2024 Begins and Ends with FaZe and Spirit: Who Will Triumph in Shanghai?

The stage is set for the final showdown at the Shanghai Major. While many Counter-Strike fans were hoping to wake up to a G2 vs. Spirit clash, fate has delivered us a battle that might be even more poetic. The matchup between FaZe and Spirit is not only the one that bookends the 2024 season but will also rewrite the legacies of the two teams in different ways.

FaZe Clan vs Team Spirit Rivalry Revisited

Though it felt like ages ago, the 2024 season actually began in IEM Katowice 2024, where Team Spirit, with a fresh donk, faced off against FaZe Clan in the Grand Final. We witnessed the young prodigy’s electrifying debut on stage, delivering a 3 – 0 sweep over the seasoned roster.

Fast forward to today, the paths of the two teams have been anything but smooth. Both teams started the year in what seemed to be their peaks, but they were only met with disappointment and inconsistency. But here we are now – Spirit and FaZe have everything to play for in the Major Final.

The 2024 Counter-Strike season has spurred much debate on which player would be named the best in the world in 2024. Primary candidates were: ZywOo, m0NESY, and donk. The Shanghai Major being the “be-all-end-all” event, we all thought we’d get a Grand Final showcasing any two of these players – but only one remained.

At just 17 years of age, donk has yet to step onto a Major Grand Final stage, but this will be the perfect chance for the prospect to swoop in for the number one spot. However, he wasn’t performing all too well in the previous series against MOUZ, barely clinching the win with a mere 1.05 rating.

To achieve two of Counter-Strike’s biggest achievements at once, a Major title and being crowned the best of the year, the best-player candidate must slay his demons and show us what he’s capable of on the biggest stage.

FaZe Clan loves the Chinese crowd

It would be a lie to tell you that FaZe has had a good 2024 season. Though they were off to a great start with a Grand Final appearance at the Copenhagen Major, the rest of the year has been nothing short of a disappointment for the storied organization. However, their placing at the previous iteration means they have made it to back-to-back Major Finals this year, and surely that isn’t considered sheer luck.

FaZe Clan seems to thrive in a Chinese environment, as they have won every tournament held in the country, with a win at IEM Chengdu 2024 and the CS Asia Championships 2023, and lo and behold, here they are playing the best Counter-Strike we’ve seen them play all year.

The men in red has also had the most harrowing journey through the Major to get here, taking down MOUZ, G2, and Vitality, the world’s first, third, and fifth-best teams. They’re pretty much collecting all the Infinity Stones if they can take down Team Spirit, the fourth-ranked team.

My FaZe Clan vs Team Spirit Prediction

Though Team Spirit is slightly favored in this “rematch”, the scale is much larger, and we’re seeing both rosters in different forms compared to the start of the year.

In this case, I would slightly favor the experienced FaZe Clan roster, as they are playing on familiar stakes, while no Team Spirit player has ever made this deep of a run at a Major. To recall, it was FaZe Clan that took out Team Spirit at the Copenhagen Major Quarter Finals. The pressure might build on the youngsters of donk and zont1x, which are two crucial pieces to the Spirit puzzle.

But either way, I’ll be delighted with whichever team comes out on top. We’ll either see donk solidify himself as the best in the world or hand over a second Major trophy to the FaZe Clan squad that has left a remarkable cultural impact on the community.

As long as the individuals on both teams step up, I expect an intense series that will hopefully go to three maps.