SK Gaming defeats FaZe Clan to win ECS Season Three
SK Gaming and FaZe Clan faced off in the grand finals of ECS Season Three in London, England today, resulting in an unpredictable outcome.
In the semifinals, FaZe swept Cloud9 while SK Gaming went the distance against Astralis on three maps.
For the grand final, SK chose Mirage while FaZe selected Inferno and Train was the remaining map from the veto process.
Mirage: FaZe runs away with SK’s map pick
FaZe started Mirage with intelligent split Terrorist executes on both sites, catching SK off guard. SK adjusted their defenses in response, but FaZe secured a 10-5 lead in the first half.
SK battled back in the second half to tie the game at 11-11, but FaZe’s Finn “Karrigan” Andersen disrupted their momentum with economy-breaking double-AWP setups. FaZe secured a 16-11 victory on Mirage.
Håvard “rain” Nygaard and Nikola “NiKo” Kovač were the top performers with 27 kills each, and NiKo had an average damage per round of 113.4.
Inferno: SK forces overtime, but FaZe prevails
Both teams traded rounds in the first half of Inferno, with SK holding a slight 9-6 lead.
SK extended their lead to 12-7, but FaZe staged a comeback to make it 12-11. SK then executed some strong plays to push the score to 15-14 and force overtime in the 30th round.
In overtime, FaZe gained a 17-16 advantage, but SK’s double-AWP setup helped them secure a 19-17 victory on Inferno.
Fabien “kioShiMa” Fiey and Fernando “fer” Alvarenga both top-fragged with 31 kills in the overtime thriller.
Train: SK dominates to become champions
In the first half of Train, SK dominated FaZe by heavily stacking the A site and only giving up two rounds after taking an 11-0 lead. The first half ended at 13-2 in favor of SK Gaming.
Although FaZe won the second pistol round, they struggled to close the gap as SK held a 14-8 advantage. However, FaZe fought back with six consecutive rounds to make it 15-14. SK forced overtime once again with a fast A-take.
SK maintained their composure in overtime with good A courtyard management and clutch retakes, securing a 19-17 victory on Train.
Despite FaZe’s Aleksi “allu” Jalli and NiKo leading with 34 and 36 kills respectively, SK’s dominant performance led them to victory.
SK Gaming crowned champions of ECS Season Three
SK Gaming walks away with $250,000 prize money and their fourth championship title of 2017 after defeating FaZe Clan 2-1 in the series. They are now recognized as the top team in Counter-Strike as they head into ESL Cologne, taking place from July 4 to July 9 in Cologne, Germany.
** SK Gaming, FaZe Clan, ECS Season Three, grand finals, Mirage, Inferno, Train, Counter-Strike, ESL Cologne, championship, top team