In two days, the first matches of the Challengers stage of the long-awaited BLAST.tv Paris Major 2023 will start. Monte surprised everyone at RMR, and FaZe, who barely made it to the Major, will meet in the first round. In an exclusive comment for Cover.gg, Fedor KvaN Zakharov named the team in whose victory he believes the most.

Maps

Over the past 6 months, Monte played a huge amount of cards - they managed to play 58 times on Mirage alone. This map will not survive the map veto in the bo1 format, and the same cannot be said about Ancient - the second favorite map of the Ukrainian club, which FaZe will not mind playing. There is a minimal possibility that Monte can take a risk, leaving the Overpass on a decider.

Team form

During the break between RMR and the major online tournaments, Monte kept itself in shape, taking second place at CCT Central Europe Series 6 and first at CCT West Europe Series 3. FaZe, on the other hand, performed at IEM Rio 2023 without showing outstanding results and finished the performance in 9-12 place. Of course, the level of teams with which these two teams play is very different.

The number of matches played in April-May can be a cruel joke on Monte because the team can burn out and "break" in the Challengers stage.

FaZe has a time-proven advantage in terms of firepower, which cannot be underestimated by the Ukrainian club. The same thing works in the other direction – BOROS can create many problems, as he is the most promising rifler-lurker in tier-2, having every chance to receive offers from famous organizations, provided he has an excellent individual performance at the Major.

KvaN’s prediction

The debut game of the Major can become the first sensation. Monte knows the opponent well, making preparing for almost every round possible. Although we all understand that this is not just a bo1 but the FIRST BO1 at a Major, so many factors can affect the result.
I think, if there are no surprises, then we will watch some Ancient. I will give 60 to 40 for FaZe purely for past merits, but again, in this bo1, one lucky force can decide the map's fate.

Fedor KvaN Zakharov

We remind you that the Monte - FaZe match on BLAST.tv Paris Major 2023 Challengers will take place on May 8 at 12:30 AM. Both teams will play one more bo1 on the same day. The major will be held until May 21, with a prize pool of $1.25 million.