FaZe best OG to qualify for BLAST Spring Final

FaZe become the second team to qualify for the event thanks to impactful performances from Helvijs "⁠broky⁠" Saukants and Patrick "⁠es3tag⁠" Hansen.

FaZe confirmed their appearance at the $425,000 BLAST Premier Spring Final, which will run from June 7-11, with a 2-0 victory over OG. Finn "⁠karrigan⁠" Andersen's men overpowered their European counterparts after picking up a hard-fought victory on Mirage (16-14) and a thrashing on Ancient (16-6).

FaZe continue to have OG's number in the server, picking up a repeat victory over the multinational quintet after originally beating the squad in the Group B upper final. broky was his team's highest-rated player in the series, coming alive on Ancient in particular. He ended the best-of-three with a 1.34 rating and 42-29 K-D, and his highly impactful AWPing on Ancient was critical in powering the squad to an all-important 11-round spree on the CT-side.

The defeat relegates Nemanja "⁠nexa⁠" Isaković and company down to the all-or-nothing knockout stage, where they will square off against the eventual winner of the series between Ninjas in Pyjamas and Astralis for a chance to clinch one of the three Spring Final spots up for grabs. OG's only real performers in the best-of-three were the duo of Maciej "⁠F1KU⁠" Miklas and Adam "⁠NEOFRAG⁠" Zouhar, with the Pole and Czech riflers being the only players to post 1.00+ ratings.

The rematch between the two teams once again started on FaZe's pick of Mirage. Uncharacteristically quiet performances from the brightest stars prevented either side from making much headway, with the scrappy and back-and-forth map settling at a 5-5 stalemate to kick the series off. FaZe were able to break the deadlock shortly after, however, consistent round-on-round impact from karrigan and Russel "⁠Twistzz⁠" Van Dulken coupled with a fluid use of map control allowed the international squad to post a three-round buffer by the side swap.

The second half continued to be one of miniature skirmishes. A highlight-worthy 1vs4 clutch from Abdul "⁠degster⁠" Gasanov kicked things off, but both teams squandered advantageous situations and lost to their foes' frugal buys in the ensuing rounds to have FaZe sit narrowly ahead heading into the dying stages of the map, 13-11. Further heroics from degster and Shahar "⁠flameZ⁠" Shushan forced the map to go the distance, but it was Robin "⁠ropz⁠" Kool who pulled the win out of the bag for his team, putting a spanner in OG's final-round strategy with a perfectly executed push up Middle to clinch victory in regulation, 16-14.

OG hit the ground running at the outset of Ancient, a near-flawless pistol-round win allowing the international ensemble to nurture a 4-0 lead to start their T-side effort. A masterful display of trigger discipline from ropz in the sixth round got FaZe back in the running, the side using their new-found momentum, alongside a ninja defuse from es3tag, to brush aside their counterparts and leapfrog their way to a 7-4 showing. FaZe's dominance in the server continued to be felt for the remainder of the half; crisp and unrelenting precision from broky and his AWP (17 kills) helped the European combine extend their streak to 11 in a row to sport a seven-round cushion at the interval.

With the wind in their sails and OG still reeling from their ninja-defuse hiccup, it was only a matter of time before FaZe closed out the map. A successful split of the A bombsite earned karrigan's men the pistol round, with the squad going on to concede just two additional rounds en route to a 16-6 trouncing of their opponents.