Impressive solo performances by Helvijs #broky Saukants, Russel #twistzz Van Dulken and Robin #ropz Kool made sure #FaZe would beat #OG.
With a 2-1 victory over OG, FaZe began the fourth day of the BLAST Premier Spring Groups. The key to FaZe’s dominant victory on Mirage (16-7) was their capacity to win rounds even after losing the initial duel, while the key to their victory on Inferno was their mental fortitude to recover from their defeat on Ancient (16-4).
After losing, OG will face the winner of Liquid vs Complexity in the Consolidation final.
Finn #karrigan Andresen’s side march their winning ways at BLAST as they have only dropped one map so far. The victory for FaZe can be largely credited to outstanding individual performances like Ropz’s 1.61 rating on Mirage, or Twistzz’s 30 kills on Ancient.
The Match Recap
The series opened on Mirage with OG in hot form. They easily took a 3-0 lead thanks to Nemanja #nexa Isaković and Shahar #flameZ Shushan. But the early success of OG was short-lived as FaZe turned on #ropz to swing the match in their favor, and he rose up to the challenge. Being down 3-1, ropz won a crucial 1v2 clutch to give his team the momentum to take the lead. Remainder of the half was ropz and broky clinic, as they won several rounds. The deadly duo hardly missed a shot, and FaZe won the first half 10-5 thanks to their big efforts.
In the opening round of the second half, Ropz continued where he left off by scoring two pistol kills to secure a victory. FaZe maintained their lead as they followed up their great T-side with a resolute defense, increasing their lead to 14-5. Twistzz, who had stepped up on the CT side, finished things off in the decisive round with a 1v1 clutch, winning 16-7.
OG started Ancient in the same shape as Mirage, dominating FaZe with a well-structured offensive strategy. Soon after, FaZe changed and stopped OG’s B-site hits, which helped them gain momentum. However, unlike Mirage, FaZe did not instantly claim victory; instead, Twistzz and Maciej #f1ku Miklas went blow for blow to keep their respective teams in the game. Finally FaZe took the lead at the end of the first half thanks to Twistzz’ four kills in the last round, which gave them a 9-6 advantage.
FaZe appeared to be extending their advantage after taking the A-site with relative ease in the opening round, but they were quickly destroyed by OG’s clean retake. From that point, Adam #neofrag Zouhar led his team to a six-round winning streak. FaZe went back to the drawing board and came up with a plan, but Twistzz’s 30 frags were not enough as they fell 16-11 to OG on Ancient.
The Ending Blow
As we’ve seen before, OG gained an early edge on Inferno thanks to Neofrag’s three opening kills on the pistol round. FaZe responded, winning an eco round and instantly stopping OG’s momentum. Karrigan pushed his team to keep winning, but Neofrag who was playing alone, made an effort to keep OG in the game with a three-kill B-site hold.
Sadly, no matter how close OG came to winning many rounds, FaZe’s relentless attack persisted for the remained of the half, and they ultimately lost, 11-2. Just as OG began to get comfortable, Twistzz strolled up and grabbed a clutch 1v2 with just a Deagle in hand. Twistzz’s mentality-breaking clutch ensured FaZe’s triumph as OG was unable to defeat broky’s AWP in the final round, losing 16-4.
