IEM Rio Preview: FaZe
They have won almost everything in 2022, but recently the well-oiled machine of FaZe has been leaking.
FaZe:
Finn "karrigan" Andersen - 0.92 rating in 2022
Håvard "rain" Nygaard - 1.09 rating in 2022
Russel “Twistzz” Van Dulken - 1.12 rating in 2022
Robin "ropz" Kool - 1.13 rating in 2022
Helvijs "broky" Saukants - 1.16 rating in 2022
Qualified as: Legends
Last Major: Winner
Odds of winning IEM Rio: 4.8-5.5
One of the two stand-out favorites for IEM Rio. That is in a short description of what the expectations are towards Finn "karrigan" Andersen and his teammates from FaZe.
After an incredible year with wins at IEM Katowice, IEM Cologne, ESL Pro League Season 15, and PGL Antwerp Major, FaZe is only one win away from completing the IEM Grand Slam run and winning an additional $1,000,000.
But recently there have been hick-ups and some questions surrounding the world's number 1. Before the start of the fall season, Russel “Twistzz” Van Dulken underlined FaZe’s two big goals for the remainder of 2022. ESL Pro League Season 16 and IEM Rio. A win in one of the two events would secure them the Grand Slam, and their names in the history books.
But FaZe disappointed at ESL Pro League. They lost maps against MIBR, Outsiders, and Complexity before losing two matches to G2 and Cloud9 leading to an early exit in the Quarter Finals. Then followed the RMR tournament, where a 3-0 record looks solid on paper, but in reality, the wins against Sprout, Fnatic, and GamerLegion were all very close affairs.
But perhaps the recent results came at the exact right time. FaZe has almost a full month of practice to fix their mistakes and to come up with new innovative ways of approaching the game.
Pley.gg prediction: Winner
FaZe’s 2022 best results: Winners of PGL Antwerp Major, IEM Katowice, IEM Cologne, and ESL Pro League Season 15.
World ranking: 1
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