Liquid vs. Natus Vincere, Preview & Prediction - Free 1/23 CS:GO

Natus Vincere is a favorite in this Best of 3 encounter when they take on Liquid in the Lower bracket final of the BLAST Premier Global Final 2020 on Saturday. The winning team will advance to the Consolidation Final, while the loser will be eliminated out of the tournament and will earn $50,000 for 4th place.

Liquid Team Stats and Latest Results

Liquid didn’t win a trophy at any of the major tournaments recently, but they proved they deserve to be in the top 10 in the CS:GO rankings with good displays against some of the best teams in the world. One of those displays came in the opening match of this tournament when Liquid beat Natus Vincere in straight maps. Even though they lost the following game to Vitality, Liquid responded with a 2-0 victory over their compatriots Evil Geniuses. Liquid won nine of the previous 16 matches.

When it comes to the maps in the last three months, Liquid was decent on Dust2 (66.7% win rate) and Nuke (66.7%), while they were below average only on Vertigo (33.3%). Liquid assembled its current lineup in January 2021 and appeared on six maps with a record of four wins and two losses. The team members are FalleN (1.09 rating), NAF (1.15), EliGE (1.11), Stewie2K (0.96), and Grim (1.08).

Natus Vincere Team Stats and Latest Results

Natus Vincere also failed to win a title at major tournaments in the last three months, but they agonizingly came close at the IEM Beijing-Haidian 2020 Europe. Namely, the Russian team defeated MAD Lions, Spirit, Astralis, and G2 to reach the Grand Final, and even had a 2-0 lead against Vitality but lost the next three maps and finished in 2nd place with $30,000 of prize money. Here at the BLAST Premier Global Final 2020, Natus Vincere lost the opening match to Liquid but bounced back and secured wins over Complexity and G2. Natus Vincere won nine of the last 14 games.

In the previous three months, Natus Vincere played well on Nuke (73.3%) and Train (71.4%), while they failed to impress on Dust2 (33.3%). Since October 2020, NaVi is playing with the same squad that appeared on 48 maps with a record of 28 wins and 20 losses. The lineup is made of flamie (0.98), s1mple (1.29), electronic (1.13), Boombl4 (0.95), and Perfecto (1.00).

Liquid vs. Natus Vincere H2H Record

These rivals have met on eight occasions before, and Liquid is leading the all-time series 5-3. NaVi was on a three-game winning streak, but Liquid snapped that run with a 2-0 victory in the opening game of this tournament.

Liquid vs. Natus Vincere Betting Preview

I am pretty sure NaVi will be looking to get revenge for the aforementioned defeat to Liquid, but although they are playing with a new lineup, the Americans are playing well. That is perhaps surprising for some, but it’s not for me. Despite the fact that just one out of six Best of 3 H2H encounters produced a maximum of three maps, I am going with Over 2.5 maps in this one. I expect to see a big battle from each side and this game could go either way.

The Pick: Over 2.5 Maps (-120 @GG.BET)