FaZe out of IEM Rio!
The defending champions are out after a defeat to Bad News Eagles.
In a huge upset the minnows from Bad News Eagles has eliminated FaZe from the Legends Stage of IEM Rio.
The drama started before the start of the match. For the second time this year, FaZe opted to not ban Vertigo, which Bad News Eagles immediately punished by picking the map. Was this a trump up the sleeve from karrigan? The answer came 35 rounds later. Bad News Eagles won Vertigo in overtime. The gamble had failed.
FaZe banned Ancient, where Bad News Eagles had just suffered two straight defeats in the Legends Stage. Nuke was picked by karrigan, while Mirage was left as the decider.
On home turf FaZe suddenly looked like a championship contender again. A very one-sided map ended 16-8 in favor of FaZe. Robin "ropz" Kool had been on fire on Nuke, and took the firepower with him to the first half on Mirage. The Estonian acted as a nasty bouncer in a superb CT side from Faze.
Bad News Eagles made their way to the Legends Stage by fielding an excellent CT side winning over 70% of their rounds. Against FaZe they also initially had success, but then karrigan and FaZe started to understand how to approach their T rounds against the aggressive Balkans. At 15-10 it looked like it was game over, but then Bad News Eagles squeezed the last remaining firepower out of Dionis 'sinnopsyy' Budeci, who just kept on putting FaZe players in coffins. And then the match went to overtime!
And here BNE impressed wildly. In what must have been the biggest match of their career, the Balkans played their hearts out. Suddenly Rigon "rigoN" Gashi came alive like it was an ordinary pug match. BNE had two match points to knock out FaZe, but could not seal the deal in the first overtime.
In the second try, Bad News Eagles won 2-1 on their T side to set themselves up for a huge chance to win the match. Again the team found themselves with a golden chance of eliminating FaZe. And this time it happened! BNE won Mirage 22-20 and stays alive in Rio, while FaZe are heading to the airport after a disastrous attempt to defend their Major title.
FaZe – Bad News Eagle 1-2 | IEM Rio Major Legends Stage
16-19 (Vertigo) | Twistzz – 1.45 Rating / 33-19 K-D / 103.0 ADR
16-8 (Nuke) | ropz – 1.65 Rating / 24-13 K-D / 94.0 ADR
20-22 (Mirage) | sinnopsyy – 1.27 Rating / 38-29 K-D / 91.9 ADR
MVP: Robin "ropz" Kool - 1.27 Rating / 86-66 K-D / 82.4 ADR