Falcons are just one win away from making it to the next round of play in PGL Cluj-Napoca. After winning each other’s map pick, Falcons smashed FaZe in the final map of the series to go 2-0 up in the Swiss bracket, and now they find themselves within touching distance of the playoffs.
VETO
- FaZe removed Mirage
- Falcons removed Overpass
- FaZe picked Anubis
- Falcons picked Dust2
- Falcons removed Nuke
- FaZe removed Inferno
- Ancient was left over
Map 1: Anubis; Pick: FaZe; Winner: Falcons
3-0 start for the Falcons on the T side, putting FaZe on the back foot right from the get-go. Failing to convert their force buy, FaZe won the first full-gun round with jcobbb and broky chiming in to stop the Falcons’ attack in its tracks. Falcons hit back on the board right in the following round with a B split and continued on their winning ways. Having largely remained silent for the better part of the half, FaZe only managed to walk away with 3 rounds on their defense in a T-sided map. Winning the pistol round, the Falcons lost momentum as FaZe converted their force buy and put together 5 rounds in a row to cut down the deficit. Right before FaZe were on the verge of levelling the scoreline, Falcons converted back-to-back rounds to push the game over the line. Posting 1.45 IR, NiKo stood out as the best rifler to give his side a close win to kick off the game.
Map 2: Dust2; Pick: Falcons; Winner: FaZe
A 5-0 start for Falcons cornered FaZe on their defense before they stopped a mid to B split to get their first on the board. FaZe managed to successfully counter Falcon’s heavy mid plays by dedicating significant manpower to short, LT, and always having more than a single B defender. With such robust defense, FaZe levelled the scoreline, but Falcons caught on by the end of the half to edge out a narrow lead with a 7-5 scoreline. Having recovered, the Falcons failed to carry the same momentum on their defense as FaZe put together a streak of rounds to hit map point and only lost one round in the process. Falcons got their 11th late in the second half with FaZe already on map point by then, before one final mid to B split call from Karrigan closed the door on OT and levelled the series, taking us to Ancient. Kyousuke dropping a solid performance could have been enough for his side had Twistzz not stepped up big time with 22 kills and 1.44 IR to give his side the edge over Falcons.
Map 3: Ancient; Pick: Decider; Winner: Falcons
A m0NESY 3K with Dual Berettas kicked things off for the Falcons before FaZe walking out of A-main after the site was left wide open gave them their first round. Similar attempt in the following round, but this time at the B bombsite failed miserably as kyxan and TeSeS converted the round effortlessly, giving Falcons the much-needed momentum on their defense. Rock solid defense for the remainder of the half saw FaZe only manage one round, as a very poor finish to the first half saw Falcons walk away with a 10-2 scoreline. With a lead that large, the Falcons started the second half trading rounds only to win back-to-back rounds to close out the game in no time. With a 23-9 score, Ancient became a m0NESY show after a poor performance on Dust 2 as he took his side 2-0 up in the event.
FaZe’s solid opening day performance gave them hopes but the Falcons being a top 3 team in the world would have been a difficult contest nonetheless. A close map 1 and a solid win in map 3 show that FaZe are heading in the right direction, and with time, we must see this team rise once again.