FaZe eliminate MIBR to stay alive in ESL One Cologne

The European team made up for a rough showing on Train with great displays on the next two maps.

FaZe came back from a map down to beat MIBR 2-1 and earn a spot in the second lower bracket round in ESL One Cologne's Group B. It is the European team's first victory since picking up Markus "⁠Kjaerbye⁠" Kjærbye after they lost their opening match of the tournament to Heroic, but the name on everyone's lips as the series drew to a close was that of Helvijs "⁠broky⁠" Saukants. After barely having any impact on Train, where he was left frustrated after being constantly picked off, the Latvian youngster came alive in the rest of the series, keeping FaZe on the front foot with some stellar AWPing.

On Twitter, Fernando "⁠fer⁠" Alvarenga had played down Wednesday's disastrous defeat to G2 in MIBR's opening match, expressing his confidence that the team would rebound in their next encounter. An emphatic victory on Train, MIBR's map pick, looked promising, but things gradually fell apart for the Brazilian team, who lacked firepower and tactical discipline to put the match past FaZe. This is the second tournament in a row which MIBR finish in last place, with Gabriel "⁠FalleN⁠" Toledo's troops now turning their attention to next week's Nine to Five 3 and Malta Vibes Cup 9.

A clean sweep in the opening round of Train by FaZe sent shivers down the spines of many Brazilian fans, who instantly had flashbacks of Wednesday's encounter, but the pattern of the game changed completely once both teams had money in the bank. MIBR outpaced their opponents and won every clutch situation in what turned out to be a walk in the park for them as they earned a 12-3 lead.

MIBR secured the pistol round after switching sides to pile even more pressure on their stunned opponents, but there was no follow-up as FaZe responded immediately after Håvard "⁠rain⁠" Nygaard caught two opponents off-guard. That round provided some much-needed breathing room for the European team, who put some rounds together to keep themselves in the game. The respite would not last long, however, as the Brazilians gathered themselves and locked up the map after winning three rounds without response.

FaZe came out on Inferno looking a different side as they stormed to a 9-1 lead on the offense. MIBR then finally put their foot down to hold back the Europeans, who still went into the break up by seven, with Kjaerbye raising eyebrows with a 1v3 clutch in the final round of the half.

Now playing on the T side, MIBR kept their comeback hopes alive as they chained three rounds together after pulling off a 2v4 clutch in the pistol round. Nikola "⁠NiKo⁠" Kovač took matters into his own hands in the first gun round of the half with a clutch of his own, powering FaZe to put together some rounds and edge closer to victory. The game then entered a scrappy phase with some questionable decisions on both parts before FaZe finally wrapped things up just when overtime loomed.

A chaotic start to Dust2 soon gave way to uneven play as FaZe romped to another massive lead. After getting their third round on the board, MIBR finally broke their opponents' economy and got a footing in the game, bringing the deficit to five rounds before the break. But any momentum the Brazilians were building up dissipated after the side switch: FaZe won five rounds right off the bat before Marcelo "⁠coldzera⁠" David hammered the final nail into his former team's coffin with a stunning 1v3 clutch.

More to follow...