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FaZe Clan, G2 reach semis at IEM Katowice playoffs

A backlit keyboard is part of the gear online video game streamer Jordan Woodruff uses in his Gilbert home.

Jordan Woodruff

FaZe Clan toppled Gambit Esports and G2 Esports outplayed Virtus.pro to kick off the six-team Playoff Stage of IEM Katowice 2022 on Friday in Katowice, Poland.

While Gambit and Virtus.pro were eliminated, FaZe advanced to the semifinals to battle Group A winner Heroic and G2 moved on to meet Group B champion Natus Vincere. Saturday’s two winners will battle Sunday in a best-of-five grand final.

FaZe defeated Gambit 2-0 with victories of 16-5 on Dust II and 16-11 on Inferno. Latvia’s Helvijs “broky” Saukants and Estonia’s Robin “ropz” Kool each tallied 39 kills for FaZe, with broky posting a plus-17 kills-to-deaths differential and ropz finishing plus-16.

Russia’s Dmitry “sh1ro” Sokolov led Gambit with 33 kills and a plus-3.

The first map of the other quarterfinal duel needed plenty of time before G2 was declared a 25-22 winner over Virtus.pro on Mirage. G2 followed that with a much easier victory, 16-5 on Ancient, for the sweep.

Ilya “m0NESY” Osipov of Russia had 58 kills and a plus-18, both game highs, to guide G2, while Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Nemanja “huNter-” Kovac posted 52 kills and a plus-13 differential. Virtus.pro was led by Russian Dzhami “Jame” Ali’s 53 kills and plus-10 K-D.

The Playoff Stage is the last of three stages of the $1 million event. The top eight teams from the Play-In Stage joined eight previously qualified teams for last week’s Group Stage, a double-elimination bracket where all matches were best-of-three, which concluded Sunday.

The Playoff Stage continues Saturday with two semifinal matches:
Heroic vs. FaZe Clan
Natus Vincere vs. G2 Esports

IEM Katowice 2022 prize pool:

1. TBD — $400,000
2. TBD — $180,000
3-4. TBD — $80,000
5-6. Gambit Esports, Virtus.pro — $40,000
7-8. Ninjas in Pyjamas, Astralis — $24,000
9-12. MOUZ, Team Vitality, Fnatic, FURIA Esports — $16,000
13-16. OG, Copenhagen Flames, Team Liquid, ENCE — $10,000
17-20. BIG, GODSENT, Movistar Riders, Entropiq — $4,500
21-24. Wisla Krakow, Sprout, Renegades, MIBR — $2,500

–Field Level Media

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