Team Liquid tops Na'Vi, heads to IEM Katowice 2021 semifinals

Fariha Bhatti Published 22/02/2021

Team Liquid has broken Natus Vincere’s 10-match winning streak and sent the team to the quarterfinals of IEM Katowice 2021 after a close match to end the group stage. 

The two teams succeeded in winning their own map picks, something of a rarity in IEM Katowice 2021 to this point. But Inferno became a lion’s den, with the two teams going to double overtime in the deciding game. Team Liquid had a great showing on the opening map, Overpass, with Keith “NAF” Markovic securing key kills. Natus Vincere was victorious on its Dust 2 thanks to incredible clutches and individual play from Denis “electronic” Sharipov, Ilya “Perfecto” Zalutskiy, and Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev rather than solid teamwork.  However, win on decider Inferno awarded Team Liquid a ticket to the IEM Katowice 2021 semifinals. 

Team Liquid starts shaky in IEM Katowice 2021 showdown with Na`Vi

Team Liquid didn’t have an ideal start to its own map pick, Overpass. The Gabriel “FalleN” Toledo-led roster looked off-balance at the start as Na`Vi took the first four rounds, but the team was quick to bounce back. After Team Liquid got a feel for Na`Vi’s defensive strategies, the team took over and won 10 rounds to close out the half with a strong 10-5 lead. 

s1mple fire back and brought Natus Vincere back into the game. The black and yellow took the pistol round and recovered from a failed conversion before threatening to steal the win from Team Liquid by winning five straight rounds. Wins on half-buys were crucial for Team Liquid’s victory and kept Na`Vi from ever gaining the lead. Despite s1mple’s 27 kills, Natus Vincere failed to outplay Team Liquid on Overpass and fell 16-14. 

FalleN’s squad started Dust 2 with a strong pistol round marked by a flawless retake but strong multi-kill rounds from electronic showed that this was Na`Vi’s map pick. Things were back and forth during Natus Vincere’s T-side until s1mple had an AWP in his hands and used it to blow down doors to sites for his team. Team Liquid couldn’t hold down sites, as Natus Vincere showed no respect. From there, Team Liquid couldn’t seem to catch up, as Natus Vincere posted an 11-4 half on the board pointing towards a third map. On T-side, Team Liquid opened the half with a pistol round win, but it didn’t gain the team any sustained momentum. Team Liquid’s efforts come up short as the game ended in Natus Vincere’s favor at 7-16. 

Team Liquid and Natus Vincere lock horns in a nail-biting decider inferno 

Team Liquid had a decent showing in the first half of the decider, Inferno. FalleN and company made Na`Vi sweat as they started the game with five wins. Kirill “Boombl4” Mikhailov eventually started locking down the B site, winning Natus Vincere its first rounds on the CT side but Team Liquid eventually picked up steam, and started cracking through to both sites. The comeback earned them 10 rounds on the T half, and put Na`Vi in a tough spot. 

Initially, things looked to be going in Team Liquid’s favor in the second half, capitalizing on a slow start from s1mple. Na`Vi lacked firepower with s1mple posting a relatively weak game but took control in the second half and eventually took the lead. Team Liquid’s Jake “Stewie2K” Yip found the clutches and key kills necessary to keep things competitive and force overtime. 

The first overtime initially favored Natus Vincere, as electronic was on fire with the AUG, but Team Liquid’s strong team play carried the game to a second overtime. The second overtime saw Team Liquid take command, with a huge Grim triple kill setting up Team Liquid to close things out 22-19. 

Team Liquid has now qualified for the semifinals of IEM Katowice 2021, where they will face the winner of Virtus.pro vs. Astralis. Na`Vi is still alive in the tournament and will face Gambit Esports in the quarterfinals.

Fariha Bhatti

About Fariha Bhatti

Fariha Bhatti is a long-time gaming writer who loves competitive FPS games and slots with particularly fun themes. She got her start playing classic games developed by SNK, from legendary fighting game series The King of Fighters to challenging platform franchise Metal Slug. She now spends most of her time playing Valorant and Counter-Strike 2 while working her way through new slot releases to find her next favorite. Fariha has been published at PCGamesN, TalkEsport and ONE Esports.

View full profile

Read Also

Esports Betting

Will Valve add Cache in the CS2 Premier Season 5 Active Duty map pool? Wasif Ahmed Following the highly anticipated return of Cache to Counter-Strike 2 earlier this season, the competitive community has almost started believing that the legendary industrial map would soon make its way into the Active Duty map pool for Premier Season 5. This expectation followed a pattern set by Train, which Valve brought back late last year before quickly pushing it into the main professional tournament rotation. However, in a recent Twitter ...

Counter-Strike

IEM Cologne Grand Final: Team Falcons vs FURIA best betting predictions Owen Harsono Coming into the IEM Cologne Major, nobody would have expected a grand final series between Team Falcons and FURIA, but here we are. Will NiKo finally win his first Major, or will FalleN win another one before retiring at the end of the year? Here are our IEM Cologne Major Grand Final predictions. Tournament: IEM Cologne Major 2026 Stage: Grand Final Game: Counter-Strike 2 Format: Best-of-five Betting tip: Team Falcons ...

Counter-Strike

Team Spirit vs Team Falcons IEM Cologne Major: betting predictions and picks Owen Harsono We’re in for a treat, as Team Spirit will take on Team Falcons for a spot in the IEM Cologne Major grand final. Will NiKo finally get another shot at winning a Major, or will donk and company prevent him from accomplishing his lifelong goal? Here are our IEM Cologne Major Team Spirit vs Team Falcons predictions. Tournament: IEM Cologne Major 2026 Stage: Semi-Final Game: Counter-Strike 2 Format: Best-of-three Betting ...

Counter-Strike

Vitality vs Falcons betting predictions and best picks: IEM Cologne Major 2026 Owen Harsono We’re treated to a possible grand final matchup here in the quarterfinal of the IEM Cologne Major, with Team Vitality taking on Team Falcons in an elimination match. These are two of the highest-profile teams in the game right now, but only one of them can continue their chase for the trophy. Here are our IEM Cologne Major Team Vitality vs Team Falcons predictions. Tournament: IEM Cologne Major 2026 Stage: ...

Counter-Strike

IEM Cologne Major 2026 playoffs preview: matchups & predictions Owen Harsono The top eight teams at the IEM Cologne 2026 Major are set. Most of the favorites easily secured their spots, but we also have promising underdogs sneaking into the bracket. To keep you up to speed, here’s everything you need to know about the IEM Cologne Major playoffs. We started with 32 teams and are now only down to eight. After a grueling Stage 3, teams have been seeded into ...

Counter-Strike

IEM Cologne Major 2026 CS2 Playoffs Pick’Em Predictions Owen Harsono It’s that time of the year again, as the next Counter-Strike 2 Major is right around the corner. The IEM Cologne 2026 Major is set to start on June 2, meaning you still have some time to lock in your Pick’Em predictions. The Pick’Em Challenge is one of the most exciting parts of the CS2 Majors, as it allows you to test your knowledge and predict which teams make it ...

Counter-Strike

IEM Cologne Major Stage 3 preview: who’s making it to the playoffs? Owen Harsono The IEM Cologne Major is the biggest tournament of the year, and after two stages of play, it’s finally time to unleash the big boys. Stage 3 will feature the 16 best teams in the world, but only eight can advance to the Playoffs and play on the big stage. Here’s our IEM Cologne Major Stage 3 preview. Before we got to Stage 3, a lot of things happened in ...