The Copa Elite Six playoffs were played between Friday and Sunday. With four spots to compete at the Sweden Major in play, the LATAM region was in the spotlight this weekend.
FaZe Clan puts to an end Malvinas’ international dream, NiP smashes Liquid
Friday offered us two one-sided series, as FaZe Clan and Ninjas in Pyjamas defeated Malvinas Gaming and Team Liquid, respectively, to clinch their Sweden Major spots.
Malvinas’ dream of making their first international appearance faded away in a game that summarized the team’s path in the competition. Richard “blk” Rodríguez kept the team’s hopes alive with his incredible capability of getting frags.
The 18 year-old wunderkind from Paraguay was the only player in Malvinas Gaming able to score a positive rating (1.34), while the Argentinians ended under the 0.90 mark.
Undoubtedly, he proved to be the Brazilians’ worst nightmare throughout the competition, as he averaged the best rating in the tournament, while also averaging 13 kills per map after facing the likes of FURIA Esports, Team Liquid, MIBR, FaZe Clan, and the Mexican champions, Atheris.
Despite his showing throughout the event, Malvinas Gaming’s loss to FaZe Clan meant that the Brazilians will be in Sweden after missing out on the Mexico Major.
The second game of the day was the SI 2021 grand final rematch between Ninjas in Pyjamas and Team Liquid.
For many, the match was decided right after the map veto was completed as the teams were headed to Kafe, Clubhouse and Villa, maps that on paper benefited Ninjas in Pyjamas.
The SI 2021 champions dominated the series from beginning to end with two rock-solid showings (7-3 and 7-2). That surely caught many viewers off guard, as the ninjas experienced a huge downfall in their form throughout the BR6 Stage 3.
With this win, Ninjas in Pyjamas confirmed a Sweden Major spot, surely a special moment for the squad as we are talking of a Swedish organization. It will be the country’s closest thing to a “home team” on the stage -- for more information, you can read our pre-CES interview with NiP’s analyst Dyjair “Mity” Soares.
FURIA’s fantastic run comes to an end, oNe gets rid of NiP
The action continued on Saturday with two more series, this time to determine the two grand finalists.
First game of the day encountered FURIA Esports and FaZe Clan, a game that will always be special for FURIA’s coach Marlon “Twister” Mello as he was part of FaZe Clan’s staff for over two years.
After having faced his ex-organization seven times, Twister has only been capable of defeating them on one occasion -- last weekend.
FaZe Clan would get their revenge, as the squad defeated their opponents by a 2-0 scoreline. A key to understanding FaZe’s victory over FURIA could be in the bans, as the squad banned Finka in both maps, one of Diogo “Fntzy” Lima’s main operators.
Although the wunderkind moved on and played IQ, it was not the same. With the team only winning two attacks out of a possible eleven and with Fntzy scoring a SiegeGG rating of 0.82, that could well be one of the reasons behind the team’s failure this weekend.
Day 2 of the playoffs came to an ending with the SI 2021 champions facing the Mexico Major winners.
Team oNe’s game against Ninjas in Pyjamas on the BR6 Stage 3 was one for the history books as they defeated the ninjas by 7-0 -- which was their very first victory over the Swedish organization.
This time was no different, as Karl “Alem4o” Zarth led oNe in what was a oNe-sided series. With two 1v1 clutches and a SiegeGG rating of 1.34, the Brazilian was pivotal in his team performance.
FaZe Clan victory over oNe, the icing on the cake in the team’s redemption split
The Grand Final was played on Sunday, and saw FaZe Clan and Team oNe playing for Brazilian glory.
After a rock-solid display in Coastline where FaZe Clan defeated oNe by 7-2, the golden squad kept their hopes alive with an extremely close game in Oregon that ended in an 8-6 result. It was all down to Villa.
FaZe Clan did wonders in attack. After swapping roles with a draw on the scoreboard, FaZe Clan absolutely dominated the game and won four of their five offensive rounds. That was the ultimate difference between both sides, which puts FaZe Clan momentarily at the top of the Brazilian ‘Siege’.
Overall, FaZe’s tournament has been outstanding, as all of the players in the squad ended with ratings of over 1.10. After a historic seven-win streak at the BR6 Stage 3 and winning the CES Stage 3, it is fair to say that their flopped Stage 2 campaign is part of the past now. FaZe are finally back at chasing that international recognition.