Liquid's rifler Mareks YEKINDAR Galinskys shared his expectations for the upcoming match against NAVI in the upper bracket of Group A at IEM Katowice 2023.

NAVI are probably one of the easiest teams in this group. I would consider FaZe and G2 are the top teams in this group and the top opponents, and I was honestly expecting NAVI to win against Cloud9. I think Cloud9 need a bit more time and NAVI had more time to actually adjust and add everything.

Mareks YEKINDAR Galinskys

Mareks emphasized that he is not sure how well NAVI are playing now but added that they look better now than last year's end. According to him, Liquid never underestimates the Ukrainian club, but playing against NAVI is quite comfortable.

In the context of the second question, YEKINDAR also reported that he played the match against IHC being ill, which negatively affected his focus. This could play a role if the Latvian doesn't fully recover the next day.

What do the statistics say?

NAVI has lost its last four face-to-face meetings against Liquid, but there is parity in the average rating. Also, in the previous few matches, electroNic and b1t started to show themselves well, and npl in bo3 against Cloud9 also showed himself better than during BLAST. If the positive trend continues, a victory for NAVI will be a realistic outcome.

The NAVI - Liquid match in the upper bracket of Group A will be held at 8:30 p.m. Other information and the schedule of the next matches of IEM Katowice 2023 can be found on the tournament page.

Source: HLTV.org