IEM Katowice 2023 Playoffs: Heroic and G2 Favorites, NaVi and Vitality want to be back on top

We have reached the moment of truth, where second chances no longer exist, and making the slightest mistake sends you straight to the plane with a ticket home.

On February 10, the eagerly awaited IEM Katowice 2023 playoffs will begin at the majestic and iconic Spodek Arena, where only six teams are still alive in their fight for the ultimate glory and a juicy prize of $400,000.

The teams that say present in this stage of the IEM Katowice playoffs are:

• Team Liquid
• Team Vitality
• NaVi
• G2 Esports
• Outsiders
• Heroic

G2 and Heroic are favorites to lift the trophy

There is no doubt that the teams with the best form currently are G2 Esports and Heroic. Both teams have shown extraordinary play in this IEM Katowice 2023, commanded by their solid lineups full of superstars.

The now #1 in the HLTV World Rankings, G2 Esports, continues to surprise everyone with an outstanding level and performance. Samurai has not lost a single map this tournament, and that’s not all, as G2 has not lost a map so far in 2023. Furthermore, the European squad has been able to crush BIG, FaZe Clan, and NaVi on several occasions.

The culprits behind this spectacular moment that G2 is experiencing are none other than wunderkind Ilya “m0NESY” Osipov, Nikola “NiKo” Kovač, and Justin “jks” Savage.

Heroic, meanwhile, was the team that emerged victorious in Group B after beating Complexity Gaming, OG, and Team Vitality. There is no doubt that the Danes continue to be in great form, and this was demonstrated in the three matches played, where they have had flashes of their main players.

NaVi and Team Vitality for vindication

NaVi and Team Vitality have not started 2023 as they would have liked. After Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyljev and Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut were awarded #1 and #2 in the world in 2022, according to HLTV, the teams have not performed as expected.

NaVi needs s1mple to have a bit of company when facing battles, as the Ukrainian player has been somewhat frustrated in his attempts to win games.

NaVi, before losing in the final of Group A against G2, sent Cloud9 and Team Liquid to the Lower Bracket, but it seems that the team hasn’t reached its full potential yet.

Vitality, meanwhile, had to overcome a very complex path against a resurgent Fnatic and a spectacular NiP with a ZywOo in GOD mode. In a couple of opportunities, the French had very close to being eliminated in this IEM Katowice, but ZywOo managed to lead his team to victory.

Teams that can surprise

Finally, we have Outsiders and Team Liquid, other teams that have also played a great IEM Katowice and can easily pull off a surprise in these playoffs.

Outsiders lost the first game against Fnatic, then beat NiP in extremis, OG playing with a coach-player and Complexity who pleasantly surprised the tournament.

On the other hand, Team Liquid had to suffer much more than the rest of the teams. Nevertheless, they won their place in the Playoffs thanks to their victories over the surprising Mongolians of IHC, Team Spirit, and FaZe Clan.

Playoffs Schedule

The IEM Katowice 2023 Playoffs kick off with the match between NaVi and Outsiders on Friday, February 10, at 15:30 CET. The winner faces Heroic in the next round. Shortly after, Team Vitality and Team Liquid meet, where the winner will face G2 Esports in the semifinals.

After the first phase as undefeated, G2 and Heroic will wait directly in the semifinals on Saturday.

The format for the Playoffs will be the same as in previous editions so that we will have a single elimination bracket. All games will be best-of-three, except for the Grand Final, which will be best-of-five.

Header: ESL