FaZe barely scrape by Imperial with "B game"

karrigan admitted FaZe need to step up their level to qualify for the playoffs after a dangerous elimination match against the Brazilians.

FaZe have survived a close three-map affair against Imperial to survive round four of PGL Major Copenhagen's Elimination Stage and move on to the playoffs-deciding fifth round.

From the start of the elimination series, despite FaZe's victory on Nuke it was clear the current No. 1 team in the world was still shaken after Eternal Fire dealt them a heavy blow on the previous day in a 13-1 blowout.

Several sloppy rounds on the opening map against Imperial raised red flags for the heavy favorites, who then went on to lose Anubis despite winning both pistols as their individuals went cold, and needed a halfbuy win at a key moment on the deciding Mirage to secure the series win.

"We are still far from our level, today we showed a B game, and thank god that was enough to survive today," Finn "⁠karrigan⁠" Andersen said to James "⁠BanKs⁠" Banks following the match.

"It's a good sign that we can win on our B situation. I know we can hit peak performance, we're not there at all, but we need a peak performance tomorrow if we wanna make it to the playoff."

For Imperial, the loss marks the end of their Copenhagen run. They were one of the surprises of the Opening Stage as they made it through and went on to beat Virtus.pro in the first match of the second stage, only to face off against all three of the world's top three teams.

After losses to Spirit and Vitality the Brazilians had a real chance against FaZe series but ultimately couldn't take full advantage of the complacent favorites on Nuke. They went on to lose a golden opportunity on Mirage in a crucial round 16 anti-halfbuy that could have equalized the match, which instead sent Imperial's economy on a downward spiral and gave FaZe the momentum to close the match.

Still, in-game leader Vinicius "⁠VINI⁠" Figueiredo was on the whole positive about the team's showing despite the ultimate disappointment.

"I think we played good, but we have the feeling that we could have gone further, even facing the hardest opponents possible. Spirit, Vitality, FaZe, it's not easy, but after seeing the reviews it wasn't that far, only Spirit," VINI said after the match.

"We're just really happy with the progress. It sucks to lose, but we did an amazing run. Back to the grind."