IEM Katowice 2023 presented many surprises – and no, we are not only about a phenomenal performance Natus vincere.

Perhaps, one of the most significant tournaments in CS: GO ended on the first day of spring. IEM Katowice 2023 presented many surprises – and no, we are not only about a phenomenal performance Natus vincere. Why the championship was held in empty stands, how the ticket holders got out, what records the tournament set and what conclusions can be drawn about the form of teams before the start of the ESL Pro League – in the material Cybersport.ru.

In Katowice, only talk about NAVI

The NAVI tag has probably never been on such a huge hype. And most importantly – absolutely deserved.

In Katowice, Natus Vincere showed their best game in recent years. The team had an incredibly complex grid both in the group stage and in the playoffs, but it won and Ninjas in pajamas, and Fnatic, and Faze clan, and Team liquid, and Astralis. Moreover, the Danes NAVI just humiliated, and highlight Egor Flamie Vasiliev will collect reddit upvotes for a long time to come.

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I do not want to jinx it, but it seems that this NAVI is capable of becoming the best tag composition in the history of Counter-Strike. Alexander s1mple Kostylev and Denis electronic Sharipov continue to show a monstrous game, flamie significantly added, in-leader Cyril Boombl4 Mikhailov can not only call, but also shoot, and Ilya Perfecto Zalutsky may soon be new Andreas Xyp9x Hoislet. The team achieved all of this very hard work.

For almost the entire past year, NAVI suffered – only one trophy, somewhat oiled care Daniel Zeus Teslenko and Michael Kane Blaginaout of shape Ladislav GuardiaN Kovacs. However, despite a lot of problems, the team steadily stayed in the top 10: of course, thanks in large part to s1mple and electronic. Now, Natus Vincere has many times more firepower (and rivals in Katowice felt it more than that), but still the key was not to replace the players, but the coach.

Back in 2016, when s1mple just joined the team, everyone said that in terms of individual skill, few can compare with NAVI. But in the end, everything went according to plan: GuardiaN choked, Denis seized costin failed to cope with the duties of a leader, and flamie could not reach a new level. Now everything is different: the team has not only a real tactical mastermind, but, most importantly, credibility. Blade, who, in fact, grew s1mple, electronic and flamie, managed to make a real team out of just well-aimed shooters.

The next major tournament for the team will be the ESL Pro League. Based on its results, it will become clear what to expect from the teams in the major in Rio de Janeiro, and for now, the rivals of NAVI are simply scary.

The s1mple team understands perfectly well that IEM is the first major tournament of the year and in order to achieve Astralis greatness, you need to confirm your class at absolutely every event. As they say, Godspeed you!

What is going on with Virtus.pro?

Despite the quick departure, Virtus.pro still did not look helpless – she fought with Liquid and, in general, had an equal game with Mad lions – composition Nicholas HUNDEN Petersen, which, for a minute, is in one place from the world top 10.

However, there is nothing to praise VP for. Composition Jamie Jame Ali sinking deeper and deeper into the HLTV.org ranking, and fans have legitimate questions about how some members of the team are acting out. After the tournament, Virtus.pro coach Dastan Dastan Akbaev gave a fairly frank interview and said that the team is planning a restructuring.

In the near future, the captain of VP will be Dauren AdreN Kystaubaev. Kystaubaev is certainly a great authority on the CIS stage, but can he become a leader? AdreN already had a bad team leadership experience in Gambit esports, but still that composition was very different from VP in a lot of parameters. It all depends on Kystaubaev himself: will he find a desire and, most importantly, the ability to shake the team? I’d like to believe in it.

According to dastan, some players lost their motivation, and the coach also casually mentioned that personal life hinders someone from concentrating on the game. Alas, the Counter-Strike scene is designed so that you can not relax on it even for a minute. And in this regard, the wording “lost motivation” sounds really scary.

Recently on Twitter Owen Smooya Butterfield He expressed a very correct idea: in the game everything will turn out only when everything is good in life. Success does not always depend on how many hours you have played in two weeks: training with training, but VP participants need to clearly understand for themselves where they are going.

