FaZe eliminate 100 Thieves from the Playoffs following an intense battle

Having a rematch only a handful of days into the event is quite a rare coincidence, but the structure of the bracket designed by Riot once again pitted 100 Thieves against FaZe Clan. Both teams competed in the Playoff’s opening matchup, which resulted in 100T’s victory after fascinating comebacks in two of the three matchups. Today’s match essentially was a mirror image of its predecessor, except the surrounding atmosphere was considerably more intense with elimination being on the line.

VCT 2022 - North America - Stage 2 - Main Event

100 Thieves

1

X

2

FaZe Clan

Lower Bracket Round 2 of 4, Best of 3 - June 19, 2022 - 11:00PM

14

Split

12

10

Fracture

13

11

Breeze

13

100 Thieves

player

Rating

ACS

K/D/A

+/-

K/D

KAST

ADR

HS%

FBSR

FB

FD

Asuna

1.42

295

72/50/23

+22

1.44

72.7%

188.1

22%

61%

11

7

bang

0.82

169

41/51/20

-10

0.80

67.1%

118.1

28%

45%

5

6

Will

0.80

181

46/57/13

-11

0.81

63.0%

122.3

19%

40%

10

15

Derrek

0.70

149

37/52/17

-15

0.71

69.9%

107.3

28%

38%

3

5

stellar

0.69

154

37/52/14

-15

0.71

63.1%

100.6

19%

45%

5

6

FaZe Clan

player

Rating

ACS

K/D/A

+/-

K/D

KAST

ADR

HS%

FBSR

FB

FD

POISED

1.28

243

66/48/23

+18

1.38

81.8%

154.8

23%

46%

6

7

dicey

1.26

268

69/43/7

+26

1.60

79.5%

171.7

34%

73%

19

7

supamen

0.99

190

46/42/28

+4

1.10

75.7%

127.1

35%

43%

3

4

flyuh

0.77

164

39/48/22

-9

0.81

71.3%

112.7

21%

40%

4

6

babybay

0.74

166

42/52/12

-10

0.81

66.0%

111.7

17%

41%

7

10

Split:

Similar to the previous matchup, proceedings began on 100 Thieves map pick, and this time too they weren’t the ones to take control of the momentum early on. FaZe took an easy four rounds with almost no viable contest from 100T, but they then displayed signs of retaliation by taking a couple of rounds. It seemed like they had finally recovered and would give Faze a tough time in the upcoming rounds.

Unfortunately, the damage FaZe had dealt was substantial and 100 Thieves’ Offense wasn’t aggressive enough to overtake total control over the momentum which is why they settled for a 4-8 scoreline by halftime.

They were no stranger to this position since the first match between these teams ran an almost similar narrative. Fortunately, 100 Thieves was able to replicate their success on Defense much like they did before. Despite a poor start to the half, they came back with two intermittent streaks of three rounds each to reduce the lead to a two-point deficit. However, Faze had already reached game point and 100 Thieves had to take both rounds just to force overtime.

William "Will" Cheng came to the rescue in a phenomenal fashion securing 9 kills in the following four rounds to close out the map with a 14-12 final score. He finished the half with a 1.77 Rating with 344 ACS and was arguably the most valuable player on Split.

Fracture:

Fracture too continued with the same pattern as FaZe considerably improved their offensive strategies and left the gate stronger and more composed than they did on Split. 100 Thieves repeated their mistake of letting FaZe loose in the first half. They started off with four consecutive rounds, faced a brief hiatus forced by Peter "Asuna" Mazuryk’s insane 3K’s in back-to-back rounds, and then closed out the half with another streak increasing the lead to 9-3.

100 Thieves has comeback from its fair share of 9-3 leads, but Fracture being FaZe’s map pick became a hurdle they couldn’t overcome. Nonetheless, 100 Thieves gave it their all and took almost six consecutive rounds to reach a 10-9 score.

Had they continued the streak, FaZe would’ve been the one’s preparing for LCQ but Phat "supamen" Le stepped up and patched up their defensive efforts to ensure the matchup went to decider.

Breeze:

Matchups going to decider are considered the peak of entertainment and this was no different especially since the team to lose this map would be eliminated from the tournament. Peter "Asuna" Mazuryk started the map with a bang executing a flawless 4K to win 100T the round. Surprisingly, however, they didn’t capitalize on the following round allowing FaZe to repeat their first-half dominance once again.

To the dismay of 100T fans, the half was coming to an end and the scoreboard read 7-1. 100 Thieves has earned a reputation for comebacks, but having a six point deficit isn’t the most optimal sit uation in an elimination game. A similar though process found its way to the 100 Thieves roster, likely from the amazing coach Sean "seangares" Gares as the team came out and defended the sites in subsequent rounds as if their lives depended on it. This turnaround was enough to reduce the lead to a mere two points.

FaZe’s defense had been magnificent on Split, and plausible on Fracture. To avoid elimination, they needed to improve their defensive strategies. 100 Thieves, on the other hand, were focused on maximizing their offensive aggression. As fans watched this intense matchup unfold, emotions fluctuated and the pressure on the participating roster increased tenfolds. By round 18, FaZe already had 11 points, and 100 Thieves fans were beginning to log off from the broadcast.

However, in true 100 Thieves fashion, they pulled together one last run for the win. The next three rounds fell to 100 Thieves cutting the lead to 1. But the experience of Kevin "POISED" Ngo, coupled with Phat "supamen" Le’s ability to thrive in clutch situations helped FaZe break 100T’s momentum and reach game point.

Sean "bang" Bezerra responded with a 3K in the next round, but 100T’s offense fell through in the final round. supamen’s OP kill put an end to 100 Thieves’ fascinating run in the tournament considering that they announced the revamped roster less than a month before the Open Qualifiers.