FaZe secure opening win over G2 in Abu Dhabi

Robin "⁠ropz⁠" Kool was the difference maker in the series, amassing a 1.31 rating.

FaZe began their BLAST World Final campaign with an assertive finish to their 2-1 victory over G2, losing the first map of Nuke (10-16) but coming back on Inferno (19-17) and Ancient (16-4). Both teams decided to float Anubis and stuck to their previous permabans of Vertigo and Overpass, with FaZe removing the new map in the second ban phase.

FaZe are now set to face off against Liquid on Thursday at 10:00 for a place in the semi-finals. G2, coached by Jan "⁠Swani⁠" Müller after parting ways with Rémy "⁠XTQZZZ⁠" Quoniam in October, now drop down to the lower bracket. There they will meet reigning Major champions Outsiders for a playoff spot, with the game happening on Thursday at 07:00 .

G2 started the series with a hot start on Nuke, as they took a 4-0 lead with the help of Nikola "⁠NiKo⁠" Kovač's triple in the pistol round. FaZe were able to get their first, but Ilya "⁠m0NESY⁠" Osipov had other ideas, as the 17-year-old first got a quad-kill and followed that up with a 1vs2 clutch in the next round as G2 took a five-round lead. FaZe came back into the game after that, winning six in a row to take the lead on the map for the first time. m0NESY popped off with a Deagle triple-kill to finish the half, as G2 took an 8-7 lead into the interval.

G2 won their second pistol on the map to get another quick start, taking an 11-7 lead straight away. FaZe fought back with a couple of close rounds to reduce the deficit to just one and bring G2's economy to the brink of collapse. Rasmus "⁠HooXi⁠" Nielsen and company won a round with some saved weaponry in the next, completely knocking the wind out of the FaZe's sails. G2 went on to win the next four and close out the game 16-10, moving the series on to Inferno.

FaZe started their offense with their first pistol round of the series, converting it to a 3-0 lead. G2 wasted no time and equalized the scores as soon as their economy allowed it, eventually getting a 5-3 lead. The rest of the half was a scrappy back-and-forth affair, with neither team taking control of the map meaning the half ended 8-7 in FaZe's favor.

G2 won a forcebuy after losing the pistol round via bomb defuse, streaking four rounds together to take a two-round lead. FaZe didn't back down, however, clawing back the deficit to take a 12-11 lead. It was then Nemanja "⁠huNter-⁠" Kovač who provided a crucial 1vs2 clutch to give his team a chance, as they reached series point after breaking the FaZe economy. Finn "⁠karrigan⁠" Andersen and company were able to put together one more full buy at 14-15 down, and they took full advantage of it as they forced out overtime.

Once there, FaZe won two rounds on the defense to take an early lead, and just about managed to close out the map with a 19-17 scoreline, converting a 3vs5 situation in the last round of overtime.

Ancient was the final map of the series, and it was FaZe who put together an imperious defense. They got nine rounds in a row before G2 got on the board, but even then the HooXi-led squad was able to find just two rounds. FaZe then went back to dominating, going into halftime with an eleven-round lead.

A lost pistol on the defense was the final nail in the coffin for G2, as a 2-14 deficit proved simply too much to come back from. They lost the map in disappointing fashion, dropping down to the lower bracket to face Outsiders on Thursday.