FaZe Dominates MOUZ to Secure IEM Sydney Grand Final Spot
Bogdan LashchenkoFaZe secured their spot in the IEM Sydney grand final after a convincing victory over MOUZ in a two-map series. MOUZ was forced to field Bram "Nexius" Campana in place of Jimi "Jimpphat" Salo due to visa issues. FaZe started the series with a dominant performance on their map choice, Nuke, and then impressed with their first Vertigo appearance since the IEM Rio Major.
Finn "karrigan" Andersen, a member of FaZe, shared his thoughts about the match during a broadcast. He discussed his decision to float Vertigo in the veto, saying, "I was sitting there and I thought, 'I'm going to suggest something in the room and see how it goes. Guys, how about we ban Mirage and play Vertigo?' and I heard everyone say, 'Yeah, let's do it, it's time.'
"When we started with CS2, it was very simple, we began with seven maps. Vertigo isn't a map we fully put time into; you could see we had some set executes — they didn't work (laughs), but we have a lot of players that are great at mid-round situations."
FaZe chose Nuke for the series, and the map saw an intense battle in the opening rounds. A crucial 2vs3 post-plant conversion by Robin "ropz" Kool and Russel "Twistzz" Van Dulken gave MOUZ a 5-4 lead, and they continued to dominate, finishing the half with a four-round streak. They secured a 13-4 victory on their map pick, with a clutch play by Helvijs "broky" Saukants in a 1vs2 situation to prevent MOUZ from making a comeback.
Despite floating Vertigo, a map FaZe had played only once in the past year, they managed to secure a 13-9 victory. Twistzz's outstanding B-site holds earned them seven rounds on the CT side.
FaZe's grand final opponent will be Complexity, who have surprised many with their strong performance in Sydney. Karrigan emphasized the team's hunger for success and expressed his happiness about reaching the final. He acknowledged that Complexity is a formidable team and looks forward to the upcoming showdown.
Bogdan Lashchenko – content manager at EgamersWorld.Bogdan has been working at EGamersWorld since 2023. Joining the company, he began fillin the site with information, news and events.