With their Major dreams crushed just the day before, FaZe Clan was eliminated from PGL Bucharest without winning a single map at the hands of Inner Circle, who were arguably the worst-performing team in the event leading up to the match.
VETO
- FaZe removed Anubis
- Inner Circle removed Inferno
- FaZe picked Nuke
- Inner Circle picked Mirage
- Inner Circle removed Overpass
- FaZe removed Ancient
- Dust2 was left over
Map 1: Nuke; Pick: FaZe; Winner: Inner Circle
Inner Circle’s strong start put FaZe 5 rounds behind before they could see a round. Total disaster in their offence, with Inner Circle dominating for the entirety of their defence, saw them bully FaZe with a 10-2 half before switching sides. Winning 6 rounds helped FaZe close the deficit, but that was far from enough given the buffer Inner Circle had built, leading to the latter closing the map out with relative ease: a 13-9 scoreline. 18-year-old ZeRRoFIX topped the charts with impeccable impact against FaZe with 17 kills and 1.7 IR.
Map 2: Mirage; Pick: Inner Circle; Winner: Inner Circle
Following a tough defeat on Map 1, FaZe went 6-0 up before dropping the ball, which enabled Inner Circle to secure 4 rounds by the end of the first half to close with an 8-4 lead, which otherwise would have been a far more dominant scoreline. Inner Circle hit back in the second half with a near flawless defence, where FaZe could manage only a single round before closing out the second map with yet another 13-9 scoreline. Headtr1ck with 1.62 IR and 18 kills saw his AWP dominate FaZe; Inner Circle now moves to the next round of play.
FaZe Clan’s downfall is arguably one of the strangest stories in the history of esports. To think that this team played in a Major Grand Final the season prior makes their current performances more shocking. Now with their Major dreams collapsed, only time can tell what becomes of this roster, but with this result, they are out of Bucharest.
