After a difficult journey, the IEM Katowice title is an unbelievable achievement for FaZe.
After a challenging road to the Grand Finals of IEM Katowice, FaZe Clan have claimed the victory. This is their first IEM win after three years, the last one being in 2018. FaZe won $400k in prize money for securing the title, while G2 came in second place with $180k. Let’s look at a brief recap of the matches in the Grand Finals.
FaZe Clan Vs G2 Esports
Game – 1
The first match on Inferno saw G2 racking up some early rounds and FaZe clinging on to just one. After giving 9 rounds in the Terrorist-side, FaZe finally got a second round win. It was extremely difficult for them to cut G2’s defense on both the sites. However, FaZe managed four rounds in the first half. The second half was no different in the starting minutes. G2 were dominating and had got the first match in the bag.
However, FaZe didn’t give up till the very end. At 7-15, with just one round remaining for G2’s win, FaZe turned things around with exceptional plays from Helvijs “broky” Saukants. With momentum in hands of FaZe, G2 slowly started crumbling under pressure and lost the first match 19-15.
Game – 2
The second match was on Mirage. G2 were still under-confident after their poor display in the final moments of the previous match. FaZe, on the other hand, were on wings. After securing 7 straight wins on the CT-side, FaZe were looking comfortable in the game. G2 got 4 rounds with a few brilliant plays in the first half with the score reading 11-4. FaZe were tight in the second half and it was proving tough for G2 to get some rounds for a comeback. After getting 10 rounds, Nikola “NiKo” Kovač missed a few critical chances of winning very important rounds.
This gave FaZe more opportunity, which they failed to take. G2 climbed up and the match was over to the tiebreakers. After a series of rounds with both teams in a fierce battle, we saw Russel “Twistzz” Van Dulken play some extraordinary Counter-Strike to pull through and win the second game. Nemanja “huNter-“ Kovač also played some insane rounds for G2, but couldn’t win them the match. The final score was 31-27.
Game – 3
The third match on Dust II started with both teams getting their fair share of rounds. FaZe edged it with an 8-7 score in the first half on Terrorist-side. The second half was similar, with only a single or two-round difference between both the teams. It was only at the later stages when FaZe started building up a lead of three rounds. However,G2 caught on and the score was 14-14. The second last round saw Niko in a difficult situation. Standing against two of FaZe’s players, Niko couldn’t clutch the round. At the brink of winning, FaZe implemented a quick rush on the short side of A-site. However, broky played well to drop a smoke on the site and play around it to hold the rush and win the round.
FaZe Clan will now prepare for the upcoming ESL Pro League Season 15 tournament. It will interest the community to see how they continue their positive momentum after securing the IEM Katowice title.
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