Liquid vs. Heroic, Preview & Prediction - Free 12/16 CS:GO

Heroic is a favorite in this Best of 3 encounter when they meet Liquid in the Group B opening match of the IEM Global Challenge 2020 on Wednesday. Natus Vincere and FURIA Are also participants of the group, so Heroic shouldn’t have bigger problems to qualify for the playoffs.

Liquid Team Stats and Latest Results

Liquid received an invitation to this tournament but failed to make a mark at recent tournaments, being unable to reach the Grand final at the IEM Beijing-Haidian 2020 North America and BLAST Premier Fall 2020 Showdown. Still, they made $21,000 for their efforts, but lost to mousesports and Astralis at the DreamHack Masters Winter 2020 Europe, and haven’t played a game since. Liquid won nine of the previous 15 matches.

In the last three months, Liquid displayed dominant performances on Nuke (87.5% win rate) and Overpass (83.3%), while they were below average on Inferno (38.5%) and Vertigo (40.0%). Liquid assembled its current squad in September this year and appeared on 48 maps with a record of 29 wins and 19 losses. The lineup is made of NAF (1.14 rating), EliGE (1.18), Stewie2K (0.97), Twistzz (1.02), and Grim (1.12).

Heroic Team Stats and Latest Results

Heroic got to this tournament thanks to great displays at the DreamHack Open Fall 2020, where they defeated Endpoint, BIG, Sprout, NiP, and in the Grand fInal, Vitality, to win $33,000 and a ticket for the IEM Global Challenge 2020. They didn’t have a lot of success at tournaments since, and their previous appearance came at the DreamHack Masters Winter 2020 Europe earlier this month. Heroic won 13 of the last 18 games.

When it comes to the maps in the previous three months, Heroic was very strong on Nuke (81.2%) and decent on Vertigo (66.7%), while they failed to impress on Overpass (40.0%) and Inferno (41.7%). Heroic is also playing with the same lineup since September 2020 and appeared on 74 maps with a record of 42 wins and 32 losses. The team members are cadiaN (1.15), b0RUP (0.93), niko (1.03), stavn (1.16), and TeSeS (1.13).

Liquid vs. Heroic H2H Record

These rivals have never met before.

Liquid vs. Heroic Betting Preview

Heroic is in a better form, while Liquid is struggling mainly because of EliGE’s poor showings of late, and when their best individual is not playing well, the Americans are also not playing well as a team. I am going to back Heroic to win as they will be looking to secure a playoff spot as quick as they can, so I am sure they will not fool around on Wednesday.

The Pick: Heroic to win (-119 @PINNACLE)