After eight grueling hours of play, FaZe Clan has emerged victorious over Na’Vi in the IEM Cologne 2022 Grand Finals.
The showdown between FaZe Clan and Na’Vi would determine which team is the best CS:GO team in the world, and neither camp disappointed. FaZe Clan came into the Grand Finals fresh off a stronger performance in the group stage than Na’Vi, but you couldn’t count out the defending champs.
All Five Rounds
FaZe had a strong start, beating Na’Vi 16-13 on Inferno. Na’Vi immediately responded with a 16-13 win of their own on Overpass and gave FaZe their first map loss in the tournament.
Na’Vi really put the pressure on in the third round on Ancient, at one point having a 15-4 lead over FaZe. After a strong rally, FaZe managed to force the overtime, but Na’Vi clutched it out with a 19-16 win, putting them one map win away from becoming back-to-back champs.
But FaZe came here to play, and they dominated over Na’Vi on Mirage, ending up with a comfortable 16-9 victory, forcing a map five to win it all. And boy, was the saying save the best for last true today.
The IEM Cologne 2022 capped off with a final showdown in Nuke, with a brutal back-and-forth between the world’s best. Na’Vi secured the first five rounds before rain put FaZe on his back and the board in round 6. Six rounds later, we had a 6-6 deadlock.
Fa’Ze and Navi traded rounds for a while before Fa’Ze went on a short run. A stellar triple by Broky in round 20 and a 2v1 by Twistzz in round 22 put Fa’Ze up 13-9. S1mple had a rough midgame this round, and that no doubt played a role in FaZe’s rally.
Just when it seemed like FaZe would pull away, SDY stepped up with a squeaky save for Na’Vi to end Fa’Ze’s rally and make it 10-13. A down-to-the-wire defuse by Perfecto tied it up at 13-13, with Electronic putting Na’Vi ahead by one in the following round. 14-13, several rounds to go.
Best Plot Twistzzz Of The Season
CHAMPIONSHIP POINT SECURED BY @Twistzz
NOBODY CAN STOP THIS CANADIAN MONSTER#IEM pic.twitter.com/1ORYsvUL9N
— FAZE CLAN WIN IEM COLOGNE 2022 🔥🔥🔥 (@ESLCS) July 17, 2022
Twistzzz activated clutch mode in what would be the turning point of the tournament’s finale, scoring back-to-back 2v1 and 3v1 wins for FaZe, giving them a one-point lead. Na’Vi would have to win this round to force overtime.
Perfecto and SDY clocked out early in the final round, giving FaZe an immediate advantage. s1mple sought the upper level to give himself a solid vantage point for a flanking maneuver, but ropz denied him immediately. broky quickly followed by eliminating Electronic, putting b1t in a 1v4 situation with a bomb to defuse.
The moment @FaZeClan became the #IEM Cologne 2022 CHAMPIONS! 🏆 pic.twitter.com/iULqPZeRgG
— FAZE CLAN WIN IEM COLOGNE 2022 🔥🔥🔥 (@ESLCS) July 17, 2022
With no choice but to get aggressive, b1t made his play. And over half a million people watched as broky and karrigan shot him down, making FaZe Clan the undisputed champions of IEM.
FaZeUp
FaZe’s victory will net them a cool $400,000. Their win over Na’Vi puts FaZe Clan one trophy away from securing the $1,000,000 Intel Grand Slam. In a post-tournament interview, karrigan made it clear that the Grand Slam is their next goal. FaZe should expect everyone to come gunning for them, figuratively and literally, for the $100,000 Giant Killer Bonus.
But you’ve got to celebrate your wins when they come, and with summer break here, FaZe can enjoy some well-deserved downtime before continuing their sensational seasonal run.
Congratulations to FaZe Clan for becoming the IEM Cologne 2022 Champions!
