IEM Katowice: Spirit and Liquid Race Through Group Stage

With all these top-level teams in attendance at IEM Katowice, it was quite the surprise to see these two rosters make it out of the Group Stage almost unscathed. While Astralis and Natus Vincere had to concede their Upper Bracket Finals, they had already qualified for the playoffs portion of the event. Gambit Esports and FURIA managed to reach the Quarter Finals through the Lower Bracket.

BIG, who had previously dominated their BLAST Premier: Spring Group, exited after two straight match losses. Unfortunately, mousesports weren’t quite ready for the big stage and suffered the same fate as the Germans. In Group B, OG and NiP were the first ones to exit. However, Heroic, EG, FaZe, and even Team Vitality left before the playoffs.

TEAM SPIRIT OVERWHELM ASTRALIS

With two strong victories under the belt, the Danish team had made it to the Finals of Group A without suffering even a single scratch. Evil Geniuses and mousesports didn’t stand a chance, but Spirit were perfectly prepared for their encounter with the Danes. After an 11-16 loss on Inferno, they managed to win Astralis’ map pick and secured a 16-13 victory on Train. Abdul “degster” Gasanov made his mark with a 1.37 rating and wiped the Astralis players off the server. So the game continued onto the third map, Dust2. There, both teams committed to relentless aim duels, which Spirit won in decisive fashion. How long has it been since Lukas “gla1ve” Rossander and his team have suffered an 0-15 first half?

With a win in the second pistol round, Astralis put at least one point on the scoreboard for themselves. But on a 1-16 scoreline, they conceded the Upper Bracket Finals, even though they had already qualified for the playoffs prior. This means that Spirit have now successfully taken down Cloud9, BIG, G2 Esports, Heroic, and Astralis. Particularly in their last match (and on the last map, for that matter) they have proven to be competitive against the very best. So in the playoffs, they will have to show that they can actually take on either Natus Vincere or Gambit Esports if they want to have a shot at the Grand Finals.

TEAM LIQUID NARROWLY SCRAPE PAST NATUS VINCERE

The new Liquid leadership structure has already proven itself – even though it was just a narrow victory over Natus Vincere. But as the winners of the BLAST Premier: Global Finals and the Spring Group Stage, the Russian team was without doubt the favorite going into this event. Even though a single clutch might have swung the entire match around, Liquid at least showed their immense potential. Gabriel “Fallen” Toledo has taken over the leadership reins just days prior, but already the individuals on the North American roster know how to impress with great plays.

On Overpass, Liquid pulled ahead with a dominant T side. A 10-5 scoreline at halftime granted them a huge lead going into the second half. But NaVi slowly worked their way back into the map. On the last stretch, however, they failed and despite the 1.31 rating on Kirill “Boombl4” Mikhailov, the Russians conceded a 14-16 map. On Dust2, Fallen and his men had the opportunity to close the match out early on. But NaVi dictated the pace right from the start and the Liquid players barely managed to put any kills on the board. Only Jake “Stewie2k” Yip really held his own with 20 frags, but with few round wins in between, they only mounted a 7-16 scoreline.

So the teams headed for Interno next. After another 10-5 half for Liquid, NaVi once again managed to grind their deficit down. They fought through a great T side, until both teams ended up in overtime. After the Russians mounted a small lead, Liquid pulled equal for an 18-18 scoreline, after which they finally edged out NaVi in the defense for a 22-19 victory. They’re now heading for the Semi Finals as well, where they will face either Astralis or Virtus.pro. After their phenomenal performance against Natus Vincere, they actually have a real shot at making the Grand Finals despite such strong opposition.

THE LOSERS OF IEM KATOWICE

It’s back to the drawing board now for the likes of BIG and Vitality. Dan “apEX” Madesclaire’s short absence from the roster has definitely thrown the Frenchmen back. Nabil “Nivera” Benrlitom still struggles to reach the performance heights of late 2020. FaZe Clan failed to impress with their new leader on board, but obviously Finn “karrigan” Andersen needs more than just a few days of practice to really get to work with this roster. However, the same doesn’t hold true for G2 Esports. Half a year after signing Nikola “NiKo” Kovač, they still haven’t delivered on their promise.

IEM Katowice is now heading for a break. Until the playoffs go online on Friday, the teams can prepare for their upcoming matches. In the meantime, Astralis have to find out how they could possibly lose a 1-16 map against Spirit. Team Spirit will get the chance to analyze Gambit and Natus Vincere to try to make it to the Grand Finals as the absolute underdog of the bracket.