FaZe batter Gambit to advance to IEM Katowice semi-final

Despite still fielding Justin "⁠jks⁠" Savage as a stand-in, FaZe took down Gambit in two maps in the Spodek Arena to set up a meeting with HEROIC in the semi-final.

FaZe have successfully secured a spot in the semi-final of IEM Katowice 2022 after dismantling Gambit in a rather one-sided quarter-final series, claiming wins on Dust2 (16-5) and Inferno (16-11) following inspired performances from Robin "⁠ropz⁠" Kool and Helvijs "⁠broky⁠" Saukants. Perhaps even more crucially though, FaZe were able to secure victory completely against the odds after suffering their second setback of the tournament, being forced to play without Håvard "⁠rain⁠" Nygaard for the first time since the organization signed their original lineup in 2016.

With ropz absent for the majority of the Play-In and group stage due to testing positive for COVID and rain missing out on playoffs for the same reason, it has been jks that has stepped up to bat for the European mixture, proving his worth after spending recent months on the sidelines following the dissolution of Complexity's European roster. FaZe will need to continue showcasing a similar level of play as they will next face HEROIC on Saturday at 19:00 , where they'll look to secure a berth to the best-of-five grand final.

"It was an amazing performance, we all did that for rain, who's sitting at home," Finn "⁠karrigan⁠" Andersen said after the victory. "We're just doing our best. We just focus on what is in front of us, let Justin feel comfortable, and that's what we're doing and I think you could see that in the performance today. We had a little time to talk yesterday when we found out that he might have to play, so yeah, I'm proud of the team and the mentality."

jks continues to prove his worth for FaZe, helping them take down Gambit

It was the Australian stand-in himself who kicked things off for FaZe with three frags in the first pistol of Dust2, with a subsequent quad kill from ropz helping FaZe establish early control. After a lengthy technical pause, a back-and-forth trading of rounds ensued, with key opening multi-kills from Sergey "⁠Ax1Le⁠" Rykhtorov helping Gambit tie up the score at 4-4.

From there though, Vladislav "⁠nafany⁠" Gorshkov's troops were left looking entirely out of sorts as broky and ropz's double AWP setup picked them apart for a 10-5 lead at halftime, and momentum was maintained into the second half as five off the break had FaZe swiftly sitting upon match point. It seemed as if Gambit could at least add a sixth round to their tally, but even that was denied as ropz clutched a 1vs4 to take things over the line for his side.

The break between maps gave Gambit some time to reset, and they were able to enter Inferno in better form. Despite dropping the first two rounds, a handful of saved and scavenged SMGs helped the Russian side score an upset win on round three to turn the tides in their favor. An ace from broky was all that FaZe had to say for themselves for a little while as Gambit pushed up to a 8-3 lead, but tenacity from the Europeans allowed them stabilize and close the gap to 8-7 at halftime.

A pistol win for Gambit put them in pole position to further extend their lead, but FaZe immediately answered back with a forcebuy to regain control. A 1vs4 clutch from Dmitry "⁠sh1ro⁠" Sokolov and a triple kill with a hero AK from Ax1Le was all that Gambit had to show for themselves for the remainder of the map as FaZe put on a masterclass, stellar reads and strong teamplay helping them en route to a 16-11 victory to close out the series.

IEM Katowice 2022Best of 3

Gambit

Matchpage

0

2

25th February 2022

FaZe

5

Dust2

16

11

Inferno

16

Gambit	K - D	+/-	ADR	KAST	Rating2.0
Dmitry 'sh1ro' Sokolovsh1ro	33 - 30	+3	83.3	75.0%	1.18
Sergey 'Ax1Le' RykhtorovAx1Le	29 - 33	-4	73.6	64.6%	0.99
Abay 'HObbit' KhassenovHObbit	24 - 38	-14	66.1	56.2%	0.72
Timofey 'interz' Yakushininterz	19 - 30	-11	49.2	58.3%	0.68
Vladislav 'nafany' Gorshkovnafany	20 - 39	-19	40.3	54.2%	0.57

FaZe	K - D	+/-	ADR	KAST	Rating2.0
Helvijs 'broky' Saukantsbroky	39 - 22	+17	84.2	81.2%	1.39
Robin 'ropz' Koolropz	39 - 23	+16	72.7	77.1%	1.34
Justin 'jks' Savagejks	36 - 28	+8	74.7	70.8%	1.20
Russel 'Twistzz' Van DulkenTwistzz	27 - 26	+1	67.9	83.3%	1.07
Finn 'karrigan' Andersenkarrigan	29 - 29	0	68.1	66.7%	1.05