Let’s be real here, FaZe have the most skilled lineup we’ve seen in CS:GO. They have everything, from the world’s best to the world’s previous best. To top it off with an IGL like Finn “Karrigan” Anderson who knows how to handle many stars. FaZe have the right pieces to be one of the best lineups we’ve seen, ever.
Shortcomings early on
FaZe fell short in the decider match against Gambit in Malmö, ending their run quite early. On paper, they probably should’ve made their way out of the group. But they didn’t let the event get to their head and only took it as something to learn from. Using everything they learned, they came back stronger in their later tournaments.
Aside from their performance at Malmö, they had quite a good showing online for EPL, solidifying a top four placing after just one week going 6-2 in matches. Albeit, the matches weren’t against the best in the league, they were able to build familiarity with each other. It also gives a time to practice everything on the battlefield.
ELEAGUE Premier Group A
FaZe started their group playing against the new Renegades featuring Keith “NAF” Markovic, and this is where they surprisingly faced their most competition in their two maps. Surprising FaZe, Renegades took an early advantage but matched the Aussies (and Americans) and took control of most of the game. Renegades was stringing together rounds every now and then but was unable to keep something going. Moving to the TBS broadcast, FaZe meet Na’Vi. Na’Vi seemed to be dismantled right from the start to the end, where FaZe dominated.
ELEAGUE showed that they are definitely working on everything and putting it all on the table. They know what to do and how to do it when it comes to countering any team, shown by ELEAGUE and EPL. It’s just a matter of time before they start winning, right? Right.
ESL One New York
FaZe showed up to New York with seemingly cold hands, unfortunately letting Virtus.Pro take the advantage with the first three rounds of the map. Thinking that was only warm-up, they made sure that was the worst thing you’d see from FaZe up until the second map of the final.
FaZe absolutely dominated the tournament. Losing the least amount of maps of a winning team of any $250k+ tournament in CS. That’s including tournaments without a Bo5 grand final. To say that’s an impressive statistic is an understatement. The players showed that no matter who you are, they are better. Winning almost every aim duel they put themselves in.
Winning New York is just the beginning for FaZe. They’re showing dominance early on into this new era of CS:GO. With players like Nikola “NiKo” Kovač and Håvard “rain” Nygaard hitting every shot they take, teams have got to be fearful of FaZe. NiKo and rain have both shown in the past that no matter who they’re against, they perform like the best. And that’s just what the team looks like they are going to be.
Featured image via hltv.org.
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