The first day of the IEM Cologne 2023 playoffs is upon us and the first matches at the Lanxess Arena. One of the quarterfinals will feature two teams representing Denmark – Heroic and Astralis. The former are titans who need no introduction, while the latter have recently revamped their roster and are now arguably the tournament's biggest dark horse. But who is destined to win? Timur "buster" Tulepov, who has been standing in for Cloud9, who also made it to the quarterfinals, provided an exclusive comment for Bo3.gg on this matter.
Team Form
Heroic is always more about tactics, grenades, and excellent team interaction rather than the overwhelming firepower of individual players. However, throughout the tournament, the team has been shaky - often ending up in close scores against teams that are noticeably weaker individually.
Astralis, in turn, after losing to G2, won three consecutive bo3s in the lower bracket of the group, and it's fair to say that Nicolai "dev1ce" Reedtz is quite likely to be a thorn in the side for Heroic. As the tournament progressed, the Danish quintet gained solid momentum and is unlikely to be an easy opponent for anyone.
Map Pool
The weak spots in Astralis's map pool are Inferno and Nuke, and while the team hasn't played many official matches on the former map with the new roster, the latter is quite poor, and choosing it against a strong team like Heroic without lengthy preparation would be suicide. For Heroic, the only problem map is Vertigo – they try to ban it in the second stage. Other than that, the advantage of cadiaN and his team is indisputable – it's precisely their flexible map pool that should bring them the victory.
buster's Opinion
Former Cloud9 player Timur "buster" Tulepov, who represented his old team at IEM Cologne, assessed the strengths of both teams.
"I like how Astralis is playing right now. They've refreshed their lineup. You can see they have a fresh perspective. They are ready to win. But Heroic is still considered the top-1 team by many. They haven't changed their roster, they always have great strategies, they always adapt well to their opponent."Timur "buster" Tulepov
The Astralis versus Heroic match is scheduled for August 4 at 20:00. The winner will face G2 in the semifinals - a bo3 series with their participation will take place on August 5 at 20:00.
IEM Cologne 2023 is taking place from July 26 to August 6 in Germany. Teams are competing for a prize pool of one million dollars and a slot at IEM Katowice 2024. You can follow the schedule and results of the championship here.
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