Steven R. April 14, 2019
BLAST Pro Series: Miami was a strange tournament and it ended with an unlikely outcome.
Against steep odds, FaZe Clan worked its way to the finals of the event and defeated Team Liquid to take the top prize. It capped a shocking day for the seemingly shaky European squad which saw it beat the three top-ranked teams in the world.
The grand finals saw FaZe rematch Team Liquid. Despite dropping its first game in Miami to Liquid, FaZe looked excellent early on and capitalized on big rounds from Håvard "rain" Nygaard to rack up an 8-0 lead. Liquid battled back towards the end of the first half, but when FaZe won the second pistol round and converted on it the game was out of reach for Liquid, leading to a 16-6 loss.
The second game started off largely the same with FaZe winning the first nine round in large part thanks to a pair of aces from rain. Liquid kept things competitive with a strong opening to the second half, but it was a long walk on a tightrope for Liquid and the team fell off after 28 rounds with FaZe taking the map 16-12 and the series 2-0.
To say this is a surprise from FaZe would be an understatement. The team entered Miami looking shaky and it played that way on the first day of the event, getting squashed by Liquid and squeaking a draw out of its game against MiBR.
Something clicked for FaZe on day two, however. The team warmed up with a strong victory over Cloud9 and scored a major upset over Natus Vincere not long after. From there, it posted a shocking 16-5 victory over Astralis to knot up the spot in the grand final opposite Team Liquid.
Though FaZe still has plenty of work to do when it comes to reestablishing itself as an elite Counter-Strike: Global Offensive team, taking first place at BLAST Pro Series: Miami does a lot to rebuild the team's confidence. There is no way to overlook the fact that FaZe beat Astralis, Natus Vincere, and Liquid on the same night.
FaZe going to stay active over the coming weeks as it competes in the Esports Championship Series Season 7 and ESL Pro League Season 9. It will also be heading to Australia later this month for Intel Extreme Masters Season XIV Sydney.
If FaZe looks as good in those events as it did in Miami, the organization will officially be back in to its old top form.