FaZe Clan and NaVi deliver and qualify for ESL Pro League S17 semifinals

The fourth day of the ESL Pro League S17 playoffs left us with the last two semifinal contestants, FaZe Clan and NaVi. Both teams fulfilled their obligations and asserted their status as favorites by defeating forZe and Heroic, respectively.

With this, we now have the four teams that will play for the two slots for the ESL Pro League Grand Final, which will be played next Sunday, March 26, at 16:00 CET.

FaZe suffers but leaves forZe in the way

FaZe Clan, one of the favorite teams in any of the tournaments they play, achieved a somewhat complicated victory against one of the revelations of the tournament, forZe, with a score of 2-1. Robin “ropz” Kool led FaZe to victory and finished the series with 91.1 ADR and a 1.35 Rating.

The quarterfinals between FaZe and forZe were played at Inferno (FaZe), Overpass (forZe), and Mirage (decider).

Inferno

FaZe suffered the consequences of an inspired forZe on their map pick, Inferno, as the Russians showed a high level of play. It all started with a T-side FaZe victory with a score of 9-6. There is no doubt that this T-side advantage can give you some advantage on a map like Inferno which, as we know, is considered easier for CTs. However, forZe showed impressive teamwork and managed to squeeze FaZe so that they got 13-11 up on the scoreboard.

Finally, FaZe, with the help of ropz, was able to recover and win the last five rounds of the map to take the victory 16-13.

Overpass

In Overpass, FaZe suffered again against a forZe that, this time was able to take the victory. FaZe started winning the map again in the first half with a score of 9-6, but this time on the CT side. However, on the offensive side, it was practically impossible for them to overcome the Russian barriers that, with an immense Andrey “Jerry” Mekhryakov (128 ADR and 1.72 Rating), managed to take an excellent 16-14 victory to send the series to the third and decisive map.

Mirage

Finally, on the third map, FaZe Clan displayed all its potential in the hands of Russel “Twistzz” Van Dulken, who had an amazing Mirage with 128.6 ADR and a 2.24 Rating. On this map, forZe had no chance to hurt a FaZe that looked infinitely superior in all aspects of the game. As a result, FaZe takes a comfortable 16-6 victory that allows them to advance to the semifinals of the ESL Pro League S17.

NaVi crushes Heroic to move into the TOP 4 of the tournament

Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev had one of his magical nights in this match against Heroic. Without a doubt, the CS:GO GO GOAT showed up when his team needed him the most and led NaVi to a comfortable 2-0 victory over Heroic to secure their place in the semifinals.

The series between Heroic and NaVi was played at Anubis (NaVi) and Inferno (Heroic).

Anubis

We began to witness the greatness of s1mple again in Anubis when they wreaked havoc with Heroic, especially on the CT side. In the first half, we saw a match as we expected, very even, and both teams dealt blows in every round. In the end, Heroic ended with an 8-7 partial victory.

Like the first half, the change of sides gave us a spectacular match, with NaVi’s s1mple and Heroic’s Jakob “jabbi” Nygaard putting on a great show. However, NaVi could win four of the last five rounds on the map to take the 16-13 victory.

Inferno

On Inferno, things started just as they ended on Anubis, but this time it was Martin “stavn” Lund (Heroic) and Andrii “npl” Kukharskyi (NaVi) who were the protagonists of the battle. Like the first map, the first half ended with a close score of 8-7, but this time in favor of NaVi.

In the change of sides, everything changed, as NaVi, commanded by Valeriy “b1t” Vakhovskiy and s1mple, managed to circumvent each of the defenses raised by Heroic to win eight of the nine rounds played. In this way, NaVi takes the victory 16-8 and thus settles in the semifinals of the EPL S17, where they will face one of their historical rivals, FaZe Clan.

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