Vitality through to LANXESS after FaZe win

FaZe drop down to the lower bracket to play Falcons.

Vitality have defeated FaZe in a close-fought three-map series (Inferno 8-13, Dust2 16-12, Anubis 13-9) to secure a spot in the IEM Cologne playoffs.

The game was decided in small details, with Vitality winning a second-round forcebuy after losing the pistol three times across the series. A couple of 1v1 clutches by Shahar "⁠flameZ⁠" Shushan and Lotan "⁠Spinx⁠" Giladi were also crucial in helping the team take control of Anubis late.

"When I was planting the bomb I heard my heartbeat, and I don't like that. But I'm happy I won it, it was a stressful one," flameZ described his clutch in a post-match interview.

For FaZe, this isn't the end of their Cologne campaign yet. The European combine came into the event in dire form, with Finn "⁠karrigan⁠" Andersen admitting he is "ready to risk everything to win the whole thing."

While they weren't able to win, their performance against a top-six side was an encouraging one, as a few clutches could have turned the tide and helped them move to the playoffs.

FaZe now drop down to the lower bracket to face Falcons, while Vitality will play MOUZ for a semi-final spot.

Date	Matches
IEM Cologne 2024
13/08/2024	Falcons 13:30 FaZe	Match
13/08/2024	MOUZ 18:55 Vitality	Match

The series began on Inferno, where FaZe's aggressive economic decisions meant they prevailed in the opening force-buy wars and ran away to a 9-3 lead in the first half. Vitality then won a second-round force buy on their offense but ran out of steam before they could worry the FaZe side, who took the series lead with a 13-8 win.

Clip: FaZe turn 2v5 to find nine rounds on offense

Vitality went for a Dust2 pick and started the map in hot form to take an early 8-1 lead, but a resilient FaZe put together a three-round streak to end the half. That gave them the platform to secure overtime despite fumbling against an eco, before Vitality turned the tide in overtime and won four straight rounds to take the map 16-12.

Clip: apEX 1v2 helps Vitality win eco

Anubis was another high-octane map of Counter-Strike. FaZe took an 8-6 lead after their second pistol victory of the map with the help of Håvard "⁠rain⁠" Nygaard's 7:1 opening duel success, but couldn't hold on to their lead. flameZ won a crucial 1v1 against Helvijs "⁠broky⁠" Saukants late on, which got Vitality the upper hand in the economy alongside a spot in the LANXESS.