Team Liquid vs Astralis Prediction: Who will turn out to be stronger?

Prediction for the IEM Cologne 2023 match which will take place on July 25. Who will turn out to be stronger? Check the team conditions! Several betting options are available.

Liquid has been renewed before the start of the season. Patsi and Rainwaker will play for the team instead of EliGE and nitr0, and YEKINDAR will move to the captain's slot. Marek mentioned that it is still difficult to keep shooting at the same level in his new position. Still, considering the player's genius, the problem will be temporary.

Team Liquid still suffers in offensive play (38% of winning rounds) and poorly realizing 5x4 situations (70%). YEKINDAR used to be an important element just in shooting and doing a lot of damage, but now this option will have to be taken by either Patsi or Rainwaker. Osee is very unstable with the sniper rifle and can produce an MVP-level matchup one day and total failure the next.

The last meeting at BLAST Premier: Fall Groups 2023 was against Astralis, and in that game, the Liquid failed twice in the second half. They failed to play their attack on Overpass, while there was a total defensive disaster on Inferno. Although they managed to pick up two resounding wins at G2 Esports and FaZe Clan, Team Liquid doesn't look like a team capable of producing results right away.

In the summer transfer window, The Stars finally listened to criticism from the community and removed veterans from the roster. Xyp9x and gla1ve will start the season looking for a new team, and in their place came b0RUP and Staehr. The results so far have also been inconsistent.

On the one hand, there were losses to Natus Vincere in the new lineup and BIG in the BLAST Premier: Fall Groups 2023 group. But in both series, there were three maps each and a fight to the last cartridge. On the other hand, device and blameF were confidently among the top 10 players at the tournament. The individual level of this duo is off the charts. The sniper is in optimal condition, reminding us why he has always been quoted as a top player. BlameF's firepower is also amazingly consistent.

Astralis has a good track record of strong offensive play (58% winning rounds), and blameF ranked first at the last event in opening kills (1.34 HLTV rating on this metric). 4x5 situations are playing out relatively well (33%). The Danish team cannot yet impress with good discipline, but the leaders are capable of producing results on good shooting.

Despite the result of the last meeting, it will be a relatively even game here. Statistically, Astralis looks a bit more favorable, and based on the fact that its leaders showed themselves very well at the last tournament, there is a belief that they will continue to pull the team up.