The switch to Counter-Strike 2 isn’t just causing a stir among hobby gamers. FaZe Clan’s victory shows that the professionals are still struggling with the change.
E-sports fans from all over the world have been looking to Sydney over the past few days as the first major tournament in Counter-Strike 2 was held there.
The Intel Extreme Masters Sydney 2023 was the tournament premiere for the new CS and the fans were offered a lot. There was an underdog story , a historic record and of course the world’s first CS2 champions : Faze Clan.
Faze Clan wins first major CS2 tournament
At the start of the tournament, it was anything but certain that Faze would take home the $100,000 prize money . They lost the first game against GamerLegion 19 rounds to 15 in overtime.
But the international team fought its way into the playoffs of the tournament and opened the final rounds with a historic record . On the second map Anubis they beat ENCE 13 to 0, so they didn’t give up a single round to the opposing team.
A particularly impressive record as ENCE is currently considered the second best team in the world . Other top teams such as NAVI and Team Vitality also fell short of expectations for the gymnast.
Surprising finale
While Faze had already secured a place in the run-up to the tournament, their final opponent still had to fight their way through the qualifying tournament in North America.
Things got exciting again in the finale. After both teams won one map each, Ancient went into overtime again . Faze won the map with 19 to 16 rounds and secured the tournament victory.
In the next few months, all major tournament organizers will be switching to Counter-Strike 2. But like the players, they have no other choice.
With the release of CS2 came the end of CS:GO. How have you coped with the change so far? What do you miss most from the old Counter-Strike? Feel free to write us your opinion in the comments.