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In what seemed like an impossible run, FaZe Clan came up against all odds to lift the trophy at Copenhagen and taking home sweet $125,000 in the Blast Pro Series CS:GO tournament.
It all started with the match against the ultimate boss, Astralis. The clutch minister Xyp9x pulled off a stunning 1v2 and gave a blistering start to the Danes in their home soil. FaZe though bounced back by winning an almost impossible full eco round. The hero of first round could not clutch it out this time as the young gun Broky won the round securing FaZe their first round of the map. The word stomp is not used much against Astralis but what happened next was unimaginable. FaZe obliterated the Danes by winning 16 straight rounds and took the map with a savage scoreline of 16-2.
Round 2 was against the CIS squad of Na'Vi. Having won a close match against Team Liquid, they were high on momentum and carried it through on Nuke as they got a 5-round lead against the offensive side of FaZe. The international squad bounced back and finished the half with a very respectable scoreline of 7-8. Na'Vi started the second half with a pistol win but their happiness was cut short as FaZe came out all guns blazing and won the 16th round force buy. Very similar to the first map, FaZe steam rolled the rest of the map, losing only two rounds in their defensive side. They beat Na'Vi 16-9.
Triumphant march
Day 2 begin with a match against the Ninjas. All matches on day 2 were played in front of the passionate 20,000 fans in the Royal arena. The Ninjas, much like the others, couldn't put up much of a show in front of FaZe as they were stomped 16-3 even after securing both the pistols.
FaZe locked horns against Cloud9 on Inferno for the 4th round. A win in this round meant a grand finals spot for FaZe. The first half was split evenly 7-8 with Cloud9 having the slight advantage. The North Americans started the 2nd half in a spectacular fashion picking up five unanswered rounds. The all-star roster of FaZe then made a spectacular comeback winning nine out of the last 10 rounds and picking up the match with a narrow scoreline of 16-14.
The last and final round of the group stage was more of a dead rubber as the Ninjas and FaZe were already locked in for the grand finals. FaZe faced Team Liquid on Inferno. This was again a stomp but in favor of Team Liquid as they had a speed run and closed the map 16-5 on a good note in a rather horrendous campaign. This was the only map that FaZe would lose in their Cinderella run to the finals.
into the final
The stage was all set for the grand finals. This match was going to be a best-of-three brawl unlike the group stage. The veto was done and the maps were locked in. These two unexpected finalists were going to battle it out on Nuke(NiP's pick), Dust2 (FaZe's pick) and Inferno the decider.
Both the teams had a good start on Nuke with the scoreline at halftime dead even at 7-8 favoring the Ninjas. The story of the second half was rather different. The Ninjas went on a great streak and won seven out of the first eight rounds. What happened next was a comeback FaZe are not known for. The team, notorious for choking, pulled off a great comeback by winning eight out of the last ten rounds and secured overtime. They were high on energy and momentum and wrapped up the map in the first overtime with a scoreline of 19-17.
The second map for the grand finals was Dust2 on which the Ninjas where beaten comprehensively not too long ago. But the story this time was much different. The halftime score much like Nuke was even at 8-7 favoring FaZe.
The Ninjas started the 2nd half nicely racking up the first four rounds. After that it was all FaZe show. They once again clawed back by bullying the infamous B site and reached the score of 15-12. In the last round, NiKo called an A-site hit through catwalk. The first prong of the hit failed as FaZe quickly lost three players without trading any on the other side. The world's #1 and #2 players of 2017, Coldzera and NiKo came together in the 2v5 and against all odds converted the round taking Dust2 16-12 and thus the overall series 2-0.
FaZe became the only team to win two Blast titles in a year after lifting the trophy at Miami at the start of the year and at Copenhagen to end the regular season of Blast Pro Series. Although one tournament doesn't meant that FaZe have returned to their former glory but it is definitely a step in the right direction for them.
As the coach of FaZe YNk said, the real work begins now. He expects the same consistency from the squad in IEM Beijing which their next event in the coming week.
Who were your favorite plays from FaZe's epic run? Let me know the in comments section below.
