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tips.gg/CS2 (CS:GO) News/FaZe Clan trump Natus Vincere in a thrilling five-map Grand Final in IEM Cologne...

FaZe Clan defeated NaVi to win IEM Cologne 2022

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22.07.2022, 21:43

The international squad has tasted success one more time by defeating NaVi in a highly close Grand Final. The fact that the Final was the most watched non-Major match in the history of Counter-Strike is a testament to the legendary status of this affair and rivalry.

XVII Cologne 2022Germany, Cologne, Lanxess Arena
$1,000,000Prize Pool
24Teams
PremierTier
FaZe Clan
Winner
Natus Vincere
2nd Place
Movistar Riders
3rd Place

FaZe Clan defeated NaVi 3-2 in a game that went to the 30th round of the 5th map. We’ve seen intense twists, almost-comebacks, dramas, and heartbreaks, all wrapped up in a single match. What else can you ask for, as a CS:GO fan?

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Boombl4’s NaVi had lost 0-2 to FaZe Clan in the Final of the PGL Antwerp Major. NaVi rose to the Number 1 spot after sdy’s arrival, winning the BLAST Premier Spring Groups in June, defeating FaZe Clan in the process. FaZe Clan revived themselves just in time, though, as they exacted their revenge on NaVi and won IEM Cologne in probably one of the greatest matches in the history of CS:GO, at least non-Major.

10:04Finished17.07.2022
2Natus VincereEurope
3FaZe ClanEurope

Here is how electronic’s NaVi failed at the very last hurdle and let FaZe Clan become the very first team in CS:GO history to win Katowice, Cologne, and the Major, all in the same year.

Inferno (FaZe Clan)

As mentioned, Inferno was FaZe’s pick, and it looked like it when they held a 5-0 T-side lead to begin the auspicious Grand Final. s1mple laid down the law from there, though, as his 3k with the Deagle on B kickstarted a nearly impenetrable defense for NaVi. They went on to win 9-1 after that early deficit, posting a nice 9-6 first-half.

FaZe Clan outdid NaVi though, thanks to some great individual plays in the second half. FaZe won the second half pistol round despite losing two players early, following which NaVi took a vintage, Ex6TenZ “timeout”, where they just hung out near the spawn in the full eco. It paid off as they won 3 in a row to reach 12-8. From there, it was all downhill, though.

FaZe Clan won 8-1 following that scoreline, thanks to some sturdy defense. broky’s Banana flank that netted him a 4k in the 24th round was crucial in turning the tide of the game. NaVi responded with some Banana aggression, but could do nothing but watch FaZe Clan run away with the victory.

Much like it was in the PGL Antwerp Major Grand Finals, FaZe Clan pushed hard to win as many pistol rounds as they could. On Inferno, they had both to their name, and so was the case on Overpass.

The international team won the second half 10-4 and kept their spotless run at IEM Cologne going.

Next up was NaVi’s pick of Overpass.

Overpass (NaVi)

For the third time, Overpass was NaVi’s pick. Interesting choice, indeed. Seems to me that NaVi didn’t want to lose any momentum and make life harder for themselves by losing Nuke early on, had they picked it and lost it. Keeping Nuke as the final map was, in theory, a good choice, maybe because they’d be able to exploit FaZe’s tiredness?

Anyway, FaZe started the map by winning the pistol on their CT side. NaVi bounced back immediately, though, thanks to a 3k from s1mple’s hero AK near Monster. Things get really messy after that, with rounds going back and forth constantly. The best the game could give us was a 3 round streak from FaZe amidst the chaos, but eventually, it was NaVi that ended the half with the minimal lead, 8-7.

FaZe Clan’s CT side was drenched with aggressive maneuvers, like that in Connector in Round 5, or in Middle in Round 8, or the double Con+Monster aggression for trades after NaVi had figured out FaZe’s ways. The aggression continued, be it as opening maneuvers or mid-round info plays. It was the key to disrupt and read NaVi’s T-side setup… maybe FaZe Clan were not strong enough on Overpass?

It didn’t look like it, as on their own T half, FaZe won the opening 4 rounds to take an 11-8 lead. It wasn’t without its own individual displays, though. A stunning 1v3 from Twistzz in the 19th round was the play that made it like like they were about to win the map and go 2-0 in the Grand Finals, but of course. CT sides. NaVi posted a stunning streak of 7 CT side rounds in a row to reach map point, 15-11. FaZe Clan tried to pull out a Cloud9 after that, but failed after winning two rounds, thanks to Perfecto, and lost their very first map of IEM Cologne 16-13.

The game had gotten spicier, and the battle of the superior defense raged on into the third map. We were about to witness something truly special on Ancient.

Ancient (FaZe Clan)

NaVi finally won their first pistol round of the whole match, but not without letting FaZe plant the bomb. NaVi had started on their CT side, and they kept building onto their victories, crushing FaZe Clan’s hopes for a second map win in the Grand Final round by round. NaVi had rushed to an emphatic 8-0 lead, thanks to some great plays and reads from NaVi. electronic’s 3k on B in the 4th round in the first gun round of the game was a real deal-breaker, with NaVi combining impeccable retakes with occasional aggression, like the one in Round 8.

FaZe Clan finally win a round on their T side, thanks to an unlikely low-buy. electronic had gone down in Cave, thanks to a great flash in that round. In the next round, though, sdy gets a 2k in Cave and tips the balance in NaVi’s favor again. On 11-1, FaZe Clan finally gave themselves something to work with. They won two rounds in the dying stages of the half, thanks to a great timing play from rain on B in the 15th round. The shocking half had ended 12-3 in NaVi’s favour.

If that wasn’t enough, NaVi won the second half pistol round despite being 2v4 down at one point and converted the next to make the scoreline 14-3. After trading a couple of rounds, the scoreline read 15-4. NaVi had 12 chances to close out the map.

