FaZe Clan and Team Liquid will meet in the semi-finals of the lower group stage of IEM Dallas 2023. In this case, the loser will leave the championship, while the winner will play someone from the parallel pairing Complexity Gaming - Cloud9, with whom they will play for a ticket to the play-offs.
I cannot call the North American team's play healthy, but objectively there are reasons for that. On the other hand, I absolutely do not understand the reasons why FaZe Clan is playing so badly that it deserves to drop out.
All in all, it will be interesting to see how the European team tries to get back on track at The International. However, the Liquid are no gift. So here I'd lean on a card from Team Liquid.
FaZe Clan uniform.
The third team of the world ranking seemed to play cool in the recent BLAST.tv Paris Major 2023 where they even managed to make it to the play-offs, getting a doubtful, but still a victory over NAVI.
However, in the quarterfinals FaZe Clan got what they deserved, failing to oppose Heroic. As a result, a logical defeat and a trip home without achievements.
As for Long Congo in the group stage of IEM Dallas 2023, here the European squad nearly lost to Evil Geniuses, after which they lost to ENCE without a chance and got into the bottom of the net.
FaZe Clan's latest results:
- A 2-1 win over Bad News Eagles.
- Victory over Natus Vincere with a score of 2-1.
- 1-2 defeat of Heroic.
- Beat Evil Geniuses 19-17.
- Defeat by ENCE 0-2.
Top scorers of the FaZe Clan:
- Ancient - 75% wins.
- Overpass - 62% wins.
- Mirage - 60% wins.
- Inferno - 55% wins.
- Nuke - 50% wins.
It should be remembered that the European squad have been steadily giving up Vertigo.
Team Liquid form
The eighth team of the world ranking shot in the main stage of the BLAST.tv Paris Major 2023, where it was stronger than 9INE, Natus Vincere and Into the Breach on its way to the play-offs.
However, in that same quarter-final, Team Liquid went back to where the championship began, namely facing Apeks, resulting in a toothless defeat and relegation.
On the other hand, the North American squad also had a mixed performance in the group stage of IEM Dallas 2023, where they managed to lose to Astralis and also picked up a very tough win over Grayhound Gaming.
Team Liquid's latest results:
- A 1-2 loss to Heroic.
- A 2-0 win over Into the Breach.
- Defeat to Apeks by a score of 0-2.
- 17-19 defeat at the hands of Astralis.
- 2-0 win over Grayhound Gaming.
Team Liquid's best records:
- Anubis - 100% wins.
- Inferno - 67% wins.
- Mirage - 64% wins.
- Overpass - 57% wins.
- Nuke - 56% wins.
It is interesting that the North American squad also gives up Vertigo.
FaZe Clan - Team Liquid encounter statistics
In the current season the teams have played one meeting - Team Liquid (2-1) won at IEM Katowice 2023.
FaZe Clan vs Team Liquid
It's obvious that both teams are on the decline and they obviously need a rest. On the other hand, everybody expects FaZe Clan to do a lot, but in fact the team plays very badly.
In this situation, the North Americans can draw their own conclusions and try to play on their mistakes. Obviously, the Liquid have a lot of problems, but without pressure, the team can shoot.
Therefore, in this case, I would recommend betting on the Forum on map (+1.5) for Team Liquid.
