Team Liquid vs 9INE Prediction: Who will turn out to be stronger?

Prediction for the IEM Cologne 2023 match which will take place on July 28. Who will turn out to be stronger? Check the team conditions! Several betting options are available.

Team Liquid

Liquid does not meet in Play-in against easy opponents. The first match was a tough encounter with Astralis, in which the Danes were stronger. The team dropped to BIG in the bottom set, and the Germans rattled their nerves on Dust2, but Team Liquid was better on Vertigo and Overpass and finished the series 2:1.

Against BIG, the YEKINDAR team dominated the first half of all maps, but after changing sides, they lost concentration and rounds. Liquid could have ended the series dry but allowed their opponent to take seven rounds in a row and go to a series of extra rounds. NAF and YEKINDAR have time to deal both damage and calls - both are in the top 10 of the HLTV individual rankings with a 1.3. In the long run, the team can compete with the tops if they work something out with oSee. Team Liquid's sniper is very weak - poor stats, only 66 damage per round, and 0.64 frags. Considering that all the teams from the top 5 HLTV stars are snipers, oSee looks very weak on their level.

Despite the sniper, the individual level of Team Liquid players is extremely high. The team is still raw, but they have potential.

9INE

The Polish organization took part in a major in 2023 for the first time in five years. However, they failed to perform well, losing in the first three meetings. Since then, there have been numerous Dash 2 tournaments, and 9INE recently won a slot at Gamers8 2023 via closed qualification.

In the Play-in to IEM Cologne 2023, the Poles faced OG and won it on extra rounds (19:17) before losing 0:2 to Fnatic. Hades tried to keep 9INE under control in the last series, but his teammates failed in duels and all situations. Statistically, there are sparkles in attack (52%), but there are clear problems with defense (38%). There is a good rate of pistol rounds (66%, 4-2).

9INE also did not avoid meetings with strong teams at the tournament, but OG is almost completely renewed and is not an indicator of strength, and Fnatic solved the Poles' game without any problems. The current opponent also solved, but the level of players on paper is noticeably higher. And it is quite likely that the Hades team will go home after this match.

Expert Betting Tips

Liquid should take the series in their favor. Considering that the YEKINDAR team quickly closed the last face-to-face meeting, the captain knows what they must do now to win. 9INE lost dry to Fnatic and is unlikely to win the map from Team Liquid.