The main stage of IEM Cologne 2023, one of the most significant and prestigious championships of the second half of the year, starts tomorrow. The opening matches of Group B will feature an intriguing clash between NAVI and MOUZ - the former have changed three players and started speaking in English, while the latter have signed one of the most promising captains in the pro scene and a talented 16-year-old rifler. Who will come out on top? Let's delve into it together.

Team Form

The comparison of team performance shows a slight edge in shooting for NAVI, while MOUZ are making more kills. However, the following factors should be taken into account:

• siuhy now uses torzsi for a more aggressive playstyle than dexter did.
• Aleksib also manages players differently than his predecessor - his micromanagement positively influences b1t's performance, despite Valeria's English not being the best.
  
• s1mple's form is noticeably better than before the off-season.
  

ALSO READ: BIG and Grayhound leave IEM Cologne 2023

Map Situation

In the three maps played at IEM Cologne 2023 Play-In, the revamped MOUZ lineup showed a shaky Nuke and a fairly strong Inferno. We can only guess about the rest of the maps.

NAVI, on the other hand, have only not played on Anubis and their permaban Vertigo. Many maps won in the past BLAST against BIG, Astralis, and G2 were on thin ice. An additional week of preparation before IEM Cologne will allow the "yellow-blacks" to get rid of some problems.

The NAVI vs MOUZ match in Group B will start on July 29 at 20:30 and will be in a bo3 format. Remember that today, the last participants of the group stage of IEM Cologne 2023 will be determined based on the results of Play-In. The schedule, results, and statistics of the stage are available on the tournament page.