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FaZe Clan have secured a playoff spot at ESL Pro League Season 20, avenging their opening loss to Sangal with a 2-0 victory, winning on Anubis (13-11) and Dust2 (13-5).
After a shaky performance earlier in the Counter-Strike 2 tournament, FaZe’s recovery was driven by strong performances from Håvard “rain” Nygaard, David “frozen” Čerňanský, and Robin “ropz” Kool.
PLAYOFFS FOR @FaZeEsports 🥳
It's Ro16 in the #ESLProLeague S20 playoffs for the S17 champions 💪 pic.twitter.com/klZzxtnUkq
— ESL Counter-Strike (@ESLCS) September 6, 2024
Their counter-terrorist side on Anubis laid the foundation for rain to shine in the offensive half, while Dust2 saw a dominant FaZe performance, with Finn “karrigan” Andersen rallying his team loudly throughout.
Sangal, after defeating FaZe in their opening matchup, couldn’t build on that momentum.
They suffered defeats to Eternal Fire and FaZe, falling to the Last Chance Stage, where they will face FlyQuest.
FaZe’s recent form marks a shift after early exits from BLAST Premier Fall Groups and IEM Cologne.
Now, with an impressive run at the BLAST Premier Fall Showdown and solid improvements at ESL Pro League, they are back in playoff contention.
Congratulations @Team__Spirit!
They've secured a spot in the Ro16 of the #ESLProLeague Season 20 Playoffs 🥳@chopperis @magixx772 @donk1337 @sh1rocsgo @zont1x977 pic.twitter.com/2D4xIi92kw
— ESL Counter-Strike (@ESLCS) September 6, 2024
Meanwhile, Team Spirit also earned a playoff berth after reverse-sweeping 3DMAX.
Despite losing the first map on Anubis (6-13), Spirit bounced back with dominant wins on Ancient (13-6) and Nuke (13-2), powered by standout performances from Danil “donk” Kryshkovets and Myroslav “zont1x” Plakhotia.
In the Last Chance Stage, KOI and Lynn Vision were eliminated after losses to Wildcard and FlyQuest, respectively.
FlyQuest managed to stave off elimination in a hard-fought series against Lynn Vision, while Wildcard continues their tournament run after defeating KOI.
The MongolZ and 9z have also dropped into the Last Chance Stage following losses to Spirit and 3DMAX.
The MongolZ took Spirit to the brink but couldn’t close the series, while 9z’s defeat leaves them struggling to regain their early-season form after setbacks at IEM Cologne and BetBoom Dacha.
Spirit’s playoff berth was hard-fought, having earlier survived a scare from Wildcard and losing to MIBR.
Their recovery, alongside FaZe’s resurgence, adds intrigue as the tournament heads into the final stages.
Saturday’s ESL Pro League fixtures
- 9z Team (+125) vs The MongolZ (-175.44) @ 1:30pm CEST
- Sangal (-250) vs FlyQuest (+175) @ 1:30pm CEST
- Heroic (-175.44) vs Ninjas in Pyjamas (+125) @ 4:30pm CEST
- Wildcard (+240) vs 3DMAX (-333.33) @ 4:30pm CEST
- Eternal Fire (+162) vs Natus Vincere (-227.27) @ 7:30pm CEST
