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One of CS:GO's premier tournaments, the Intel Extreme Masters (IEM) Katowice kicked off with its main event on February 4, 2023. The first day of the event produced several exciting matchups that the Counter-Strike community were excited to watch. As we head into the second day, fans will have even more enthralling matchups to look forward to.
Day 2 of IEM Katowice 2023 will kick off with an Upper Semifinals encounter between two of CS:GO's most popular sides, G2 Esports and FaZe Clan. This best-of-three matchup will determine who will proceed to meet the winner of NAVI vs Liquid in the Group Stage Upper Finals. The losers, on the other hand, will be sent to the lower bracket, where they will face the winner of IHC vs Cloud9.
G2 vs FaZe - Who will win this Upper Semifinals matchup of CS:GO's IEM Katowice 2023?
Predictions
G2 Esports is one of the leading rosters in CS:GO at the moment. They emerged as one of the best teams in 2022 towards the end of the year with their victory at the BLAST Premier World Finals. They also managed to begin their year on an incredible note with a victory at BLAST Premier Spring Groups 2023.
G2 Esports brought in an established in-game leader like HooXi and a proficient player like jks back in August 2022 to bolster their squad. Since their arrival, G2 has been on the track to success, as proven by their performances in various tournaments. They also have players like m0NESY and Niko, who are among the best in the world.
FaZe Clan, on the other hand, are not in their best form right now. While they won the Antwerp CS:GO Major in the first half of 2022, they lost momentum towards the end of the year, finishing the Rio Major in 15-16th place.
Their recent performances at events like BLAST Premier Fall Finals 2022 and Spring Groups 2023 did show quality. However, we are yet to see Faze's roster in their best form in 2023.
Regardless of their current form, FaZe does have a proven roster of players of the best quality. A combination of experienced players like rain and karrigan, and mechanically skilled talent like broky, ropz, and Twistzz, is capable of overtaking any tier-1 roster on their best day.
However, considering the form their opponents are in, FaZe will have to bring on their A-game to topple G2 and enter the Upper Finals. CS:GO fans can expect the sheer talent of an AWP prodigy like m0NESY and the chemistry of the Kovac brothers to stop FaZe Clan in their tracks in this Semifinals matchup.
Head-to-head
The current rosters of FaZe and G2 have played against each other on five different occasions. Out of those five series, G2 has won three, leaving FaZe with only two wins. They've played a total of 13 maps in those five series, out of which G2 has won seven.
Recent results
G2 earned a remarkable 2-0 victory against BIG in their first match of IEM Katowice 2023. Prior to that, they played in the BLAST Premier Spring Groups, where they finished at the top of their group and qualified for the Spring Finals after defeating teams like BIG and NAVI.
FaZe defeated Spirit with a 2-0 scoreline in their opening match of IEM Katowice 2023 to earn the Upper Finals slot. Their trajectory leading to the tournament is similar to G2's, as FaZe also managed to finish the BLAST Premier Spring Finals as group winners, defeating OG and Complexity.
Potential lineups
G2 Esports
- Nemanja "huNter-" Kovač
- Nikola "NiKo" Kovač
- Ilya "m0NESY" Osipov
- Justin "jks" Savage
- Rasmus "HooXi" Nielsen (IGL)
- Jan "Swani" Müller (Coach)
FaZe Clan
- Håvard "rain" Nygaard
- Helvijs "broky" Saukants
- Russel "Twistzz" Van Dulken
- Finn "karrigan" Andersen (IGL)
- Robin "ropz" Kool
- Robert "RobbaN" Dahlström (Coach)
Where to watch
Enthusiasts all over the world can catch the IEM Katowice 2023 live on ESL CS:GO's official Twitch channel using this link.
Readers can watch the tournament on the various official watch parties held by streamers and players from all over the world. G2 will take on FaZe on February 5, 2023 at 7 am PST/4 pm CET/8:30 pm IST.
