FaZe outlast fnatic, Sprout upset Spirit at Europe RMR

The world's No. 1 team survived fnatic after another trip to overtime whilst Sprout go 2-0 after defeating Spirit.

FaZe locked in their second win of the IEM Road to Rio Europe RMR after defeating fnatic 19-17 on Nuke. The world's No. 1 team needed yet another trip to overtime to get the job done — their second of the event thus far after previously requiring a 53-round affair to move past GamerLegion on Tuesday.

Sprout, meanwhile, came out on top in their best-of-one versus Spirit, advancing to the 2-0 stage of the Regional Major Ranking event after upsetting the Russian quintet 16-12 on Mirage. Victor "⁠Staehr⁠" Staehr was his team's most-valuable player, averaging a 1.24 rating and 21-17 K-D in the game versus the Russians.

fnatic and Spirit now fall down to the 1-1 pool of the Major-qualifying event. Their next set of games will get started on Thursday as the two teams look to rebound in their quest for a place at IEM Major Rio.

broky continues to deliver for FaZe, putting up 36 frags and a 1.39 rating

FaZe and fnatic battled it out on Nuke to get their second matches of the RMR underway. The beginning of the map was well and truly in fnatic's favour, William "⁠mezii⁠" Merriman's troops going on a four-round spree to get their T-side off to a solid start. This buffer dwindled as the half progressed, though, with FaZe coming alive to shut down whatever fnatic threw at them — the world No. 1 team posting a commanding five-round lead by the side swap.

fnatic immediately hit the ground running at the onset of the second half, overturning FaZe's pistol-round victory with six rounds of their own to tie things up, 11-11. FaZe did add a single round to the scoreboard in the 23rd to show signs of life, but the black-and-orange had grabbed the bull completely by the horns, adding four of the next five rounds to reach match point. Alas, FaZe's experience shone through, the PGL Major Antwerp champions being able to steal away the last two rounds of regulation to force a trip to overtime.

FaZe narrowly pulled ahead once in the extra rounds, with Finn "⁠karrigan⁠" Andersen and company winning four rounds to their foes' two to snatch away Nuke 19-17 and move to the 2-0 pool.

IEM Road to Rio 2022 Europe RMR ABest of 1 FaZeMatchpage 19 17 5th October 2022 fnatic 19Nuke 17

FaZe	K - D	+/-	ADR	Rating 2.0
Helvijs 'broky' Saukantsbroky	36 - 23	+13	89.1	1.39
Håvard 'rain' Nygaardrain	26 - 24	+2	87.4	1.25
Robin 'ropz' Koolropz	24 - 23	+1	66.4	0.97
Finn 'karrigan' Andersenkarrigan	23 - 29	-6	75.0	0.96
Russel 'Twistzz' Van DulkenTwistzz	13 - 27	-14	43.0	0.57

fnatic	K - D	+/-	ADR	Rating 2.0
William 'mezii' Merrimanmezii	31 - 23	+8	88.1	1.33
Nico 'nicoodoz' Tamjidinicoodoz	27 - 22	+5	76.7	1.14
Fredrik 'roeJ' JørgensenroeJ	24 - 28	-4	79.6	1.05
Dion 'FASHR' DerksenFASHR	21 - 23	-2	65.9	0.96
Freddy 'KRIMZ' JohanssonKRIMZ	22 - 26	-4	73.8	0.96

A 1vs4 pistol-round clutch by Leonid "⁠chopper⁠" Vishnyakov got Mirage going, with Spirit using this to spearhead a 4-0 opening scoreline. Sprout didn't let the Russians lead for long, however, winning five on the bounce thanks to strong fragging by Rasmus "⁠Zyphon⁠" Nordfoss to boast a one-round advantage, 5-4. This run of good form by the Danish-majority lineup soon lost steam, though, with the Russians winning five of the next six rounds to head into their T-side with a 9-6 advantage.

Sprout scored a six-round streak coming out of the break, taking the lead once more, 12-9. The map then descended into a back-and-forth skirmish between the two sides, with Sprout eventually coming out on top in this exchange to put the final nail in the Spirit coffin — closing things out 16-12 to go 2-0 in Malta.

IEM Road to Rio 2022 Europe RMR ABest of 1 SproutMatchpage 16 12 5th October 2022 Spirit 16Mirage 12

Sprout	K - D	+/-	ADR	Rating 2.0
Victor 'Staehr' StaehrStaehr	21 - 17	+4	74.7	1.24
Rasmus 'Zyphon' NordfossZyphon	24 - 21	+3	92.5	1.14
Ismail 'refrezh' Alirefrezh	19 - 20	-1	73.5	0.98
Laurențiu 'lauNX' ȚârlealauNX	16 - 19	-3	63.0	0.95
Fritz 'slaxz-' Dietrichslaxz-	14 - 17	-3	59.3	0.94

Spirit	K - D	+/-	ADR	Rating 2.0
Robert 'Patsi' IsyanovPatsi	28 - 19	+9	101.2	1.40
Boris 'magixx' Vorobievmagixx	19 - 17	+2	70.4	1.13
Leonid 'chopper' Vishnyakovchopper	18 - 18	0	73.0	0.96
Pavel 'S1ren' OgloblinS1ren	17 - 22	-5	68.9	0.88
Ihor 'w0nderful' Zhdanovw0nderful	12 - 18	-6	46.8	0.65

Group Swiss 2W - 0L Sprout FaZe 1W - 0L G2 Cloud9 Ninjas in Pyjamas Bad News Eagles 1W - 1L fnatic Spirit Astralis GamerLegion 1WIN B8 0W - 2L FORZE Eternal Fire Aurora ECSTATIC Victor 'Staehr' Staehr Age: 18 Team: Sprout Rating 1.0: 1.04 Maps played: 289 KPR: 0.70 DPR: 0.67 Spirit #15 Boris 'magixx' VorobievLeonid 'chopper' VishnyakovPavel 'S1ren' OgloblinRobert 'Patsi' IsyanovIhor 'w0nderful' Zhdanov fnatic #19 Freddy 'KRIMZ' JohanssonNico 'nicoodoz' TamjidiFredrik 'roeJ' JørgensenWilliam 'mezii' MerrimanDion 'FASHR' Derksen FaZe #1 Håvard 'rain' NygaardHelvijs 'broky' SaukantsRussel 'Twistzz' Van DulkenRobin 'ropz' KoolFinn 'karrigan' Andersen Leonid 'chopper' Vishnyakov Age: 25 Team: Spirit Rating 1.0: 0.96 Maps played: 1112 KPR: 0.65 DPR: 0.67 Rasmus 'Zyphon' Nordfoss Age: 18 Team: Sprout Rating 1.0: 1.02 Maps played: 449 KPR: 0.69 DPR: 0.66 GamerLegion #60 Frederik 'acoR' GyldstrandMihai 'iM' IvanNicolas 'Keoz' DgusKamil 'siuhy' SzkaradekIsak 'isak' Fahlén Sprout #31 Fritz 'slaxz-' DietrichVictor 'Staehr' StaehrRasmus 'Zyphon' NordfossIsmail 'refrezh' AliLaurențiu 'lauNX' Țârlea Finn 'karrigan' Andersen Age: 32 Team: FaZe Rating 1.0: 0.91 Maps played: 2050 KPR: 0.62 DPR: 0.69 William 'mezii' Merriman Age: 23 Team: fnatic Rating 1.0: 1.08 Maps played: 554 KPR: 0.72 DPR: 0.63