After an action-packed night filled with some intense Counter-Strike action, FaZe Clan has been crowned as the winner of IEM Cologne 2022 as they best their CIS counterparts NAVI in the best-of-five grand finals of the event.
The match extended long into the night and ended up being an eight-hour showdown between the teams across five games. Both teams managed to put up astonishing performances throughout the finals, and every single game felt like they could go either way.
The grand finals started off with FaZe Clan’s map pick of Inferno. The North American org managed to take an early 5-0 lead on the T-side before NAVI stepped up their game and closed out the half 9-6. However, NAVI’s attacking fell short as FaZe put up a strong defense and managed to secure the game 16-12.
FaZe also managed to get the head start on the second map, Overpass, but s1mple’s stellar performance helped NAVI get back into the game. The game ended up being really close, but NAVI managed to come out on top with a score of 16-13.
The third map, Ancient, was perhaps the most intense game of the entire series. While NAVI ended the first half with a massive advantage of 12-3, FaZe wasn’t giving up so easily. After managing to mount a seemingly impossible comeback in the second half, FaZe tied the score 15-15. The match then went on to overtime, where NAVI eventually secured their second win 19-6.
While Mirage was a NAVI map pick, they visibly struggled to keep their composure as FaZe breezed through game four of the grand finals. The match ended up being 16-9 in the favour of FaZe clan, thanks to some amazing individual performances put up by its players.
With the grand finals being tied 2-2, Nuke was the decider map between the two teams that weren’t ready to give up so easily. Game five ended up being a nail-biter as both teams went back and forth, trading rounds and leaving no room for mistakes till the scoreline tied at 14-14. A stellar play by Russel “Twistzz” Van Dulken secured FaZe the following round, a lead that they ultimately extended to close the game 16-14.
The grand finals of IEM Cologne 2022 certainly kept fans of both teams on the edge of their seats at all times. While it was indeed a deserving win for FaZe, the efforts of the electronic-led squad were more than commendable, to say the least.
