This article is part of our CS:GO series.
So, two out of four ain't too bad, right? Yours truly correctly predicted the result of the Team Liquid/SK Gaming and FaZe Clan/Renegades series, while missing the mark on mousesports/G2 Esports and Astralis/Natus Vincere. With the semifinals now upon us, it's time to get down to business with the heavy-hitting picks.
Team Liquid vs. mousesports
While I admittedly underestimated mouz in their series against G2, it's no secret that G2 is known to underperform at the drop of the hat these days. That's not to take away from mouz's win, as they certainly showed up ready to play in the 2-0 win over G2. But Liquid is now G2 at the moment. Mouz will have their work cut out in a major way come time to get this series underway.
The North Americans will be coming into this series with a head full of steam. Coming back from the brink of defeat against SK with a blistering performance in the final half of the 2-1 series win was quite the accomplishment. Sure, mouz came up with a sweep, but there's just something about close, comeback victories that seem to energize teams. Liquid's new roster has just been playing on another level for the last few weeks, which should lead it to the grand finals with a close win over mouz.
Natus Vincere vs. FaZe Clan
I fully admit to underestimating the strength of Na'Vi's roster in their series against Astralis. While Aleksandr "s1mple" Kostyliev certainly showed up, other members such as Denis "electronic" Sharipov and Egor "flamie" Vasilyev managed to step up in a big way to take down the Danes of Astralis. With that being said, I don't think they'll manage to do the same against the likes of FaZe Clan on Saturday.
It's just too hard to bet against a roster featuring Nikola "NiKo" Kovac, Ladislav "GuardiaN" Kovacs, and Olof "olofmeister" Kajbjer. Not to mention the fact that Havard "rain" Nygaard absolutely popped off on Friday. The roster just has far too many weapons that outweigh anything that Na'Vi will have to offer. I'll give Na'Vi a game (stop me if you've heard this before), but FaZe should find their way to the grand finals at the end of the day.
