. This time, Heroic started off the map well picking up the first three rounds. The first half ended in favor of Heroic yet again, with the score line being 9-6. G2 bounced back at the beginning of the second half. G2’s m0NESY showed up big time as they leveled the score 10-10. G2 turned the game around with some big plays from round 21. Heroic showed some resistance but it was too little, too late. G2 picked up the second map as well against Heroic 16-13.

Map 3 (Inferno)

G2 had to seal the third map to pick up the series. They picked up the first round but Heroic was quick to respond. They won the next 6 rounds straight without sweating much. G2 did a good job of trying to make a comeback as the first half finished 8-7, slightly in favor of G2. The momentum continued as G2 won the first two rounds of the second half as well. But Heroic’s entire roster showed terrific co-ordination and team effort in the second half. Heroic picked up their first map win quite comfortably, 16-11 being the score line.

Map 4 (Ancient)

Ancient started the right way for G2. They started CT-side and won the first three rounds. Heroic started to resist from the next round but G2 fought back again. The first half ended 9-6 in favor of G2. With a 3-round advantage, they were now hoping to win the series and the grand final. G2 kept their eyes on the prize as they were dominant in the second half- only conceding a single round. Picking up their easiest map of the night, G2 beat Heroic and have now been crowned the champions of IEM Katowice 2023.

G2 fans across the globe must surely be ecstatic after their team’s win.

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IEM Katowice 2023 Group A Day 1 Action

IEM Katowice 2023 is running hot as we just got started with group A action today. With the matches already going on as we write this, let’s find out who were the victors on day one. Do check out our previous Katowice 2023 article to learn about this year’s event.

IEM Katowice 2023 Group A

Regarded by many as the group of death, group A is surely delivering us the action CS:GO fans are craving for. With the likes of G2, FaZe Clan, Team Liquid and NaVi in group A, the hype is justified. Group A consists of the following teams:

  • Team Liquid
  • IHC Esports
  • Cloud9
  • Natus Vincere
  • G2 Esports
  • BIG
  • Team Spirit
  • FaZe Clan

Now, let’s check out all the matches of group A of day 1.

Group A Day 1 Matches

G2 Esports vs BIG

Being directly qualified into the group stage, G2’s first opponent was BIG. The Blast Premier World Final 2022 was up against the Roobet Cup 2022 winners. Despite BIG getting the first map pick, it didn’t end well for them. G2 picked up both Anubis and Inferno with a 2-0 clean sweep.

Cloud9 vs Natus Vincere

Meanwhile, G2’s arch rival, NaVi was busy dealing with Cloud9. NaVi showed up on matchday with a clear game plan in mind. That was well reflected in the series between the two teams. On a day where s1mple had barely stepped up, it was the likes of electroNic and b1t that took matters into their own hands. In the end, NaVi walked away with a clean 2-0 win over Cloud9.

Team Spirit vs FaZe Clan

Team Spirit faced the mighty FaZe Clan in the upper bracket quarter finals. Captain Karrigan had an amazing field day leading his team to victory from the front. The team didn’t have to go to a third map and won their series 2-0. They won 16-5 on Ancient and 16-12 on Nuke. Team Spirit will face BIG at the lower bracket quarter finals.

Team Liquid vs IHC Esports

On the last series of day 1 of Katowice 2023 group A, Team Liquid was paired against IHC Esports. IHC showed up but their efforts fell short as Liquid picked up both maps 16-13 and 16-6. The two maps were Iferno and Overpass. IHC will be facing Cloud9 in the lower bracket quarter finals.

Who’s meeting at the upper bracket semifinals?

It’s getting hotter and hotter here at IEM Katowice 2023 group A. Team Liquid is set to face Natus Vincere and G2 will be facing FaZe today. Both matchups are well-balanced and there will be no love lost when the teams will be facing each other. All four of the teams have a terrific shot at winning this major but unfortunately, two will have to take the harder route at the end of the day.

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NaVi vs NIP at Blast Premier Spring Groups 2023

We are back with CS:GO action and it’s getting hot at Blast Premier Spring Groups 2023. Day 3 of the tournament saw one of the most exciting matches which was NaVi vs NIP. How did the action turn out and more importantly, who won? Find out only at Gamopo!

NaVi vs NIP

Rosters

Natus Vincere

  • Denis “electroNic”  Sharipov (IGL)
  • Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev
  • Ilya “Perfecto” Zalutskiy
  • Valerii “b1t” Vakhovskyi
  • Andrii “npl” Kukharskyi

Ninjas In Pyjamas

  • Aleksi “Aleksib” Virolainen (IGL)
  • Fredrik “REZ” Sterner
  • Hampus “hampus” Poser
  • Ludvig “Brollan” Brolin
  • Danyyl “headtr1ck” Valitov

Map Picks & Bans

  1. Ninjas in Pyjamas removed Nuke
  2. Natus Vincere removed Vertigo
  3. Ninjas in Pyjamas picked Inferno
  4. Natus Vincere picked Mirage
  5. Ninjas in Pyjamas removed Ancient
  6. Natus Vincere removed Anubis
  7. Overpass left

The Series

Map 1 (Inferno)

NaVi started off well on Inferno winning the pistol rounds. However, NIP was quick to respond picking up the next three rounds. Till the end of the first half, things kept going back and forth. However, advantage NIP as they were up 7-8 on their own map pick. But NaVi did well to recollect themselves from the start of the second half. Five straight round wins saw them picking up frags after frags. They continued to remain untouched as they picked up their map pick 16-9.

