NaVi and Astralis survive in IEM Cologne 2023 Group B

The Group Stage of IEM Cologne 2023 is in full swing, and in Group B, we have NaVi and Astralis surviving another day with victories in the Lower Bracket Quarterfinals. As a result, we will now have some mind-blowing duels in the semifinals, as NaVi will face FaZe Clan, while Astralis will take on MOUZ.

On the other hand, it should be noted that, after the victory of NaVi and Astralis, we also have to say goodbye to two great teams such as NiP and OG. Both could not win the two matches they played in this Group Stage, and now they are returning home.

Let’s see what happened in the Lower Bracket matches of Group B at IEM Cologne 2023.

Astralis annihilate NiP 2-0

The Danish squad, Astralis, annihilated NiP to stop their hopes of staying alive in the tournament. NiP was inferior at all times to Astralis and, at no time, had any chance to take the victory on both maps. In addition, it is worth noting that Astralis, who is playing for his life in the Lower Bracket, has never missed the playoffs of any IEM Cologne.

It all started on Vertigo, NiP’s map pick, where we had an Astralis lineup on an extremely high note, as everyone did their bit to lead the team to victory. In the first half, everything seemed to indicate that it would be a balanced and very intense game, as the score ended 9-6 in favor of Astralis. However, NiP could not stop even one of Astralos’ offensives at the change of sides, so they lost 16-6.

Then, in the second map, Ancient, we had practically a replica of what happened in Vertigo, but the difference was that, in the first half, Astralis took the victory by 10-5. Then, at the change of sides, NiP couldn’t do much either (they only won one round) on their T-side and ended up conceding, for the second time in a row, by 6-16.

Oh ok.@AstralisCS continue their run at #IEM Cologne after taking down @NIPCS 2-0 😳

16-6 Vertigo
16-6 Ancient pic.twitter.com/zX1jfQZ5w0

— Intel® Extreme Masters (@IEM) July 31, 2023

NaVi survive against OG and take a 2-1 win

This NaVi lineup, while looking very strong, still can’t find a way to get absolute synergy, as they fail to get resounding victories for now. However, in important tournaments, what matters is getting the wins, and, in this case, NaVi’s now international lineup manages to survive by taking a 2-1 win over OG.

It all started at Anubis, OG’s map pick, where we could see how strong the T-side of both squads is. NaVi started excellently in the first half and took a solid 11-4 partial victory. However, at the change of sides, OG’s awakening was not long coming, and they even came very close to sending the map to Overtime. Finally, NaVi took a 16-13 victory and started the series on the right foot.

Everything was much more intense on the second map, Inferno, although NaVi started very well on his T-side, winning eight rounds in the first half. However, the team’s defense was extremely weak and could not withstand OG’s onslaught. As a result, OG was able to even the series 1-1 after an excellent 16-11 win.

Finally, the teams met on Ancient, a map undoubtedly bad for NaVi. In the first half, Justinas “jL” Lekavicius and Aleksi “Aleksib” Virolainen played heroes to lead NaVi to a reassuring 10-5 partial victory. Then, at the change of sides, OG closed to within 10-13, but this was not enough, as Mihai “iM” Ivan woke up late in the match to lead NaVi to a 16-10 victory.

.@natusvincere manages to close out the series 2-1 over @OGcsgo to stay alive at #IEMI Cologne 2023! !

16-13 Anubis
11-16 Inferno
16-10 Ancient pic.twitter.com/iYL3lec9oR

— ESL Counter-Strike (@ESLCS) July 31, 2023

Header: ESL