Surprise stomp in one of CS:GO’s biggest rivalries ends with FaZe in Katowice’s lower bracket

FaZe has fallen at the hands of the G2, and a classic rivalry has bubbled to the surface once again.  The international squads collided on Nuke, with each roster ripping heads off left, right, and center, predominantly on the T side. The 16-14 scoreline likely sent fans’ heart rates skyrocketing as G2 clawed back three rounds to steal the map off FaZe. 

Ancient was an entirely different story, with G2 stomping FaZe 16-7. Nikola “NiKo” Kovač, alongside Justin “jks” Savage, eased through FaZe’s CT side, leading to a dominant T half for G2 and a straightforward eventual victory.

Matches between G2 and FaZe are exciting for two reasons: the star-studded cast, and a rivalry that started almost five years ago.

Back then, NiKo starred as one of FaZe’s deadly riflers under Finn “karrigan” Andersen’s leadership. While these two were considered some of the best in the game for different reasons, they ultimately failed to win a Major and establish an era. This caused a series of changes throughout FaZe’s 2018 roster, and karrigan seemed to cop most of the brunt.

The IGL was eventually dropped as the leader, and soon moved off the roster entirely. He moved on to mousesports while NiKo stayed on FaZe’s roster until late 2019 when he left for G2. Rumors circulated throughout the CS:GO community about a strained team dynamic between the two, suggesting that NiKo was the catalyst for karrigan’s removal.

Karrigan has since returned to FaZe, and won several top-tier tournaments in 2022, including the PGL Antwerp Major. NiKo, however, has had a rough time at the top, with a collection of runner-up finishes alongside multiple early exits in massive events. Now, it seems G2 has the roster to compete with the best teams in the scene, winning the BLAST Premier World Final to close out 2022, only dropping a single map since losing their group stage match to—who else—FaZe.

FaZe was undoubtedly the best team in CS:GO last year: this rivalry could get a lot more exciting as we get deeper into 2023—and the IEM Katowice bracket.