Map 2 (Mirage)

Map 2 between NaVi vs NIP was where the real action took place. NaVi started off well picking up the first round but NIP was quick to respond. NIP’s latest recruit, headtr1ck was annihilating everyone from the start of the map. The first half ended 7-8 in favor of NIP on NaVi’s map pick. NIP continued to bulldoze over their rivals from the beginning of the second half. But NaVi did a great job at coming back later tying the score line 15-15 and heading into overtime. In overtime, NIP looked determined to pick up the map. They won the first three overtime rounds and while NaVi showed some resistance, it was too little too late! NIP picked up their fourth overtime round and won 17-19 on Mirage.

Map 3 (Overpass)

Overpass was the remaining map that both teams tried to ignore. Right off the bat, NaVi looked determined to wrap up the series in their favor. Picking up from Mirage, s1mple was reminding everyone why he was the best picking up one frag after the other. But it was not just s1mple, the entire roster looked well coordinated and flawless in terms of strategies executed. The first half ended 11-4 in favor Natus Vincere. Second half saw NIP’s efforts go in vain as NaVi continued to dominate. The map ended 16-8 in favor of electroNic’s team.

 

With NaVi vs NIP over at the Blast Premier Groups 2023, Natus Vincere walks away with a win. While it was not a walk at the park for NaVi, NIP was far behind in terms of quality of strategies executed. Talking about the IGLs, electroNic surely put in a shift but the same couldn’t be said about Aleksib. S1mple continued to be himself even though he was slow in the first half of Inferno. Well, that’s what you expect from the number one CS:GO player in the world. All aside, if there’s any positive that can be taken away from the series, it’s the two young guns- headtr1ck and npl. Both have thoroughly impressed the audience with their energetic performance. We hope to see more of that in the future!

NaVi will be facing G2 next at the Group C upper-bracket final. The two teams faced each other not too long ago in the quarter finals of ESL Pro League Season 16. G2 came out on top beating their arch-rivals 2-1 but later conceded to the champions, Team Vitality in the semi finals.

 

 

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IEM Rio Major 2022 Quarterfinals Predictions

We have finally stepped into the Champions Stage of IEM Rio Major 2022. With only 8 teams remaining, the quarterfinals will commence from tomorrow. Let’s check out the top 8 teams and present our predictions of the IEM Rio 2022 Quarterfinals!

IEM Rio 2022 Quarterfinals

Top 8 Teams

Here are the top 8 teams of IEM Rio 2022 Quarterfinals:

  • Cloud9
  • MOUZ
  • Fnatic
  • Outsiders
  • Heroic
  • Team Spirit
  • Natus Vincere
  • FURIA Esports

IEM Rio 2022 Quarterfinals Predictions

As we can already see, there are an abundance of big names among the top teams this season. It’s gonna be tough to pick up the victors in all of the matchups but here we go with our IEM Rio quarterfinals predictions:

Fnatic vs Outsiders

We have Fnatic vs Outsiders as the first series of the quarterfinals. And this should be a good one! Both the teams have had a similar form throughout this tournament so far. However, Outsiders picked up a two-map win over Fnatic last week. Fnatic would definitely want to take revenge for their earlier loss but it’ll be tough. It seems like Outsiders will be picking up another win over Fnatic but it might be a close one.

Cloud9 vs MOUZ

The second match of day 1 of the quarterfinals see Cloud9 facing MOUZ. The two teams had very different starts to the tournament. MOUZ were table toppers during the Challengers Stage picking up consecutive wins against Outsiders, Evil Geniuses and Fnatic. However, they couldn’t replicate the dominance in the Legends Stage losing against BIG and Outsiders. On the other hand, Cloud9 started off sloppy losing against Fnatic and Grayhound in their two opening matches. Over time, they regained their form and now look to dominate MOUZ.

Cloud9 should be the easy favorites to win the series here. We know how good they are on maps like Overpass and Mirage where they have far better winrates than MOUZ. MOUZ always tries to ignore Dust2, so if C9 picks that up then it will be game over then and there. So, we’re siding with Cloud9 as the clear favorite here.

Heroic vs Team Spirit

Heroic vs Team Spirit could go either way. Both the teams have displayed some amazing Counter-Strike in this tournament. Heroic’s wins over Fnatic, Outsiders, and Team Liquid have impressed the crowd quite a bit despite being annihilated by C9. Team Spirit did pick up a well-deserved win against Liquid but losses against FURIA and Outsiders were uncalled for.

This matchup will boil down to the map picks and bans. If Heroic gets both Nuke and Overpass in their favor, they should be picking up this series. This series should be an amazing matchup!

Natus Vincere vs FURIA Esports

FURIA, overall, have had a better performance at IEM Rio thus far. They won all of their Legends Stage matches against ENCE, Team Spirit and BIG. Including those three, FURA have won six consecutive matches. With all of that in mind, Natus Vincere is surely in trouble. They started off the tournament on the wrong foot losing against Cloud9 and Team Liquid. With current form in consideration, we don’t see NaVi making it out alive. FURIA just might get the best of them this time around especially with yuurih in such great form.

So, what do you make of our IEM Rio quarterfinals predictions? May the odds be in your favor!

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