FaZe became the first international roster to win a Major tournament back at the PGL Antwerp Major in May. Becoming the 12th team to etch their names into the history books with their win in Belgium, the Finn “karrigan” Andersen-led squad put an end to a decade-long philosophy of home-grown and homogeneous quintets being the only ones capable of contending for the pinnacle of Counter-Strike titles.
Their history-defining Major win in front of a sold-out Antwerps Sportpaleis wasn’t a one-off fluke either. The European combine has been the foremost power throughout the year thus far — even with teams like Natus Vincere and more recently Vitality snapping at their heels —, lifting silverware at several other Big Events, IEM Katowice 2022, ESL Pro League Season 15, and IEM Cologne 2022, the Polish and German competitions often being regarded as the most prestigious tournaments of the calendar year outside of the Majors themselves.
While FaZe‘s form in recent months has taken a hit as they bowed out of ESL Pro League Season 16 in 5-8th place to lose their spot atop the world ranking, they’re still the foremost favourites to take home the title in Rio de Janeiro according to HLTV’s power ranking. The Major in Brazil is an opportunity for FaZe to return to their place at the top of the food chain — an accolade they have enjoyed for a total of 24 weeks in the year so far — as well as joining an exclusive club of teams who have secured back-to-back Major championships. The event also grants the squad a unique opportunity to end the most impactful event of the season in an even-greater grandeur, as a win would nab FaZe the fourth iteration of the Intel Grand Slam, a $1,000,000 award which has only had three winners in the past.
A team of Major veterans
FaZe have built up one of the most esteemed and prominent histories in their seven-year investment in Counter-Strike, with the US organisation set to attend its 11th Major championship. Throughout their 10 past Major appearances, they have finished in the top eight on five occasions, famously ending their campaign through the ELEAGUE Boston Major as runners-up to Cloud9 after letting a 15-11 lead on the final map slip away. It was a massive setback for the European mix, with karrigan and company, a team of stars, entering the grand final as the firm favourites over their American counterparts.
It took FaZe another four years of sub-par placings for the squad to finally complete their quest for a Major trophy, raising the silverware at the PGL Antwerp Major. The European combine had few issues advancing to the playoffs, putting up a 3-1 record after an opening-round defeat to ENCE. Their run throughout the knockout stage was laboured, however, as the squad clinched hard-fought victories over Ninjas in Pyjamas and Spirit, before edging out Natus Vincere in the grand final, getting the better of the CIS side after going to overtime in the first map. Alas, the side achieved what they had set out to do, finally becoming world champions to take home the $500,000 cash prize. It was a long time coming given the stature of the rosters they’d had during their time in Counter-Strike, fielding players like the sharpshooter of Nikola “NiKo” Kovač to the two-time Major-winning veteran of Olof “olofmeister” Kajbjer.
FaZe organization’s Major record
PGL Major Antwerp 2022 – 1st
PGL Major Stockholm 2021 – 9th-11th
StarLadder Major Berlin 2019 – 12th-14th
IEM Katowice 2019 – 5th-8th
FACEIT Major 2018 – 5th-8th
ELEAGUE Major 2018 – 2nd
Not only is the organisation well-versed in attending these high-pressure events, but so is the whole roster; the player with the least amount of Majors played in FaZe is their star AWPer Helvijs “broky” Saukants with two. You would be hard-pressed to call the Latvian inexperienced, however, as he finished his Major debut in Stockholm in 9-11th place before being one of few players to win a Major next time around in Antwerp. What’s more, with the Latvian marksman putting up impressive 1.18 and 1.12 ratings at the Major events in Stockholm and Antwerp, FaZe have a dependable and rock-solid AWPer they can rely on to close out key rounds.
The remaining quartet are some of the most seasoned players in the game. Their world-famous in-game leader of karrigan has been atop the world ranking on a number of lineups in his more than decade-long career, as well as attending a whopping 15 Majors, finishing with a semi-final placing or higher on four separate occasions.
Joining the 32-year-old captain is Håvard “rain” Nygaard, who has been a member of the roster since the organisation’s entry into the Counter-Strike seven years ago. In that time, he has amassed an enviable amount of experience, attending 14 Majors in his career and picking up an equal number of LAN victories in the process, coupled with a huge up-swing in form — averaging a solid 1.11 rating in the past three months compared to his 1.02 rating throughout his seven-year tenure with the squad. Even the other younger members of the team boast a high amount of experience. Both Russel “Twistzz” Van Dulken and Robin “ropz” Kool are six-time Major attendees and have appeared on HLTV’s top 20 players of the year award three and four times, respectively.
