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Finn “karrigan” Andersen and his crew rolled over G2 Esports on Saturday in the Perfect World Shanghai Major 2024 semifinals and reached their second Counter-Strike 2 Major grand final.
By beating G2 Esports with 13-6 on Ancient and 16-14 on Nuke, FaZe Clan booked a clash with the surging Team Spirit in the Major final, looking to avoid the mishap from PGL Major Copenhagen 2024.
MAJOR FINALS HERE WE COME pic.twitter.com/WHqLcxnOyx
— FaZe Esports (@FaZeEsports) December 14, 2024
FaZe Clan entered the Major semifinals priced as +163 underdogs with the best Counter-Strike betting sites, not expected to do well against Nikola “NiKo” Kovač and co. who already bested FaZe during the elimination stage.
However, things did not play out as expected for the Major title-hungry G2, who failed to stop FaZe’s star player Robin “ropz” Kool from posting another masterclass performance following a superb 1.49 rating against Team Vitality in the quarterfinals.
While the Estonian Counter-Strike player failed to reach the same performance rating on Saturday, he ended the game with the server’s highest 1.45 rating, ahead of his teammate Helvijs “broky” Saukants at 1.23.
https://t.co/CbDyR31etv pic.twitter.com/UjwerYSg5L
— FaZe Esports (@FaZeEsports) December 14, 2024
The unexpected loss to FaZe Clan was another significant disappointment for G2 Esports, who have done well over the season, but also produced mixed results in bigger events.
Over 15 S-Tier tournaments attended, G2 Esports placed outside the top five in seven but finished top four in nine, including a title from BLAST Premier World Final 2024 in November.
The mixed results continued at the Major, with strong performances leading up to the semifinals, with victories against BIG, 3DMAX, FaZe Clan, and HEROIC.
Yet when it mattered the most, G2 Esports struggled, namely Mario “malbsMd” Samayoa, NiKo, and Ilya “m0NESY” Osipov, who ended the match with sub-1.00 ratings.
G2 Esports’ elimination from the Shanghai Major comes amid rumours of NiKo leaving the team to join Team Falcons at the start of the 2025 season.
By humiliating G2 Esports, FaZe Clan secured their second Counter-Strike 2 Major grand final ticket and are the only team to reach all Major finals since the transition to the game’s newest version.
The Perfect World Shanghai Major 2024 grand final between Team Spirit and FaZe Clan is set for Sunday, December 15.
According to the latest esports betting odds, FaZe Clan are underdogs, priced at +115 at BetOnline.
