FaZe Continues Dominance in IEM Chengdu Semifinals
FaZe Clan showcased their resilience as they bounced back from a group stage defeat to Astralis with a stunning 2-1 victory in the IEM Chengdu semifinals, maintaining their 100 percent appearance rate in grand finals during the CS2 era.
Repeating their map pick from the group stage match, FaZe Clan managed to close out Nuke this time around. However, their hopes were dashed on Ancient, where they fell short with a score of 13-5. Nonetheless, FaZe Clan found redemption in Inferno, with outstanding performances from rain and broky that propelled the international team to victory. Broky, the Latvian AWPer, shone brightly throughout the series, earning a remarkable 1.27 HLTV 2.0 rating. While device from Astralis struggled to adapt to the IGL role, he found himself at the bottom of the fragging table.
Broky’s exceptional AWP skills were the highlight of the series, leaving fans in awe. His contributions played a key role in FaZe Clan’s triumph.
The match did not come without its share of drama. Denmark’s legend, karrigan, encountered a monitor-punching moment when his system lagged out momentarily while FaZe Clan held a 6-9 advantage. After a lengthy technical pause, karrigan’s squad swiftly closed out the series, securing their spot in the grand finals.
Speaking with HLTV after the match, karrigan revealed that the veto process caught them off guard. He admitted, “To be honest, I didn’t expect Inferno to come through. I think we expected Mirage, the same veto, but I guess our Mirage has been looking good lately, so they wanted to try to throw a curveball.” The decider map proved to be an unexpected twist in the matchup.
Reflecting on the team’s performance, karrigan expressed his thoughts, saying, “I think it will be good for the team to come over the hurdle, but if you don’t win, it is a part of the game. We can be proud of the consistency we show, and nobody can take that away from us, so we just need to finish the job and come 100% tomorrow to finish the trophy.” The FaZe Clan captain emphasized the importance of overcoming challenges and maintaining their high level of play.
Looking ahead, FaZe Clan’s next opponent is MOUZ on April 14. They aim to break their streak of four consecutive runner-up finishes in CS2, which includes their performances in IEM Katowice 2024 and the PGL Copenhagen Major.