Vitality defeat FaZe 2-0 to secure EPL Season 17 quarter-final berth

FaZe did not show their strongest mental game in the series' two overtimes, tallying just one round to Vitality's eight.

Vitality and FaZe faced off in the final day of ESL Pro League Season 17's Group C for a spot in the playoff's quarter-finals. The series, which went to Vitality 2-0, was their first top flight testing ground with Audric "⁠JACKZ⁠" Jug standing in for Peter "⁠dupreeh⁠" Rasmussen, and the bees passed the test with two overtime wins on Anubis (19-16) and Nuke (19-15), relegating FaZe to the second round of the playoff bracket.

The veto started off in predictable manner with Vitality banning Ancient and FaZe doing away with Vertigo, but then Danny "⁠zonic⁠" Sørensen’s squad spiced up the series with a cheeky Anubis pick. Both teams played it at the BLAST Premier World Finals at the tail end of 2022, FaZe beat Liquid on it and Vitality lost it to OG, although Dan "⁠apEX⁠" Madesclaire and company played it again at ESL Pro League Season 17 in their 2-0 upper bracket semi-final victory over OG.

ZywOo made the difference for Vitality with a 1.40 rating

The pick didn’t pan out early on for Vitality as FaZe took full advantage of their start on the attacking side in the most T-sided map of the pool. Finn "⁠karrigan⁠" Andersen’s men put up eight rounds uncontested and then breezed through the final six to make it 14-1. The standout player was beyond a shadow of a doubt AWPer Helvijs "⁠broky⁠" Saukants, who had a 17-2 scoreline at the switch.

FaZe failed to win a pistol round, which would normally not be fatal with a 14-1 lead on the board, but turned out to be crucial as the unthinkable happened and Vitality brought it back to a tie by the 30th round. Star players Mathieu "⁠ZywOo⁠" Herbaut and Lotan "⁠Spinx⁠" Giladi got activated on the attack, which ended 17-16 after the first overtime. Vitality then posted two defenses in a row, more than either team could tally in 30 rounds, to close the map out 19-16.

With the wind in his sails ZywOo made sure to dig FaZe’s grave with 22 kills and 140 ADR on the CT side as Vitality overcame a 0-3 start with ease. They allowed their rivals a single attack in what ended up being an 11-4 half. ZywOo then downed three in the second pistol round, but was taken out by Russel "⁠Twistzz⁠" Van Dulken at the final hurdle as slowly but surely Vitality’s lead dwindled. They did hit match point first in the 28th round, but the bees were brought to a stalemate by the end of regulation.

Despite the struggles it only took ZywOo — who ended the map with 38 kills and 114 ADR to his name — and his teammates four rounds of overtime, the minimum, to seal the deal 19-15 with three straight attacks giving way to a successful defense that included double kills by Spinx and JACKZ.

The final series of Group C is ready to get underway between 00NATION and Ninjas in Pyjamas, the last match of the last chance bracket, which will see one more team through to the playoffs while the other will be eliminated from the tournament.

ESL Pro League Season 17Best of 3

Vitality

Matchpage

2

0

12th March 2023

FaZe

19

Anubis

16

19

Nuke

15

Vitality	K - D	+/-	ADR	KAST	Rating2.0
Mathieu 'ZywOo' HerbautZywOo	61 - 40	+21	90.0	75.4%	1.40
Audric 'JACKZ' JugJACKZ	49 - 48	+1	73.1	75.4%	1.12
Lotan 'Spinx' GiladiSpinx	45 - 44	+1	72.9	72.5%	1.02
Dan 'apEX' MadesclaireapEX	44 - 48	-4	65.9	73.9%	0.98
Emil 'Magisk' ReifMagisk	37 - 44	-7	72.1	69.6%	0.96

FaZe	K - D	+/-	ADR	KAST	Rating2.0
Robin 'ropz' Koolropz	51 - 42	+9	71.0	76.8%	1.12
Helvijs 'broky' Saukantsbroky	46 - 42	+4	70.7	76.8%	1.10
Finn 'karrigan' Andersenkarrigan	48 - 53	-5	79.2	68.1%	1.01
Russel 'Twistzz' Van DulkenTwistzz	39 - 44	-5	65.6	72.5%	0.91
Håvard 'rain' Nygaardrain	40 - 56	-16	73.7	58.0%	0.88