by in
Day two of the ESL Pro League S9 Finals has finished, leaving us with FaZe Clan and mousesports as the final two teams in the upper bracket of Group B.
The first day saw FaZe Clan, North, mousesports and Hellraisers win through to the second round, from where the losers would join MIBR and Team Liquid in the lower bracket and the winners would advance to the playoffs.
Hellraisers started as massive underdogs in their Bo3 clash with mousesports. The oddsmakers had nothing to worry about as the favourites saluted with convincing wins on Mirage (16-5) and Nuke (16-8).
FaZe Clan vs North was a different story altogether.
The Danes got off to a swimming start on Inferno, ending the first half with a huge lead of 11-4. They were even better after the break, scoring eight rounds to nil to secure a resounding 16-4 victory.
FaZe Clan needed to respond and did just that. Led by Filip “NEO” Kubski, they jumped out to a 4-0 lead on Mirage before North hit back to square the ledger. FaZe rallied again to take the first half 9-6 and then bolted away after switching sides, with Nikola “NiKo” Kovač starring in a 16-8 win for the American outfit.
The decider on Dust2 proved to be a real thriller. FaZe Clan finished the first half 12-3 up and seemed to be cruising, but North won seven consecutive rounds after the interval and eventually tied the game to force overtime. FaZe stood up under pressure, however, stringing together three wins at the death to go up 19-16 and take the series.
That puts FaZe Clan in a shootout with mousesports, with the winner jumping to the semi-finals and the loser heading to the quarters. North will take on MIBR in the lower bracket, while Hellraisers will play Team Liquid.
