FaZe Clan’s magical run at IEM Cologne continues as their CS:GO roster has stunned Gambit, the best team in the world, in the quarterfinals.
On Ancient, Gambit narrowly took pistol via a Hobbit 3K, surviving with 2HP, then punished a FaZe second round force buy rush. Gambit’s defense was solid, jumping to a 5-0 lead and forcing a FaZe tactical timeout. Hobbit had a tremendous first half, punishing FaZe and pushing Gambit to an 11-4 lead. But FaZe showed why they picked Ancient with an equally impressive CT side on the shoulders of thunderous production from Håvard “rain” Nygaard. The rest of FaZe played their parts, coming back from the edge of defeat, 16-13.
Overpass was another back-and-forth affair, with both sides trading streaks of rounds throughout both halves. For the second straight map, FaZe amounted a massive comeback, forcing overtime after trailing 15-10. Despite the impressive resolve shown by FaZe, they eventually fell in the final round of second overtime, losing Overpass 22-20.
Fittingly, the series turned the ultimate third map setting, Inferno. Yet again, FaZe showed impressive resilience, winning nine of the last 11 rounds heading into the half. Then they got to a blistering start on defense, boosting their lead to 15-7. Gambit strung together a few rounds in an attempt towards their own comeback, but FaZe shut the door and took Inferno 16-9, completing the 2-1 upset.
After a tumultuous start to the Twistzz-karrigan era of FaZe Clan, their IEM Cologne run has been a welcome reprieve to the players. FaZe are the only team to qualify for the playoffs after playing through the Play-In stage, and booked their quarterfinals spot at the end of an impressive lower bracket run during the group stage. They move on to play Na’Vi in the semifinals.
Published: Jul 16, 2021 06:40 pm