Will Cloud9 Overtake Liquid?

Cloud9 vs. Liquid will be another match of IEM Cologne today. Yesterday, Cloud9 sensationally lost to Astralis, which can significantly reduce their confidence. However, will Liquid be able to take advantage of this?

Maps

Map veto in this match will be highly flexible. The options will be complicated to calculate because the permobans of the collectives coincide. Consequently, Nuke may not be banned until the last stages of the veto or force the opponent to ban your own permaban. However, even with such a large number of veto options, finding a favorable option for Liquid is complicated. In the final stages, it turns out that Cloud9 is profitable to play any map, and Liquid does not like all locations. The most likely veto options are Vertigo-Ancient-Overpass, Vertigo-Mirage-Dust2, Vertigo-Overpass-Mirage, and Ancient-Vertigo-Mirage. If Ancient is not vetoed, then Liquid's chances will drop significantly.

Shape

Liquid play extremely unevenly. The team does not have its own style, and the changes in the roster only strengthened this problem. Playing with a stand-in, the Americans hope only for an individual game, which is unlikely to help against Cloud9, but you can expect the resistance that Liquid can provide.

At the same time, Cloud9 show an excellent game. This could be said about the team before yesterday's defeat. In the match with Astralis, the CIS team was completely destroyed, and some players had one of the worst games of their careers. It was probably just a very unlucky day for the CIS team. The Cloud9 game looks more structured and confident. The team also leads 2-0 in personal meetings.

Conclusions

Cloud9 look like clear favorites in this confrontation, but has their confidence remained after yesterday's defeat? We will find out today. Detailed pre-match statistics can be viewed here.