The FaZe team remains in the race for the BLAST Premier World Final after defeating Natus Vincere in the lower bracket final of Group A. This success guaranteed Finn "karrigan" Andersen and his team third place in the group, paving their way to the tournament playoffs.
FaZe's victory over one of the top teams in the world has sparked huge interest among CS fans, as it means they can still compete for the tournament's grand prize. Moreover, FaZe managed to break a three-game losing streak against NAVI, adding even more symbolism to their success.
A Heated Start on Inferno
The first map of the series, Inferno, did not meet FaZe's expectations—even though it was their chosen pick. NAVI took the initiative with crucial moments like a heroic round with an AK from Valeriy "b1t" Vakhovskiy and an impressive 1vs4 clutch from Justinas "jL" Lekavicius. This momentum allowed NAVI to win the first map and take the lead in the series.
On Mirage, things started similarly, but the situation quickly changed. After winning the pistol round, FaZe temporarily went silent, and NAVI found their rhythm. However, in the second half, FaZe transformed and closed the match with a 13-8 score, winning eight of nine rounds on the attacking side.
FaZe's positive momentum continued on the decisive map Ancient. Here, karrigan and his team took the lead with a 6-0 score, and David "frozen" Čerňanský, who looked lackluster on Inferno, shone with a 1.74 rating. Robin "ropz" Kool, who also struggled on the first map, ended the series as FaZe's highest-rated player with a 6.6 rating, just 0.1 behind the series leader b1t.
Justinas "jL" Lekavicius noted that the team was disappointed with this tournament outcome. "A disappointing end to the tournament, we wanted to play in front of the Asian audience, but we didn't deserve it this time. We need to improve our gameplay and how we handle jet lag in Shanghai. You could see from our faces that we weren't ready. We will come back stronger to Shanghai," wrote the NAVI player on X.
A Significant Victory and a Step Forward
After three consecutive losses to Natus Vincere, FaZe finally managed to get revenge and advance to the next round of the tournament in Singapore. This victory is not only important from a tournament perspective but also symbolic for FaZe, as they defeated the world's top-rated team.
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