They couldn’t convert a single one. FaZe presented all the tricks of their Ancient playbook to push as hard as they could for OT. Double AWP setups, Mid aggressions in the early stages of the comeback, and then double Mid for favourable trades later on, coordinated mid rounds, etc. meant NaVi couldn’t even get the bomb down, let alone win a round.

The confidence was booming in the international camp, but the job was not done.

NaVi finally got their 16th round as the OT started, followed by a 17th. Blind entries in the first round and a slow, suffocating, tactical default in the second meant NaVi pushed the scoreline to 17-15. FaZe Clan got the final round of the first half of OT by a raging aggression in all parts of the map, ending the round in mere seconds. It was NaVi’s CT side to shine now, though.

After attempting to squash, and then successfully retaking on A, NaVi reached map point. In the final round of play, a slow B hit from FaZe resulted in a 2v2, which turned into a 1v2 for b1t after s1mple walked through a smoke and died for nothing.

b1t chanelled his inner Perfecto and gave NaVi a 2-1 lead in the Grand Final, just one map away from successfully defending their title in Cologne.

Mirage (NaVi)

NaVi were just one map away from winning IEM Cologne 2022, and this map was their own pick of Mirage. The CIS squad started the map on a high note, winning yet another pistol, and converting the following two on their T side. But after that, they simply couldn’t penetrate FaZe’s defense.

FaZe Clan went on a 10-2 run after their early deficit, winning the first half 10-5, a commanding lead. Some of the crossfires FaZe set up were really impressive, especially on A. A nice example of that is Round 5, where NaVi found an entry and still managed to lose out, thanks to the team coordination between the FaZe members. The A push maneuver on Round 9 was excellent as well, giving FaZe information that NaVi will be hitting B. In rare instances where FaZe were forced into a retake scenario, they already had their pieces ready to flank. ropz’s flank on Round 12 is a good example of that.

NaVi’s CT side was supposed to match that of FaZe’s, but losing the pistol and the following round really set NaVi back. Despite a weak buy in the third round of the second half, some s1mple magic helps NaVi get some momentum on their defense. They put three in a row after going down 0-2 in the second half, but not without letting the bomb being planted twice. The extra cash afforded FaZe a buy and a win to push the score to 13-8.

The next round was supposed to be FaZe’s as they took both bomb sites, but NaVi’s weak buy forced some nice trades. Eventually, the chaotic round ended with Twistzz on B and the bomb dropped on A. Funniest round I had seen in a while.

FaZe Clan did not take that loss lightly, as that would be the final round win for NaVi. FaZe won the final three in a row to win NaVi’s map pick and force the legendary game into the deciding map, Nuke.

Nuke – The final, deciding map

NaVi lost the knife round and started the map on the T side, where they took a 3-0 lead after hitting Upper twice. A nice round from NaVi where they find a hole in FaZe’s defense results in a Lower play, pushing the scoreline to 5-0. NaVi seemed bound to win the Grand Final, given they had already won 5 rounds on their T side.

FaZe Clan start to answer back from there, so as to not lose control of the game. Round 7 was interesting, where FaZe catch electronic trying to rush down Mini, and then manage to isolate all duels into 1v1s that they end up winning. Barring a s1mple vs broky 1v1 that goes the Ukrainian’s way, FaZe Clan win a lot of rounds, tying the game at 6-6.

electronic literally runs into Secret and catches two FaZe players off guard to finally get one back on the board for NaVi, and at the end of the half, the scoreline reads 8-7 in favour of NaVi, on their T side.

Though it’s not the score they would’ve liked, given they were 5-0 in the lead, but it’s definitely a score that NaVi could’ve easily converted into a win, even against FaZe. This match wasn’t one of those days, though.

NaVi put out a horrendous defense early on, and leave it all in the end for an almost-comeback, that FaZe manage to squash. FaZe Clan won the final pistol round of the match and convert the following two to take a 10-8 lead. NaVi finally put one on the board after a successful retake, but victories again tilt FaZe’s way, as they win another three to make the score 13-9.

NaVi attempt a last-ditch, classic NaVi-style comeback in the end, winning five in the row to establish a 14-13 advantage. FaZe Clan finally break their run and get a round on the board after a quick Upper hit to tie the Grand Final up 14-14.

5th map in the Grand Final of IEM Cologne, and the scoreline is 14-14. What an insane moment to get an excruciatingly long tech pause. Only one of these teams could handle the mental pressure and as it turns out, it was FaZe Clan. electronic somehow misses the audio of Twistzz dropping down from Silo and he gets shot in the side of the head in his classic aggressive Outside position. Everything went downhill from there.

As a NaVi fan, it was absolutely heartbreaking to watch these final moments. But it was fair play. FaZe Clan is the best Counter-Strike team on the whole planet, and it’s a bitter pill we’re forced to swallow. karrigan and co. created history by winning in Katowice, Cologne, and the Major all in the same year.

For a genius IGL who had some questionable holes in his CV, I’m genuinely glad to see the veteran Dane rise through the ashes of underwhelming performances of the past and reach where he has reached. Booted from the old iteration of Astralis and deemed not worthy of the legendary status the squad went on to achieve, karrigan has proven everyone wrong in a matter of months. But behind these mere months of success lays a decade of grind and effort. karrigan may not have come in contention to challenge gla1ve, but he definitely isn’t the bum so many made him out to be after he first left FaZe for mousesports.

Congratulations to karrigan, rain, Twistzz, broky, and ropz. Five very unique and interesting stories coalesce into one, as they lift the prestigious trophy in the very Cathedral of Counter-Strike.

The LANXESS Arena has witnessed something truly special. CS:GO won on the seventeenth of July.

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