FaZe Clan’s 2024 went south right after their loss to NAVI in the finals of the Copenhagen Major. What should have cemented them as the dominant CS2 team, with a Major title rounding out an incredible run of finals, turned into a disastrous blowout on Inferno. FaZe never recovered.

Now, at the PW Major Shanghai, the team has managed to flip the script. Following FaZe Clan’s incredible win over Vitality, we talked to Helvijs "broky" Saukants to discuss the result, veto, and FaZe’s chance at winning the Major.

Congratulations on the win. How do you feel about the result? Obviously a big scalp to take in Vitality.

Yeah, going into the playoffs, we knew it was only going to be tougher opponents from there. It didn’t really matter who we played. Last time we beat [Vitality] in Copenhagen, so we just believed all the way, even if we lost the first map. It’s FaZe Clan—they can always bring it back.

Talking about the veto, a lot of people were expecting you guys to play Dust2, but Karrigan took a different route. Was that discussed before the veto, and did you prep for it?

We changed the veto a lot. Before the playoffs, it was three times different. Yesterday, we decided on the final veto. We never decided to pick Dust2; we expected them to pick it, maybe.

G2 is your next opponent. You’ve always played them close, and you’ve won a lot against them. Can you make it to the finals now?

We have the China strength right now. FaZe in China—you know we’ve only won in China this year. So hopefully, we can go all the way and win the major.

READ MORE: [Exclusive] degster after Major elimination: “I hope at one moment in my career, the crowd is cheering for me.”

Copenhagen was supposed to be FaZe’s title. Maybe this can be the retribution?

Yeah, I hope so. I think everyone in the team, regardless of what happened in Copenhagen—it was 1-1, and the third map was a disaster for us. So hopefully, we can get it.

Individually, on Anubis, you were on fire. Winning clutches, and that AWP kill on ZywOo through the smoke. How do you feel about your performance?

The whole major, I didn’t play good. So I am kind of happy that I woke up finally on the second and third map. Hopefully, it can continue later, and we go and win the major.

The Shanghai Major 2024 takes place from November 30th to December 15th in China. The four strongest teams of the tournament—MOUZ, Team Spirit, G2 Esports, and FaZe Clan—continue to compete for the grand prize of $500,000 and the title of the strongest team of the season. You can follow the news, schedule, and results of the CS2 Major at the link.