Natus Vincere vs. Liquid, Preview & Prediction - Free 12/17 CS:GO

Natus Vincere is a firm favorite in this Best of 3 encounter when they meet Liquid in the Group B winners’ match of the IEM Global Challenge 2020 on Thursday. A win here would secure them a place in the playoffs, while a potential loss would force NaVi to play another game against FURIA or Heroic.

Natus Vincere Team Stats and Latest Results

Natus Vincere dropped a 2-0 lead against Vitality in the Grand final of the IEM Beijing-Haidian 2020 Europe, but lost in the end and had to settle with $30,000 and 2nd place. They finished the BLAST Premier Fall 2020 Finals in 4th position and won $25,000 of prize money. Natus Vincere defeated FURIA 2-0 in the opening game at the IEM Global Challenge 2020. NaVi won 11 of the previous 18 matches.

In the last three months, Natus Vincere was good on Train (77.8% win rate) and Nuke (64.7%), while they were average on Inferno and Mirage. NaVi created the current lineup in September and appeared on 66 maps with a record of 39 wins and 27 losses. The lineup consists of flamie (0.97 rating), s1mple (1.28), electronic (1.13), Boombl4 (0.97), and Perfecto (1.02).

Liquid Team Stats and Latest Results

Liquid got an invitation to this tournament but failed to impress at recent tournaments as they couldn’t reach the Grand final at the IEM Beijing-Haidian 2020 North America and BLAST Premier Fall 2020 Showdown. However, they earned $21,000 for their efforts at those tournaments, but fell short to mousesports and Astralis at the DreamHack Masters Winter 2020 Europe, after which they didn’t play a match since. Still, Liquid surprised Heroic with a 2-0 victory in the opening match of the IEM Global Challenge 2020. Liquid won ten of the last 16 games.

When it comes to the maps in the previous three months, Liquid was dominant on Nuke (88.9% win rate) and Overpass (83.3%), while they were below average on Vertigo (40.0%) and Inferno (42.9%). Liquid is playing with the current squad since September 2020 and appeared on 50 maps with a record of 31 wins and 19 losses. The lineup is made of NAF (1.14 rating), EliGE (1.17), Stewie2K (0.98), Twistzz (1.02), and Grim (1.12).

Natus Vincere vs. Liquid H2H Record

These rivals have met on nine occasions, and Liquid is leading the all-time series 7-2. However, NaVi won the previous two matches, including the most recent one at the IEM Katowice 2020.

Natus Vincere vs. Liquid Betting Preview

I will ignore the H2H record on this occasion, as most of those games were played in 2018 and 2019 and the teams have changed a lot since. Liquid did upset Heroic in the previous round, but I don’t think they will do it again, at least not while s1mple is playing in a red-hot form. NaVi’s top player is on the rise and his individual plays often cause disarray in enemy lines, while Liquid’s top played EliGE is not in a good form recently and his numbers are dropping. Even though I am not quite enthusiastic with the odds on Natus Vincere, I am backing them to win and secure a place in the playoffs.

The Pick: Natus Vincere to win (-161 @PINNACLE)