The two Group C giants, FaZe and Cloud9, found themselves clashing head to head in their opening match of the BLAST Premier Fall Groups 2024 Counter-Strike 2 event. Here’s everything that went down in the thrilling best-of-three series.
Map Veto
- Cloud9 banned Nuke
- FaZe banned Vertigo
- Cloud9 picked Dust2
- FaZe picked Inferno
- Cloud9 banned Ancient
- FaZe banned Anubis
- Mirage was left over
Game 1: Dust2 (Pick: Cloud9, Win: FaZe, Final Score: 13:10)
FaZe kicked off the CT-side of Dust2 on the right foot with a pistol-round win, thanks to an impressive 4K by Helvijs “broky” Saukants. After converting the anti-eco round without much hassle, an ace from Håvard “rain” Nygaard enabled FaZe to snatch the first buy round of the game as well. It wasn’t until the 9th round that Cloud9 could put up their first-round win on the board. The first half ended with a 10-2 score in favor of FaZe.
Cloud9 looked much more comfortable on the CT-side of the map, starting with a pistol-round win and grabbing a couple more rounds before FaZe could snatch their first round on the T-side. Cloud9 swiftly regained their momentum, winning several consecutive rounds to put up double digits on the scoreboard. However, it failed to seal the deal as FaZe managed to close the first game of the series with a score of 13-10.
Game 2: Inferno (Pick: FaZe, Win: Cloud9, Final Score: 13-7)
After losing the pistol round on the T-side of Inferno, a failed force buy from FaZe enabled Cloud9 to get themselves an early lead on the second map of the series. FaZe could grab their first-round win five rounds into the game, and a clutch from Robin “ropz” Kool in the following round allowed them to maintain their momentum. FaZe managed to tie up the scoreboard 4-4, but Cloud9 picked up the pace once again, ending the half with 8 rounds in their favor.
Despite grabbing the crucial pistol-round win on the T-side of Inferno, Cloud9 failed to convert the following round as a result of a successful force-buy from FaZe. FaZe managed to snatch a couple of more rounds before Cloud9 retaliated, closing out the game with a score of 13-7 in their favor.
Game 3: Mirage (Win: FaZe, Final Score: 16-14 )
After a pistol-round win from FaZe on the CT-side of Mirage, a force buy from Cloud9 was enough to prevent them from gaining an early advantage. The two teams then proceeded to trade a few rounds back and forth before FaZe managed to secure a slight lead for themselves, heading into the second half with a 7-5 score.
The final pistol round of the BO3 series was secured by Cloud9, and a force-buy from FaZe wasn’t enough to stop them in their tracks this time around. A couple of rounds later, C9 found themselves in the lead and showed no signs of slowing down as they snatched one round after another from their opposition. FaZe weren’t willing to go without a fight, though, as they quickly regained composure and managed to drag game 3 into overtime.
It only took one overtime for FaZe to close out the game, as they won two rounds in the T-side and another two on the CT-side to secure the third game with a 16-14 score.
