FaZe deny PENTA’s Raleigh Major dream in DreamHack Valencia quarterfinal

The Rainbow Six DreamHack Valencia Minor is well underway, and the quarterfinal matchup between FaZe Clan and PENTA today drew a lot of attention. PENTA looked to redeem a recent streak of bad luck in the Pro League by earning a spot in the Raleigh Major.

All signs pointed toward an even matchup. With both teams playing round-for-round on Border, the match quickly ran up to 3-2 in PENTA’s favor. Despite having a rather poor showing in the Rainbow Six Pro League, PENTA showed up to play. Rafael “mav” Freitas put a stop to PENTA’s meager lead with a double-kill thanks to a C4 play. 

FaZe’s first attack slowed down the match but they maintained pressure throughout round seven. PENTA failed to answer in round seven and gave FaZe two rounds to build momentum. Clash was probably a poor choice of operator since FaZe couldn’t have cared less about the defensive shield operator. FaZe continued to extend a strong lead to 5-3. 

Round nine looked rough for PENTA when FaZe shredded through the roster to leave Lucas “Hungry” Reich’s Smoke in a clutch situation. With the defuser down, Hungry forced a two-vs-one scenario. Although PENTA started strong on Border, they failed to get the job done, losing out to FaZe 7-3. But the second half of the match looked far more like the PENTA fans have seen in season 10 of the Rainbow Six Pro League. 

Kafe continued to be unkind to PENTA. FaZe didn’t give PENTA any momentum in the early rounds. With FaZe consistently bringing a Lion on the attack, it was clear that the LATAM giant wasn’t going to make it easy on PENTA. After a ridiculous round five that saw FaZe win out in the literal last second of the round, PENTA still maintained a 3-2 lead. 

PENTA led the half at 4-2 and carried that momentum into the attack. FaZe somehow allowed PENTA to build a 5-2 lead before answering with a flurry of kills in round eight. The kill feed lit up with name after name of the PENTA roster to bring the match to 5-3. Despite a strong lead, PENTA threw round nine by not being able to plant the defuser with a man advantage, which allowed FaZe to push back at 5-4. Ultimately, FaZe fell to PENTA 7-4 and the best-of-three headed to Villa. 

Villa went the way of FaZe for three rounds straight. Solid defensive holds and seemingly rushed attacks made it difficult for PENTA to find any meaningful traction in the first half of the match. Promising frags by PENTA were immediately handled with re-frags from FaZe. With FaZe building a steady lead at 3-0, things looked like they’d wrap up quickly. But PENTA had other ideas and they grabbed their first round win of the final map. 

Momentum stalled for PENTA after a small two-round streak. FaZe entered the half in a strong position at 4-2. With PENTA picking up their first two defensive rounds, it seemed like the tides were turning until mav shut PENTA down in round nine with a Buck Skeleton Key headshot out of nowhere. FaZe brought the best-of-three to match point at 6-4. 

The best-of-three culminated with a FaZe victory at 8-6. PENTA put up a good fight, especially considering how poorly the team has been performing as of late. FaZe will now move on to the semifinals tomorrow (July 7). FaZe already qualified for the Raleigh Major, so this victory only adds insult to injury for PENTA.

DreamHack Valencia concludes tomorrow with the semifinals and grand final. Fans can catch the official broadcast here to see which team walks away with the Raleigh Major spot.