If there is any team expected to return to a CS:GO Major, it’s the winner of the previous one. And the victorious squad from the PGL Antwerp CS:GO Major will be present in Rio de Janeiro for the upcoming event.
FaZe Clan defeated Sprout today in a David-vs-Goliath-like match at Europe RMR A, becoming the first team to qualify for the forthcoming IEM CS:GO Rio Major. Karrigan and crew were the heavy favorites of the series, but Sprout didn’t go down without a fight.
The teams first loaded onto Ancient, Sprout’s pick. As expected on the CT side, FaZe were in the lead after the first half, but it wasn’t significant enough and their opponents forced overtime. There, however, veteran FaZe players pulled through in a collective fashion, with every player adding to the success as the map ended 19-17.
Most fans expected FaZe to close out the series on Nuke, which is one of their favorite picks. Sprout got significantly ahead, though, being up 12-5 at one point. Then, FaZe started to put their defense together and everything was pointing to a comeback and clean finish. Nevertheless, Sprout surprised CS:GO fans everywhere and took down FaZe in overtime with two aggressive T-round wins.
Therefore, the series was left to Mirage, where Sprout’s fuel seemed to have run out. FaZe confidently took over middle and didn’t have many issues holding both sites, which led them to a swift 16-5 victory.
FaZe have become the first qualified team for the Brazilian Major, while Sprout drop to the 2-1 bracket and will have two more chances to advance. Today, however, a couple more squads will qualify as well, since there are a few 2-0 matchups left, like Ninjas in Pyjamas vs. Cloud9 and Liquid vs. Complexity.
Published: Oct 6, 2022 10:47 am