FaZe sweep NAVI, set up semi-final against FURIA

Finn "⁠karrigan⁠" Andersen's squad concluded the ESL Pro League quarter-finals with a spectacular 2-0 victory over Natus Vincere.

The fourth and final quarter-finals match was a greatly-anticipated showdown between the two highest-ranked teams in the world, Natus Vincere and FaZe. It eventually went 2-0 in the way of Robin "⁠ropz⁠" Kool and his men, who advanced further into the playoffs by winning their map pick Inferno, 16-11, and Dust2, 16-12.

A semi-finals matchup between FURIA and FaZe await both teams on Saturday, where they play for a spot in the tournament's grand finals.

The series opened on FaZe's selected map, Inferno, where the pistol round went Natus Vincere's way after a successful 1vs2 clutch for Denis "⁠electroNic⁠" Sharipov. The game went the way of FaZe early, as Oleksandr "⁠s1mple⁠" Kostyliev's side found themselves in serious economic problems, only attaining a full-buy for the first time in the seventh round. They trailed by as much as 1-7 before fighting back in the latter part of the half, entering the switch with a score line of 5-10.

karrigan's prowess as an in-game leader was on full display, with the Dane making impactful mid-round calls with excellent utility usage and rotations to overwhelm Natus Vincere's defense and give his team a significant advantage heading into the halfway point of the match.

FaZe extended their lead in the second half, taking pistol and the following round to give themselves a seven round advantage on their opponents. Natus Vincere fought back by managing to secure six rounds as the attackers, but it wasn't enough against karrigan and his crew's defense, as FaZe took Inferno 16-11.

Dust2 kicked off with a triple-kill from Håvard "⁠rain⁠" Nygaard on the pistol round, which allowed FaZe to go up 1-0 and bring two rifles into the second round. Despite their weapon advantage, things didn't go to plan as Natus Vincere converted a full-eco and the next two rounds to take a 3-1 lead. FaZe were then able to dominate all the way, winning 11 out of 12 rounds entering halftime with an 11-4 score. rain was undoubtedly the difference-maker for his team, as he racked up an impressive 22 kills at that point in the game.

After the switching of sides, FaZe quickly got to work as they won three out of the first four rounds to bring their tally up to 14. Natus Vincere clawed their way back in the game, securing six consecutive rounds to narrow their deficit down to 11-14. Ultimately, FaZe denied the comeback and cemented their spot in the semi-finals, taking the map 16-12 and the series 2-0.