G2 oust FaZe from BLAST Premier World Final to set up grand final clash with Liquid

G2 and Liquid will fight for their first title win in 2022 to close out the year.

G2 are through to the grand final of the BLAST Premier World Final after coming out on top of a hotly-contested two-map series against FaZe, overcoming Finn "⁠karrigan⁠" Andersen's men 16-14 on Nuke and 16-13 on Inferno to claim revenge from the group stage and earn a spot in the title-decider against Liquid.

Justin "⁠jks⁠" Savage was the stand-out member for G2 on Nuke, pivotal multi-kills and clutches in the dying moments of the map helping his side to narrowly clinch victory. On Inferno, it was Rasmus "⁠HooXi⁠" Nielsen's calling that drew eyes, excellent control of the map and of FaZe's rotations helping to power G2 to a comeback from a 4-11 deficit at halftime. The win on the second map is a particularly feel-good moment for G2 as they had squandered a 15-14 lead in the very same scenario against FaZe to kick off the tournament, and this time managed to deny their European counterparts the opportunity to come back to clinch victory.

The win marks G2's second grand final appearance of the year, following up on their IEM Katowice run that occurred in February and ended in heartbreak as they were felled by FaZe 0-3 in the title-deciding match. This time around, Nikola "⁠NiKo⁠" Kovač and company will face off against Liquid at 11:00 to determine who will lift the final trophy of the year and become the sixth team to clinch a title in 2022.

FaZe kicked off G2's pick of Nuke in good form, a 1vs3 clutch from Helvijs "⁠broky⁠" Saukants in the opening pistol round enabling the PGL Major Antwerp champions to seize the lead on the defense. A 1vs3 clutch attempt from Nemanja "⁠huNter-⁠" Kovač was denied in the following round and FaZe began to nurture a lead, garnering four rounds in a row before responding to G2's first round win immediately to go up 5-1. Multi-kill rounds from Ilya "⁠m0NESY⁠" Osipov and huNter- were key in getting G2 back into the map, five rounds straight helping them to briefly claim the lead, only for FaZe to stabilize toward the end of the half and clinch the final four rounds for a 9-6 lead heading into the side swap.

The tides turned once G2 were on the defense, a strong start to the second half helping them wrestle control of the game from their European rivals and push up to a 12-10 scoreline. A quad kill defense of ramp from jks helped G2 further extend their lead by one round, but at that point it seemed like FaZe found the winning formula on the T side, winning four rounds back to steal away control and the lead at 14-13. A desperation buy of pistols and SMGs paid off to get G2 back on the board to tie up the score, but it was the heroics of jks that the team truly had to offer their thanks to as the Australian clutched a 1vs2 at 14-14 to grant his side match point, which they converted in the ensuing round to just barely edge out the map win.

G2 remained in control as Inferno got underway, a triple kill from jks helping their side recover from a pistol round loss and take the lead, 3-1. From that point onward, though, FaZe put on a masterclass on the T side and were relentless in shutting G2 down, allowing HooXi's side just one more round in the half and posting a massive 11-4 lead at the end of their attacking effort.

Much like on Nuke, control of the map completely shifted in the second half, uncharacteristically panicked rounds from FaZe and exceptional calling from HooXi leading to an even better T side effort from G2. A constant push-and-pull of FaZe's defenses and strong opening kills from the trio of huNter-, NiKo, and m0NESY led to a seven-round spree for G2 as they tied up the match, and although FaZe finally put two rounds on the board, G2 continued their tear through the defenses and closed out the map just shy of round 30, eking out a 16-13 victory to take the series.