Valorant Champions 2023 is set to start today as 16 teams from four different regions will convene at Los Angeles to decide the world champions over the span of three weeks. The best lineups from EMEA, Americas, Pacific, and China will be present at the event, with the winner also taking home a lucrative cash prize of USD $1,000,000.Team Liquid and Natus Vincere will kick off the highly prestigious tournament. The classic EMEA derby is all but set to be an exciting best-of-three series, which should serve as the perfect start for Valorant Champions 2023.Team Liquid vs Natus Vincere: Who will win this Valorant Champions 2023 matchup?VALORANT Champions Tour@ValorantEsportsThe biggest @VALORANT event of the year is almost here! Don't miss these matchups on the Opening Day of #VALORANTChampions Catch all the action at valorantesports.com pic.twitter.com/RFnAjmpsKJ226The biggest @VALORANT event of the year is almost here! Don't miss these 🔥 matchups on the Opening Day of #VALORANTChampions 📷 Catch all the action at valorantesports.com pic.twitter.com/RFnAjmpsKJPredictionsTeam Liquid boast one of the strongest lineups that EMEA Valorant has ever seen on paper. However, they have mostly failed to live up to those expectations apart from winning the VCT EMEA 2023 title. The team had disappointing performances in both international VCT tournaments this year.Valorant Champions 2023 will be the stage where they have the chance to prove the doubters wrong and make a deep run. With players like Sayf and nAts, it should be doable as long as they can keep up their consistency and firepower in crucial matches.Team Liquid Valorant@LiquidValorantTurn the Tide ft. @2weimusic, @ThisIsEddaHayes & @Kataem // Liquid VALORANT Champions 2023Presented by @Alienware pic.twitter.com/vkdxNkSpx43213523Turn the Tide ft. @2weimusic, @ThisIsEddaHayes & @Kataem // Liquid VALORANT Champions 2023Presented by @Alienware pic.twitter.com/vkdxNkSpx4Natus Vincere were also hyped up to the same level of Team Liquid. This is because they signed four of the five members of the former FunPlus Phoenix roster, which won VCT Masters Copenhagen 2022 and were considered as one of the best in the 2022 VCT season. However, much like Team Liquid, NAVI have also disappointed many fans with their subpar performances.The team had a poor showing at VCT Masters Tokyo 2023 and barely qualified for Valorant Champions 2023 through the EMEA LCQ. Their gameplay has been quite uninspiring. The team often tries too hard to be creative, which ends up backfiring and resulting in crucial losses. NAVI will look to bounce back at the final event of the year.NAVI Valorant@NAVIValorantMasters Tokyo and LCQ have been full of highs and lows but in the end we qualified. Come watch the story behind our path to Champions.: youtube.com/watch?v=m78-Jy…#navination #VALORANTChampions pic.twitter.com/XruIbR1UO116715Masters Tokyo and LCQ have been full of highs and lows but in the end we qualified. Come watch the story behind our path to Champions.🎥: youtube.com/watch?v=m78-Jy…#navination #VALORANTChampions pic.twitter.com/XruIbR1UO1Coming into this all-European matchup, Team Liquid are expected to be the slight favorites as they have shown better performances in recent times. However, both rosters have exceptional players, and Natus Vincere have a real shot at taking this series as well. Fans can expect a close best-of-three competition between these teams.Head-to-headTeam Liquid and Natus Vincere have a long history with each other in the VCT circuit. The current head-to-head record between their core lineups stands at 1-1.Recent resultsTeam Liquid's latest result was a 1-2 loss against NRG Esports at VCT Masters Tokyo 2023.Natus Vincere's most recent fixture saw them lose to Giants 0-3 in the Grand Finals of the EMEA LCQ.Team Liquid Valorant@LiquidValorantNO ACCESS TO SITE .... (even in a postplant)#VALORANTMasters pic.twitter.com/2jEfun5NKz33034NO ACCESS TO SITE .... (even in a postplant)#VALORANTMasters pic.twitter.com/2jEfun5NKzExpected rostersTeam LiquidDom "soulcas" SulcasElias "Jamppi" OlkonnenIgor "Redgar" Vlasov (IGL)Ayaz "nAts" AkhmetshinSaif "Sayf" JibraeelDmitriy "dimasick" Matvienko (substitute)Nico "Harmii" Harms (substitute)Emil "eMIL" Sandgren (head coach)Natus VincereKyrylo "ANGE1" Karasov (IGL)Andrey "Shao" KiprskyPontus "Zyppan" EekMehmet "cNed" Yağız İpekDmitry "SUYGETSU" IlyushinErik "d00mbr0s" Sandgren (head coach)NAVI Valorant@NAVIValorantZyppan 🤝suygetsu being pistol demons pic.twitter.com/TIhmmr9soj1314Zyppan 🤝suygetsu being pistol demons pic.twitter.com/TIhmmr9sojWhen and where to watchVCT enthusiasts can watch the Valorant Champions 2023 Group Stage match featuring Team Liquid and Natus Vincere live on the VCT's official Twitch and YouTube channels. Watch parties held by popular streamers such as Tarik will also be available for viewers to tune into.The matchup will take place on August 6, 2023, at 12:00 pm PDT / 9:00 pm CEST / 12:30 am IST (next day).