French Renaissance – What Have Other IEM Katowice Members Show?

It looks like a plan Carlos Ocelote Santiago works. G2 esports took to the team Nemanja nexa Isakovich and Nemanyu huNter Kovacs with confidence that the future of Counter-Strike is in international rosters. And while the Balkans are very synergistic with the French. With the exception of the finale, the G2 looked very solid. The team was helpless only in the final with NAVI, but during the tournament Kenny KennyS Scrub and the company beat four teams from the top 10 (of which three are in the top four). It is possible that in the near future it will be huNter that will be the main Kovacs in CS, and not his brother Nikola NiKo Kovacs.

Astralis and Fnatic are still good, although they have not reached the finals. If the Danes keep the level stable, then Fnatic still cannot finally gain a foothold in the status of the elite, despite all efforts Freddy KRiMZ Johansson. There is no doubt in these teams: if they do not go to the playoffs in the coming tournaments, this will be a sensation.

Team Liquid also did not disappoint, but did not give reasons to admire. Unlike last year, the Americans are slowly moving into the season. A few more tournaments are outside the top 4, and you will have to think about whether there are any weak links in the team who once loved to constantly push into the smokey.

Roster mousesports played in the tournament is not the best way. The end of 2019 Finn karrigan andersen held perfectly, and at the end of January, quite casually won on GG.Bet ICE Challenge 2023, where in the final, by the way, he beat NAVI. But in Katowice, the Europeans lost and G2, and although strong, but far from the most formidable 100 thieves. It’s not worth waiting for a sharp peak from the team, but she still lost her form. However, karrigan should bring the players to their senses for a major – the Dane clearly does not intend to stumble, as it was in Berlin.

FaZe Clan showed itself again abruptly: a couple of rounds the wrong way, and NAVI wouldn’t make it to the IEM Katowice playoffs. The reallocation of roles clearly played FaZe to the advantage. NiKo is still good, but the young man clearly marks the second main star of the team Helvies Broky Saucanzwho played in Poland many times better than the same Marcelo coldzera david. Even with a bad shape Howard rain Naigard and Olof olofmeister kaybier FaZe Clan is clearly ready to fight for trophies this season.

Despite the low places, the same Team vitality and Evil geniuses showed a decent game. 100 Thieves reached the playoffs again, and Cloud9, Reenegades and Tyloo naturally departed early. In general, the tournament did without sensations.

Coronavirus made it to CS – IEM Katowice passed without spectators

At the IEM in Katowice, the ESL was going to try out an interesting innovation: the company planned to turn off the monitors at the stadium if fans began to prompt teams – this is how the tournament operator wanted to contribute to the formation of “fan etiquette”. But in the end, it was not required: all three days of the playoffs, the Spodek arena was empty. All because of the coronavirus.

Due to the rapid spread of the virus throughout the world, mass events are being canceled. So the Polish authorities decided to play it safe. The most unpleasant thing is that the disappointing announcement took place right before the decisive matches: of course, when all the fans were already in Katowice.

However, fans of Counter-Strike were not upset and occupied local bars. Moreover, the vice president of ESL Carmac, who distributed merchants to the fans, joined some during the games. A very beautiful step, given the financial losses of a tournament operator who did not receive money from tickets.

But it’s not even about money. For the pole Michal Carmac Blicharza IEM without an audience has become a personal tragedy. In the closing speech at the end of the tournament, he thanked everyone who watched the matches online and burst into tears. Coronavirus, go away!

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Nevertheless, the absence of the public in the stands did not prevent the tournament from setting a new record for the audience of the Russian-language broadcast – the peak was 382 thousand people. This is more than in any other Counter-Strike championship in history, and the third result among all esports broadcasts (higher only The Kiev Major 2017 and The international 2019) Moreover, the total online finals between NAVI and G2 exceeded one million people! Right now, Counter-Strike is going through better times, and it’s great that we are part of it.

Title photo: ESL