FaZe Clan Sweep G2 Esports to Win IEM Katowice 2022, Goes Undefeated in Playoffs
FaZe Clan fights against all odds to lift the trophy in Katowice.
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FaZe Clan has done the impossible, fighting against all odds to win the IEM Katowice 2022. The international CS:GO lineup did it in style, not dropping a single map in the playoffs to go '7-0' and lift the coveted trophy along with $400,000 in prize money.
The grand final against G2 Esports was a hard clash for FaZe Clan. But despite the many overtime games, they did not give an inch to the Spanish organization, handing them consecutive defeats on Inferno, Mirage, and Dust II.
The team managed to achieve this despite not being able to field their original roster, due to players like Robin "ropz" Kool and Håvard "rain" Nygaard testing positive for COVID. Instead, FaZe played almost the entire duration of the tournament with the talented Australian rifler Justin "jks" Savage, who contributed significantly to the team's success.
IEM Katowice 2022: FaZe whitewash G2 in the grand final to be crowned as the champions
FaZe Clan started IEM Katowice 2022 from the play-in stage of the tournament, qualifying for the group stage, and then further into the playoffs where they went undefeated to win the tournament.
It has been an incredible journey for FaZe Clan, as they played eight matches in total to lift the trophy in front of a live audience at the Spodek Arena. In only two out of these matches, FaZe Clan was able to field its actual CS:GO roster as jks had to stand in for either ropz or rain in the remaining six matches.
Despite being a substitute player jks delivered an incredible performance, proving to other teams and organizations that he is still a worthy prospect who could enhance their roster. He was the 15th best CS:GO player in the tournament according to HLTV, with an overall rating of 1.14 across 10 maps and a K/D difference of +17.
Other mainstay members of the team also took care of their parts and roles in the team really well. Especially the newcomer, ropz, who despite missing out the first three matches was able to compete in the remaining five, putting up a phenomenal performance for the side.
The team's captain Finn "karrigan" Andersen got very emotional following this victory, which was the first ESL tournament won by FaZe Clan on LAN since ESL One: Belo Horizonte 2018. Even back then both rain and karrigan were part of the team.
It was the 21-year-old, Helvijs "broky" Saukants, who was named as the MVP of the IEM Katowice 2022. The AWPer was there for the side through this journey, delivering consistently and taking heaps of frags to stand above other talented marksmen like Oleksandr "s1mple" Kostyliev, Dmitriy "sh1ro" Sokolov, and more.
FaZe Clan has now qualified for BLAST Premier: Spring Finals 2022 and also won IEM Katowice 2022, kicking off their competitive circuit in the best way possible.
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