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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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Wrapping up Group A of ESL Pro League Season 16

Group A of ESL Pro League Season 16 is seeing some fierce action thanks to some amazing teams. The final 3 matches will be wrapping up the group tonight. Let’s see who’s facing who but more importantly, let’s see who might win.

Group A Action

Right off the bat, Group A is one of the groups to watch out for at ESL Pro League Season 16. The group consists of the likes of Ninjas in Pyjamas, Natus Vincere, Fnatic, Team Spirit, Team Vitality and Endpoint. According to the format of the group stage, all teams will face each other once. As of now, it’s Team Vitality that is at the top of the group with 4/4 wins. Thanks to their winning streak, they have already qualified for the quarter-finals. Natus Vincere and Fnatic are the favorites to qualify for the Round of 12. Both of the teams have picked up 2 wins out of the 4 matches played so far. Team Spirit also has the same number of wins but lags behind in terms of round difference.

Predictions

Natus Vincere vs Ninjas in Pyjamas

Natus Vincere started off Season 16 on a strong note picking up wins against Fnatic and Team Spirit. But to their demise, they lost the next two matches against last placed Endpoint and Vitality. NaVi has won 11 out of the 14 times they have faced NiP in professional tournaments including their last 3 head-to-heads. The two teams last met in Group A of IEM XVII Cologne earlier this year during July. While it is true that both of the teams are nowhere near their best forms, NaVi is a little better off in that regard. With that in mind, Natus should be picking up a win and moving onto the next stage of the tournament.

Team Vitality vs Team Spirit

Team Vitality are at the very top of Group A winning all four of their matches. And why wouldn’t they top the group? They have ZywOo and Spinx at the very top of their game. While they have already qualified for the quarter-finals, they don’t really need a win. In fact, it’s Team Spirit that badly needs a win to overtake Fnatic and NaVi. Vitality picked up a 2-1 win against Spirit the last time they faced each other back in Season 14. Both ZywOo and apEX played Vitality back then, so it shouldn’t be too hard to replicate that win. Our prediction is a win in favor of Team Vitality.

Endpoint vs Fnatic

Endpoint are currently at last place of Group A in ESL Pro League Season 16. Their only win came against Natus Vincere though, so the team has at least some hope. Endpoint has an extremely slim chance to gather something on the final day and qualify for the playoffs. On the other hand, Fnatic badly needs to secure this win to confirm a spot for the next round. Good news for them is they have a much better form in terms of getting wins than Endpoint. The two teams faced each other only thrice with Fnatic picking up two wins. We think it’s pretty safe to say that Fnatic will be picking up another win tonight.

If you wanna drop in these bets, be sure to check out the most trusted CSGO betting sites.

Will Fnatic and Natus Vincere pick up the last two spots from Group A? Let’s wait and watch!

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