FaZe ease past Cloud9 to clinch third place in Group A

FaZe have advanced to the IEM Sydney quarter-finals after clinching third place in Group A over Cloud9 (2-0; Mirage 16-9, Cache 16-6).

Group A's lower bracket final began on Mirage, where FaZe started their defense with a 5-1 lead. They wouldn't hold it for long, however, as Cloud9 strung four rounds together to equalize the score, with William "⁠RUSH⁠" Wierzba spearheading the attack, picking up a triple-kill along the way.

The two teams went back and forth from there on, as FaZe grabbed three of the remaining five rounds for a one-round lead going into the second half. There, Nikola "⁠NiKo⁠" Kovač narrowly lost a 1v3 clutch, but the European squad quickly made up for it with a forcebuy win, which helped them rack up a 12-8 lead.

Cloud9 then grabbed their ninth, but that was all they could do; FaZe immediately broke the Americans' economy, storming to a 16-9 win on the opening map.

Cache kicked off with the two teams trading rounds early on until FaZe gained the upper hand on the back of Håvard "⁠rain⁠" Nygaard's 1v1 clutch in the last two seconds, which sent Cloud9 on an eco.

The European side controlled the rest of the half apart from one round, in which Pujan "⁠FNS⁠" Mehta clutched a 1v2, and switched over to Counter-Terrorists at a commanding 11-4 lead.

With rain and Ladislav "⁠GuardiaN⁠" Kovács combining for five kills during a retake scenario on A in the second pistol round, things started to look dire for Cloud9. FaZe survived the next three forcebuys to clinch match point at 15-4 and soon emerged victorious at 16-6, 2-0.