G2 Esports vs Astralis - CS:GO IEM Cologne 2023 Playoffs - Prediction, where to watch, and more

The CS:GO IEM Cologne 2023 Playoffs is headed into its two semi-final games, which will be held in the LANXESS arena. Four teams remain in the competition, with prominent names such as G2 Esports and Team Vitality aiming for a title win. The former will be playing against the rising Astralis that recently made a slew of roster changes during the off-season.

Both teams are in phenomenal form at the moment and have shown world-class gameplay. The best-of-three series is expected to be a highly exciting matchup that fans all over the world can witness.

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G2 Esports vs Astralis: Who will advance to the CS:GO IEM Cologne 2023 Grand Finals?

Predictions

G2 Esports has been a formidable team in 2023. Although they have had their fair share of ups and downs, the roster's raw talent and firepower are undisputed.

Legendary rifler, NiKo, has retained his fine form and has been an extremely strong player in 2023 so far. Paired with future superstar AWPer, m0NESY, the team is a force to be reckoned with in terms of firepower and aim duels.

Astralis has surprised many fans with a resurgence in terms of firepower and overall gameplay after the off-season break. The addition of Staehr and b0RUP was questioned by the community, but the moves have seemed to pay off so far.

blameF's new style of calling, along with dev1ce putting up superstar performances, has enabled this new Astralis roster to compete with the best CS:GO teams. The Danish lineup also has many players that can pop off, making them very versatile, which was lacking in their previous iterations.

G2 Esports is expected to be the favorite heading into this matchup. However, the momentum is on Astralis' side, and the Danish roster has looked extremely clean and been dominant in their recent wins. The former will definitely have to ban Ancient, as it is the best map by far for Astralis.

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Head-to-head

G2 Esports and Astralis previously faced each other in the group stages of CS:GO IEM Cologne 2023. G2 was able to win the series 2-1, putting the head-to-head record between these two teams at 1-0 in favor of the former.

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Recent results

G2 Esports' latest fixture saw them win against Team Vitality with a 2-1 scoreline.

Similarly, Astralis' most recent result was a convincing 2-0 victory against Danish rivals, Heroic.

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Expected rosters

G2 Esports

• Nemanja "huNter-" Kovač
• Nikola "NiKo" Kovač
• Ilya "m0NESY" Osipov
• Justin "jks" Savage
• Rasmus "HooXi" Nielsen (IGL)
• Jan "Swani" Müller (Head Coach)

Astralis

• Benjamin "blameF" Bremer (IGL)
• Nicolai "dev1ce" Reedtz
• Christian "Buzz" Andersen
• Victor "Staehr" Staehr
• Johannes "b0RUP" Borup
• Peter "casle" Toftbo Ardenskjold (Head Coach)

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When and where to watch

Fans worldwide can watch the CS:GO IEM Cologne 2023 Playoffs matchup featuring G2 Esports and Astralis live on the official ESL Twitch Channel. Popular co-streamers such as Gaules will also be conducting watch parties that viewers can tune into.

The matchup will take place on August 5, 2023, at 10 am PDT / 7 pm CEST / 10:30 pm IST