FaZe survive GamerLegion, Spirit go 1-0 at Europe RMR

FaZe required a quadruple-overtime affair to get the better of GamerLegion, while Spirit had few issues in winning their Russian derby.

FaZe and Spirit took home their first wins of the Europe RMR with victories over over GamerLegion and 1win, respectively. The two teams now progress to the 1-0 pool of the Swiss system, with their next matchups set to play out on Wednesday.

Robin "⁠ropz⁠" Kool was FaZe's lifeline in his team's laborious opening round win. The Estonian averaged a stellar 1.36 rating while having a 48-38 K-D to carry the European mix to a 28-25 victory. On the flip side of things, Ihor "⁠w0nderful⁠" Zhdanov and Pavel "⁠S1ren⁠" Ogloblin were their team's brightest stars, the duo combining for 45 kills in Spirit's 16-9 win over 1win.

FaZe's hard-fought victory over the fellow European mix will do little to boost the confidence of Finn "⁠karrigan⁠" Andersen and company. The world No. 1 team recently missed out on winning the Intel Grand Slam after bowing out of ESL Pro League Season 16 in 5-8th place following a 1-2 loss to Cloud9 in the quarter-finals.

FaZe and GamerLegion paid a trip to Mirage for their opening match of the RMR, with the world No. 1 roster jumping out to a 7-1 lead thanks to strong fragging by karrigan and ropz, who each posted ten kills apiece. The rest of the half was characterised by a resurgence in form by GamerLegion; Kamil "⁠siuhy⁠" Szkaradek's men exchanging four rounds to FaZe's three to trail 5-10 by the side swap.

GamerLegion's revival continued as the second half began, the European mix adding seven of the first nine rounds on the back of clinical retakes to bring the map to a 12-12 stalemate. This run of good form by GamerLegion pushed FaZe to the limit, with the European mix reaching match point with one round in it, 15-14. In the end, however, karrigan's troops rallied together, a well-executed A-site hit in the 30th round being enough to force a trip to overtime.

The map required a whopping four sets of extra rounds to determine a winner, with the PGL Major Antwerp champions eventually pulling ahead after defending seven matchpoints throughout the 53-round affair; FaZe won four rounds to GamerLegion's one to close out the marathon of a map, 28-25. ropz was instrumental in dragging his team over the line with tremendous impact and 48 kills to his name.

Spirit and 1win used Nuke to host their Russian derby, where Leonid "⁠chopper⁠" Vishnyakov's men instantly laid down the law as they went 5-1 up on the CT-side. Spirit didn't let off the gas as their CT-side continued, with S1ren putting up 18 kills to propel his side to a 12-3 showing by the half's end.

Egor "⁠flamie⁠" Vasilyev and company mustered a comeback attempt at the onset of their defensive effort, shutting down their opponents' offensive plays as they pulled things back to a more equal 9-12 scoreline. Spirit returned to the driver's seat at this point, however, taking firm control of the economy as they brushed aside their Russian compatriots to win 16-9 and go 1-0 in Malta.