FaZe dismantle paiN in BLAST Premier Spring Final opener

Robert "⁠RobbaN⁠" Dahlström’s men are one victory away from securing a berth in the Altice Arena on Saturday after their opening victory.

The world’s top team and main candidate to take it all at the BLAST Premier Spring Final, FaZe, kicked off with a straightforward victory over the lowest-seeded team at the event in Lisbon, paiN.

The European team didn’t raise the trophy at IEM Dallas, making it the first Big Event this year in which they were knocked out early, and will be looking to bounce back at BLAST. To continue on the path to victory they will now take on their next rival, who will hail from the Vitality vs. G2 opening match, for a spot in the playoffs.

The series started with paiN planting the bomb before losing the first pistol round of Ancient to a retake spearheaded by Robin "⁠ropz⁠" Kool and Finn "⁠karrigan⁠" Andersen, but left the door open to strike back two rounds later with a strong economy, taking a 3-2 lead into the gun rounds. FaZe then took hold, however, winning five in a row to go up 7-3 before the Brazilians once again closed the gap before the half, bringing it back to a 6-9 scoreline.

FaZe then secured the second pistol round to hit double digits before running away with the map, giving up just a single rounds of the eight in the half before shutting paiN down on their own pick, 16-7.

paiN hit back with a 2-0 lead on the CT side of Inferno, but FaZe once again took the reins once rifles were in play going on a tear on the attack as the Brazilians were no match for the international squad’s superior firepower.

Down 4-11, Wesley "⁠hardzao⁠" Lopes downed four FaZe players to keep his team in the running, but not for long as the match continued to its expected conclusion with Håvard "⁠rain⁠" Nygaard and company closing out Inferno 16-6 to move onto the Group A winners' match.