FaZe move past Eternal Fire to set up Spirit bout

FaZe are the second team to advance to Spodek from Group A.

FaZe are the second team into Spodek after a testing three-match win over Eternal Fire (Inferno 16-14, Anubis 13-16, Nuke 13-5).

Map one and two both required overtime, the first going FaZe's way but the second against the world No. 2 to force a midnight decider in Katowice.

It was there, on Nuke, that Finn "⁠karrigan⁠" Andersen and company finally seemed to have had enough. Eternal Fire, so deadly throughout the first two maps, were eviscerated in a three-round T side as FaZe quit playing with their food.

An even tougher test awaits FaZe, with a seeding bout against Danil "⁠donk⁠" Kryshkovets and the ravenous Team Spirit on February 6 to decide a semi-final spot at the biggest event of CS2 thus far.

Date	Matches
IEM Katowice 2024
05/02/2024	Natus Vincere 19:45 Eternal Fire	Match
06/02/2024	Spirit 16:30 FaZe	Match

"It's been a long day," karrigan told Eefje "⁠sjokz⁠" Depoortere after the game. "It took a lot of strength. So many frustrating rounds on Anubis, but the team reset well for Nuke."

"I made some mistakes here and there. I knew what they were doing but they hit good shots, it's something we need to improve on for playoffs."

David "⁠frozen⁠" Čerňanský set a three-month goal to be "at 100%" in his new colors pre-game, but shone on Inferno even as FaZe sometimes faltered.

Ali "⁠Wicadia⁠" Haydar Yalçın was particularly problematic, single-handedly winning two T rounds after a Tec-9 triple on B and a stunning 3K walking out of A Balcony later on. EF made it to a 10-8 lead, before FaZe rallied in classic fashion to steal their opponent's map pick in overtime.

Anubis was FaZe's pick, but Eternal Fire raced to a lead once again after winning both post-pistol force buys, leaving karrigan with his head in his hands.

The storied FaZe captain recovered mentally, and called a stellar T half to bring the score from 5-8 to 12-9 in FaZe's favor. Helped by an innovative B Cave smoke, FaZe were allowed to abuse some powerful conditioning familiar to any fan of karrigan's game.

But, at the close, the Europeans fell short, and it was Eternal Fire's turn to mount a comeback and snatch away FaZe's pick in overtime after some magic from Engin "⁠MAJ3R⁠" Küpeli on the B site.

The decider of Nuke began with another FaZe pistol win, and another Eternal Fire force back. After that, however, it was finally smooth sailing for FaZe; a 9-1 lead followed as Helvijs "⁠broky⁠" Saukants and Håvard "⁠rain⁠" Nygaard dominated the Yard.

Eternal Fire refused to be put away easily, and another post-pistol force buy — making it four in a row — proved successful to narrow FaZe's lead to 10-5.

That comeback, unlike the one on Anubis, was only illusory after karrigan hit three opening frags in a row to give FaZe a 13-5 lead and a ticket to Spodek.