FaZe Clan Triumph at IEM Sydney

One of the events which we previewed in this week's article was none other than the IEM Sydney Invitational for CS:GO enthusiasts. The whole event has just concluded, and we're ready to provide a little recap of all the surprises and upsets which went down, leading up to FaZe taking victory in the grand final. 

Starting with a major surprise, we've got the Chinese rebels of Tyloo who blew many titans out of the water, such as SK Gaming. Yet, this wasn't the SK Gaming which we're used to observing, as another Australian team of Grayhound also took a slice and helped provide an early exit to the limping Brazilian giant. Their recent roster changes are looking slightly dubious. Needless to say, SK was the largest disappointment at the event. 

Within moments, the final four teams remaining were FaZe Clan, Tyloo, Astralis, and Mousesports inside the semi-finals. The matchups went according to the order the teams were presented. A tight series ensued between FaZe and Tyloo, as the Europeans fought hard to repel the momentum built up by the underdogs and did so successfully in a series homogeneous to a 16-9 scoreline in each map. The other matchup, that between Astralis and Mousesports was less contested, as Mouz gave away a couple of slaughters while they clenched on to a 19-17 victory in the second map. 

FaZe against Astralis, those were the parameters of the Sunday grand final. Sadly, our title doesn't leave much space for imagination. FaZe Clan was indeed the underdogs heading into the map, with many favoring Astralis. Cache, Overpass, and Train were played - that's right, only three maps. 

After the overwhelming performance which Astralis put up at the DreamHack Masters Marseille in April, ending the series in three maps was unforeseeable. The scorelines were 19-17, 22-20 and 16-14 respectively, all of which went in the favour of FaZe Clan. Tension and anxiety were omnipresent as the maps swayed back and forward in terms of plays and control. An incredible grand final which surprised many. 

FaZe Clan are your IEM Sydney 2018 champions, happily greeting the majority of the $250,000 event. What's terrifying is the fact that this FaZe Clan has ' xizt' standing in for 'olofmeister'. Perhaps this team isn't rocking its full potential - we'll have to see how they perform further into the year.