The stage was set as Natus Vincere (NAVI) met FaZe Clan in the finals of IEM Cologne 2022. What started off with 24 teams earlier this month now trickled down to only them. The two teams clashed with guns blazing as FaZe Clan emerged as the victor.
Rosters of the Finals
FaZe Clan
- Finn “karrigan” Andersen (IGL)
- Håvard “rain” Nygaard
- Helvijs “broky” Saukants
- Russel “twistzzz” Van Dulken
- Robin “ropz” Kool
Natus Vincere
- Denis “electroNic” Sharipov (IGL)
- Oleksandr “s1mple”Kostyliev
- Ilya “Perfecto” Zalutskiy
- Valerii “b1t” Vakhovskyi
- Viktor “sdy” Orudzhev
Map Picks
- FaZe bans Dust2
- NAVI bans Vertigo
- FaZe picks Inferno (First map)
- NAVI picks Overpass (Second map)
- FaZe picks Ancient (Third map)
- NAVI picks Mirage (Fourth map)
- Nuke left (Final map)
First Map (Inferno)
With Inferno being FaZe’s first pick, you’d expect them to win it. Right from the get go, they played accordingly. FaZe Clan won the first 5 rounds without flinching at all. For the first time in the map, things went NAVI’s way and they won the next 4 rounds thanks to team efforts. Things went back and forth a little before NAVI picked up the lead for the first time making the score 6-7 in their favor. The two finalists kept going at each other as the scoreboard read 12-12. FaZe put it into fifth gear to win 3 rounds back to back making it 15-12. There was a little bit of resistance but FaZE picked up the first map 16-13.
Second Map (Overpass)
It was the first map pick for Natus Vincere but FaZe took the first round. S1mple then took the risk of buying an AK despite losing the first round and it paid off. They picked up the second round thanks to his brilliance. For the first time after the 2nd round, the scores were levelled 5-5 between the two teams. The first half of the second map ended 8-7 in favor of NAVI. After the half, it continued to be balanced for the next few rounds as well and things started tipping in favor of FaZe. But the lead didn’t last for long as NAVI took 7 consecutive rounds. While things seemed a little shaky as FaZe Clan won the next two to make 15-13, perfecto stepped up and defused the bomb right in time to win the map.
Third Map (Ancient)
Right from the start, FaZe’s pick seemed to have been NAVI’s. NAVI won the first 8 rounds straight without any problem whatsoever. The form continued as the scoreboard read 15-4. It should’ve been moments before NAVI picked up their second map in a row but this is Counter-Strike! When it matter the most, FaZe responded. They won 11 rounds consecutively to tie the map and head into overtime. Natus recollected themselves and won it in overtime thanks to a 200 IQ defuse by b1t. They were now just one map away from becoming champions.
Nice 3K by @electronicCSGO!#IEM pic.twitter.com/BLXgd6bEiK
— NAVI Live 🔴 (@natusvincerelv) July 17, 2022
Fourth Map (Mirage)
It was NAVI’s pick again in the fourth map of the finals of IEM Cologne 2o22. They started off well as they picked up the first 3 rounds, no issues whatsoever. But then issues started arising out of thin air. FaZe levelled it 3-3 and then went on dominate the rest of the first half. They ended the first half 10-5 in their favor. NAVI did show some fight in the second half but it just wasn’t enough. FaZE picked up the fourth map winning it 16-9.
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Fifth Map (Nuke)
The fans asked for a fifth map and the finalists, FaZe and NAVI delivered it in the grand finals of IEM Cologne 2022. NAVI started off the best way possible picking up the first 5 rounds. However, they couldn’t hold onto their lead for long as FaZe Clan responded drawing the map 6-6. But the first half ended 8-7 in favor of Natus Vincere. FaZe turned the map around in their favor and had a 4-point advantage making it 13-9. NAVI responded and won 4 straight rounds, the 4th being a clutch by perfecto. 13-13 soon turned into 14-14. And just when it looked like it’ll go into overtime, twistzzz and karrigan stepped up to pick up the next two rounds. And that is how FaZE Clan finally won it all at Cologne!
With yet another major under their belt, FaZe Clan are now the best CS:GO champions of the entire world.
