by in
The 2022 Counter-Strike: Global Offensive PGL Antwerp Major has been played to its conclusion, and FaZe Clan have been announced as champions.
Their 2-0 victory against Natus Vincere – despite being the underdogs according to several esports betting sites – earned them their third win in three consecutive CS:GO events.
They won Intel Extreme Masters XVI Katowice in February, sweeping G2 Esports 3-0 to walk away with $400,000 of the US$1 million prize pool.
FaZe continued their dominance in ESL Pro League Season 15, defeating ENCE 3-1 in the grand final. That performance earned them another $190,000, also making them the first team to secure a spot in the BLAST Premier World Final 2022.
The American team have been perfect this year, finishing the Spring Groups as joint winners with OG Esports and Team Vitality. Their incredible run so far has put them as the No.1 CS:GO team in the world, displacing NaVi.
With the victory against NaVi, FaZe recorded their first-ever win in a CS:GO Major title. The diversity in their roster has also made them the first international team to win a Valve tournament.
Although the series ended in a sweep, it was no easy matchup for FaZe. Despite getting an early 12-5 lead in the first map, Inferno, they came very close to losing the map if it was not for the timely intervention of in-game leader Finn “karrigan” Andersen.
Karrigan managed to force overtime after getting three kills in a two-against-four situation, and FaZe successfully brought it home, winning the map 19-16.
On Ancient, which was NaVi’s pick, FaZe got off to a bright start and did not once give their opponents an opportunity to fight back. They had a 10-2 lead at one point in the round, but it eventually ended 16-10.
There were plenty of bright spots and inspiring plays from everyone on the FaZe roster. But their standout player was Håvard “rain” Nygaard, who has been a member of the team since 2016.
Rain and Karrigan are the longest-serving members of the team and are the only ones left from the 2018 squad that blew a 15-9 lead to lose to Cloud9 in the ELEAGUE Boston Major grand finals in 2018.
For his brilliance, rain was named the MVP of the tournament. He had the best rating (1.24 of 2.0) in the tournament despite being the second-best FaZe player in the grand final. Helvijs “broky” Saukants showed out in that series with a 53-37 K/D and a plus-minus of 16.
For their efforts, FaZe walk away with $500,000 of the $1 million prize fund. They also earn direct qualification to the BLAST Premier World Final, but since their slot was already safe a long time ago through the ESL Pro League, the three teams will now be selected from the global leaderboard.
FaZe will participate in Intel Extreme Masters XVII Dallas, scheduled to commence on May 30. Although they have secured a spot in the World Final and are not exactly in dire need of circuit points, they will be playing for pride and the addition of $100,000 to their overall winnings this year.
Winning that event would get them level with NaVi, who currently hold the title for the longest streak of tournament victories in a calendar year. In 2021, the Ukrainian esports organization won five consecutive tournaments from July to November.
