In the first quarterfinal of the day, Gambit and NAVI will face each other. Both teams showed strong performances in the last months and Natus Vincere even came into the tournament as #1 of the EsportFire World Ranking.

Six teams are still in the title race. It' s historic that four of the remaining lineups are from the CIS region. A great achievement for the region. Spirit and Gambit came into the tournament through qualification as big underdogs and proved themselves.

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Author's tip: NAVI wins

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Table of Content

A total of 16 teams took part in the IEM Katowice and the total prize money is around 1 million USD. All games will still take place online and the playoffs will be played as a single-elimination bracket. Excitement is therefore inevitable!

The biggest surprise at the IEM Katowice 2021 so far was definitely the victory of Spirit against Astralis in the upper final of Group A. Disappointingly eliminated in the group stage were BIG , Heroic , Vitality and G2 . The performances of NiP and OG were also surprisingly weak.

Date and provider

The match between Gambit and NAVI will be broadcast live at 3.00 p.m. (CET) on 26.02.2021. In addition to the English stream, which will take place on the ESL channel, 99Damage will provide a German broadcast. Casts in numerous languages are planned for this clash on the Twitch platform.

Gambit - Latest performance & results

Gambit came into the tournament as underdogs but with great potential. The lineup was recently a solid Tier-2 team that made it to the Katowice 2021 play-ins through good performances. With wins against TeamOne and Gambit Gambit qualified for the main event on the direct path. The team already secured its first tournament success of the new year at the Vulkan Fight Series. The results at DreamHack Open and Snow Sweet Snow 1 were also satisfying.

The team came to the main event of Katowice with great expectations. However, the opening match against Evil Geniuses was disappointing and eventually lost 0:2. In the lower-bracket Gambit had to face Mousesports again, who had been defeated by them in the play-ins. Also in this duel the Russian lineup kept the upper hand and won 2:0.

The next two rounds of the lower-bracket were the first real challenges for the team. With Heroic Gambit met a Danish top team, which played at the top of the world last year and was one of the tournament favorites. A 2-1 win in this encounter was followed by a win against the star ensemble from G2 Esports. Thus, Gambit made it into the playoffs. Between Gambit and NAVI , the odds still clearly point to the surprising team as the underdog.

Natus Vincere - Latest performance & results

NAVI is currently #1 in the EsportFire World Ranking and has been at the top of the CIS region for a long time. However, the lineups of Gambit , Spirit and Virtus.Pro are coming closer in leaps and bounds. Natus Vincere was already qualified for Katowice 2021 and won last year's tournament. The defending champion had an incredible winning streak before the team lost the upper final to Liquid .

NAVI won both the BLAST Global Finals and their group at the BLAST Spring Event and deservedly secured the top spot in the World Ranking. The team started the IEM Katowice 2021 with wins against Virtus.Pro and FURIA . NAVI won both matches with 2:0 and thus entered the final match of group B with confidence.

Relatively surprisingly, the team had to admit defeat in this duel against the North American team Liquid . On a memorable third map FalleN and his team won the second overtime and thus sent NAVI into the quarterfinals, while Liquid will enter the semifinals of the playoffs.

The next clash between the two teams could be the final game. Between Gambit and NAVI, the odds clearly favor the team around s1mple and rightly so. Despite the great performance on the part of Gambit , anything other than a win by the favorite would be a big surprise.

Gambit vs. Natus Vincere - Map-Veto prediction

The bans are Nuke and Vertigo. Between Gambit and NAVI , the tip regarding the maps is Overpass and Dust2. Inferno and Train could be the deciders. Both teams have a very strong map pool and the veto could already bring the first surprises.

Gambit vs. Natus Vincere - Prediction

The spectators can expect a great duel on equal terms. Both teams showed great performances and lost only one match at the IEM Katowice. Nevertheless, between Gambit and NAVI we put our bet on the favorite Natus Vincere . It remains to be seen if the team can keep the first place in the EsportFire World Ranking. As a stake we see 8 units as appropriate and the odds are around 1.55.

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The author estimated the odds at 65/100 and the tip is therefore at medium risk. Please always keep in mind that sports betting is not a money-making business, but should remain entertainment. Only bet with money that you are capable of losing. Through our preliminary reports we offer you a detailed summary and analysis of the latest events and try to increase your chance of winning - information is key.

Information is provided without guarantee! All forecasts are based on the personal opinion of the author!

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