S1mple versus m0NESY at IEM Katowice

When Ilya “m0NESY” Osipov was bought by G2 Esports at the start of 2022, he left NAVI Junior as a superstar, and he hadn’t even played in S-tier tournaments at that point.

However, he was known to be a very talented CS:GO player with more than 15.000 hours of experience on his main account and tens of thousands of dollars worth of skins. His FACEIT performance was carefully scrutinized by G2 and they decided to give him a chance, knowing very well that it would take a while for m0NESY to reach his true form.

It soon became obvious that the young player was going to become one of G2’s best investments. And, in December 2022, the team finally won their first $1 million CS:GO event in a long time, thanks in part to his amazing performance.

S1mple’s current situation

Aleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev was named the best CS:GO player of the year in 2022 and he continues to do what he does best. Few competitors can match his prowess and that’s the main reason why his team, Natus Vincere, is where it is.

In recent months, Na’Vi decided to make an important roster change and are currently working hard to integrate the new player. Andrij “npl” Kukharsjkyj replaced a much more experienced player, Viktor “sdy” Orudzhev. However, his talent is said to be so great that it is able to compensate for his lack of S-tier tournaments.

Early results at IEM Katowice

Both G2 and Na’Vi won their first two matches at IEM Katowice. G2 defeated BIG and FaZe Clan while Na’Vi defeated Cloud9 and Team Liquid. Both teams won their matches without losing a single map, but always struggled on one of the two maps.

The victories obtained by G2 and Na’Vi are completely relevant because the opponents they defeated are quite strong. What’s interesting is that both of these teams were carried by unusual players. This suggests that their rosters are very strong right now and aren’t fully dependent on their superstars.

G2 vs. Na’Vi

This is a great rematch and we’ve already seen the first three episodes of the show. G2 won every single time and the people are starting to wonder: will Na’Vi get revenge this time? Or will Nikola “NiKo” Kovac and his teammates continue to dominate s1mple’s team?

At first glance, it’s hard not to regard G2 as the favorites going into this match. Their last several months have been amazing to watch and the entire roster is playing at maximum capacity. The most likely score is 2-1.

Header: ESL