FaZe outlast G2 to secure semi-final ticket in Abu Dhabi

A classic series between two long-time rivals saw FaZe prevail after a photo finish.

FaZe have come out of an intense three-map series against G2 to secure first place in Group B and a ticket straight to the semi-finals at BLAST Premier World Final.

It was an incredibly tight series that could have gone either way, but Finn "⁠karrigan⁠" Andersen stepped up when his team needed him most, producing an ace alongside several other multi-kills in overtime to secure the win on the final map.

Rasmus "⁠HooXi⁠" Nielsen's men will begin the playoffs in the quarter-finals, with a matchup against NAVI awaiting them on Friday.

Date	Matches
BLAST Premier World Final 2023
15/12/2023	Natus Vincere 12:05 G2	Match

G2 got off to a flying start on the offense on Inferno. With an 8-1 start they took advantage of a FaZe team struggling with their new setup on the map, which moved karrigan to a typically high-action A rotator position to give David "⁠frozen⁠" Čerňanský his usual B bombsite spots.

The in-game leader was 0-8 in the new role while G2 dominated the opening stages of the map, also thanks to newcomer Nemanja "⁠nexa⁠" Isaković's 1v3 clutch from Pit. They then made FaZe's resurgence late in the half irrelevant with another dominant start in the second.

It looked as if two maps would be enough when G2 went on another massive run on the CT side of Nuke, this time even without winning the opening pistol, but FaZe still had a lot left in the tank.

With a streak of their own, FaZe picked up the scraps at the end of the first half and then went undefeated in the first five on the CT side. Nikola "⁠NiKo⁠" Kovač then went on a rampage that saw him pick up 13 kills over the next five rounds, but even the Bosnian's effort, touted by Mohan "⁠launders⁠" Govindasamy as his best performance in CS2, wasn't enough.

In typical FaZe fashion, karrigan's team ended the map with just a scrappy buy featuring a couple of MP9s and Deagles, sending it to the decider, Anubis.

FaZe started hot on the CT side of Anubis, running out to 4-0 lead off the back of a pistol win before G2 began to grind their way back into the half. Some good work by Nemanja "⁠huNter-⁠" Kovač and NiKo was only enough, however, for a tied halftime score.

huNter- stepped up again with multi-kills to ensure G2 got their own strong defensive start, but Ilya "⁠m0NESY⁠" Osipov floundered on the B site to allow FaZe's Tec9 buy to kick off a string of rounds. Some aggressive defensive manoeuvres then got G2 to match point, but a string of key frags round after round by Håvard "⁠rain⁠" Nygaard allowed FaZe to take the game to OT.

karrigan was the man of the hour in OT as he produced an ace and several follow-up multi-kills that ensured a comfortable set of extra rounds for his team, and they duly secured a 16-13 victory to seal the series.