A roster made in heaven
This current iteration of FaZe came about over the new year, after ropz finally made the high-profile switch from one European mix — his long-term home of MOUZ — to the other. The move was one of the most widely anticipated roster changes in the Counter-Strike landscape, reuniting the Estonian lurker with his former MOUZ captain of karrigan. It was a change in personnel that had been deemed necessary to get FaZe over the line, an injection of firepower that would unleash the potential of the future world No. 1 team. For a while, the side had been fielding olofmeister who, while a veteran in his own right, lacked the potency to deliver high impact in the server in recent times. This move was the ideal solution, as the Estonian and Swede played similar roles and positions, and with ropz previously being a part of karrigan‘s system in the days of MOUZ, there was no better fit for the team aspiring to be the best in the game.
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Official: FaZe complete ropz transfer
Things instantly clicked with FaZe instantly establishing this roster as a true world-beater, winning IEM Katowice, ESL Pro League Season 15, the PGL Antwerp Major, and IEM Cologne before the first season of the calendar year had concluded. It was a dominant display, and while it was also marred by quarter-final exits at IEM Dallas and the BLAST Premier Spring Final, it was regarded as a resounding success for a team that had failed to live up to the billing in the years prior.
Results have dipped since the squad returned from the player break, with karrigan‘s troops barely clinching a spot in the $425,000 BLAST Premier Fall Final LAN, before exiting ESL Pro League Season 16 from the quarter-finals, another 1-2 defeat to the Russians of Cloud9 forcing the side to watch the rest of another Big Event playoffs unfold from the sidelines. While alarm bells aren’t sounding just yet, there’s clearly a noticeable gap in their play, something karrigan is well aware of. “I think our main problem so far this season, the last one and a half months, is that we basically need 5% more of everything,” the in-game leader remarked to HLTV at the RMR, “5% team play is lacking, 5% individual level, and also how we react and maybe also some confidence.” While it doesn’t fill FaZe fans full of confidence, especially in a time when there are plenty of rosters who are capable of racing to the top spot in the ranking, it does allow the side to iron out any wrinkles, and ensure they’re playing their A-game once their campaign through Rio begins.
Twistzz could become the first player to win two Intel Grand Slams
FaZe would also be the fourth team to win the Intel Grand Slam should they secure a first-place finish at the IEM Rio Major. Similarly, Twistzz would become the first player in history to win the Intel Grand Slam on two separate occasions — the first being the fastest-ever win while he was with Liquid. FaZe were on track to clinch the award at ESL Pro League Season 16, but their quarter-final exit pushed the chance to win the gold bars and an additional $1,000,000 in prize pool money to the next stop, the IEM Rio Major. Regardless, the European combine and the Canadian star is now on track to win the exclusive accolade, as they enter the Valve-sponsored event as the overall favourites, even if they have fallen from atop the world ranking, and the pieces are in place for the team to receive $1,500,000 in prize money if they clinch the top spot at the event.
Gunning to take home their second consecutive Major title
FaZe may have slipped from the first-place spot on the world ranking recently, but they’re still the favourites at clinching the Major title, earning the No. 1 spot on HLTV’s power ranking. The roster itself is the definition of star-studded, from one of the most acclaimed in-game leaders in the world in karrigan, to the rejuvenated Norwegian legend of rain. Moreover, the Danish tactician is one of few players who thrive in a LAN environment, constantly playing up to the crowd and thriving in the atmosphere that comes with it, something that will certainly play into FaZe‘s hands given every stage of the Major will feature a roaring Brazilian crowd.
The pieces are all in place for a deep run by the European mix; a slight dip in form recently is hardly the biggest confidence booster heading into the biggest event of the season, but FaZe are still the team to beat. Their world-class players and elite-level calling make them a gargantuan foe to overcome, even for the likes of Vitality and Natus Vincere, who have attempted to fill the power vacuum in the wake of FaZe‘s slump. Nevertheless, expectations are that the quintet will cruise through the competition en route to a Major victory. Their past performance have shown signs of weakness, but FaZe is a squad that comes alive when the stakes are highest, and they are now endeavouring to become the fourth team in history to lift back-to-back Major championships alongside getting their hands on the equally coveted Intel Grand Slam.
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