Vitality did the unthinkable when they made a 15-round comeback against Faze, with ZywOo playing a huge role in the top seed deciding series. The series between both rosters produced the top seed for Group C in the ESL Pro League.
ZywOo helped Vitality change the tides of the game on Anubis, although Nuke, which was the second keenly contested that needed another overtime from Vitality. The win gave them a straight spot in the quarterfinal.
FaZe had beaten Rooster and NiP easily en route to the upper bracket decider match against Team Vitality, who won last season’s edition.
Interestingly, Vitality had JACKZ on as a temporary fix in the absence of dupreeh, who recently became a father. The roster picked Anubis as its map choice to start the series.
It didn’t go well for Team Vitality at the start, as FaZe only lost round nine on their way to a 14-1 lead. However, they had their own dominance, limiting their opponents to a single win.
Both teams were closely and evenly matched on Nuke, even though FaZe started stronger winning three rounds in a row. ZywOo will go on to disturb their flow in defence, forcing overtime.
ZywOo and JACKZ formed a strong shield and helped Vitality to four straight-round wins in overtime. The result shut FaZe down and out and earned Vitality direct qualification to the quarterfinal and a 2-0 win.
It’s not all doom and gloom for FaZe, who will play in the playoffs as a high seed in the round of 12. NiP and 00 Nation are still in the mix to snatch the one remaining spot in the knockout rounds in Group C, while paiN Gaming is the surprise qualifier in the mid-bracket.
Daniel Ademiju Idowu
