Virtus.pro knock #1 ranked FaZe out of Epicenter despite losing Mirage 16-2 by winning on Cobblestone and Inferno.

FaZe went into the Group A decider match as the favorites against Virtus.pro, and quickly took hold of the reins winning the pistol round with five USP headshots on Mirage. The European combine then followed it up winning the anti-ecos and kept the streak going on their map pick not giving the Polish side a chance to retaliate as they took a 10-0 lead. Finally, Virtus.pro got on the board on the twelfth round as Jarosław "⁠pashaBiceps⁠" Jarząbkowski opened mid with a frag on Nikola "⁠NiKo⁠" Kovač and an A split gave the Polish side control of the site and the upper hand on the round.

With the half coming to an end, FaZe had a 13-2 to lead over the Polish side, who were able to take the last round. With a quick plant from FaZe after Olof "⁠olofmeister⁠" Kajbjer opened the round on the terrorist side, the European team was able to plant and win a 5vs4 to sentence Virtus.pro, going on to take Mirage, 16-2.

Virtus.pro stunned FaZe after giving up the first map without contest

The second map, Cobblestone, also started with FaZe taking the pistol round, but this time around Virtus.pro were able to fight back as doubles by Wiktor "⁠TaZ⁠" Wojtas and Filip "⁠NEO⁠" Kubski gave them the anti-eco which they were able to follow up winning several anti-ecos and a gun round to take the 5-1 lead on the CT side of the map. It was finally a B play that gave FaZe their second round with NiKo getting a quad kill. However, Virtus.pro reinforced their B hold and stopped Finn "⁠karrigan⁠" Andersen’s side on the following round for a reset.

On a similar roll to that of FaZe on Mirage, Virtus.pro took the first half without much trouble, giving up just four rounds before the switch. The Polish side then won the second pistol round of the map, but like they did in the second round of the map, FaZe took the force buy to stay alive in the match. Going into the gun round ahead 12-7, Virtus.pro played a fast A round and planted after the first trade of the round. With the positional advantage, the Poles were able to keep FaZe at bay and stop them from retaking.

Down 8-13, FaZe’s Ladislav "⁠GuardiaN⁠" Kovács won an afterplant 1vs2 on A killing both NEO and Janusz "⁠Snax⁠" Pogorzelski with his AWP to keep his team’s comeback opportunities alive. It looked like FaZe were well on their way to come back, getting within two, 11-13, but Virtus.pro were able to get two quick rounds on the board to get on match point, eventually closing it out 16-11 against a forcebuy.

FaZe went out in groups unexpectedly after hitting the #1 spot in the world rankings

The third map started out going the way of Virtus.pro for the first time in the best-of-three as the Poles were able to eliminate all of FaZe with their USPs. Virtus.pro then followed it up winning the anti-eco, although just barely as Paweł "⁠byali⁠" Bieliński won a 1vs1 after plant against olofmeister to keep the advantage. FaZe were then able to close out the first gun round, winning a 2vs2 after plant on A, to get on the board.

FaZe brought it back to a tie, 3-3, but Virtus.pro kept up the pressure, winning two rounds of their own and forcing the European combine on a full eco. Quickly, Virtus.pro started to run away with the map as FaZe couldn’t find their way back into the half, which ended 11-4 as byali hit the ace on the last round of the half.

FaZe won the pistol round, and took the anti-ecos, getting their score to 7-11, and keeping the comeback dream alive on the CT side. Virtus.pro executed on A in the twenty first round, and after two frags by byali to open the site up, the Poles were able to plant and defend the bomb for a 12-9 lead. They then followed it up with another effective A play, forcing FaZe to take a pause and reset their defense.

A double spraydown by NEO late in the twenty third round as the bomb was ticking got Virtus.pro on the edge of victory, 14-9. However, FaZe didn’t sit back, winning a retake on A to get into double digits on the scoreboard and keep the match alive. The Poles then got onto match point after pashaBiceps was able to defend the bomb from NiKo on a 1vs1 on A.

With nothing but a forcebuy FaZe held on for dear life as their CZ’s stopped the Polish side, and with the economy now reversed, they were able to take the following round to bring it within three of overtime, 12-15. Round 29 kicked off with both teams fully bought, and a long play by Virtus.pro with a late plant on B gave the Polish side the upper hand and eventually the win, 16-13.

EPICENTER 2017 Best of 3 Virtus.pro Matchpage 2 1 FaZe 2 Mirage 16 16 Cobblestone 11 16 Inferno 13