Back in the day, FaZe found their groove because the chemistry between ropz, Twistzz, and broky just clicked. The best thing about that iteration of FaZe was their knack for turning around 3v5s. With the entries karrigan and rain gathering valuable info, the late round trio of FaZe were asked to claw their way back from the brink even if the entry pack suffered casualties. That trio has now been replaced by s1mple, frozen, and EliGE. And while all three have the firepower to turn the tide on their own, the real question is how well they’ll gel together. And how s1mple is going to fit in the squad.
The contrasting playstyles of s1mple and broky
The most recent change to that trio, and the subject of this article, is how s1mple is going play in the place of broky. While he was the CS:GO Goat, the narrative has changed in CS2 due to his limited LAN experience. However, while s1mple’s AWP may or may not be as impactful as broky, the silver lining is that s1mple is likely to be an upgrade over the latter as a rifler. He brings playmaking flair and can be the closer they need on T-sides. I’m cautiously optimistic.
On the CT side, which is the heart of the matter here, will need s1mple to rely a lot more on the big green. This is because the CT side for FaZe has been an evident fiasco, one that will need s1mple to go above and beyond his recent form to alleviate. Another challenge for karrigan is to curb the CT side aggression. The outset of EliGE’s tenure on FaZe had him in the spotlight on the CT side, enjoying most of karrigan’s attention. But for the rest of the team the opening has been an indifferent subject. On top off all that, broky has always been a passive AWPer, and s1mple has been anything but that. He’s going to push, take space, hunt duels So replacing a passive AWPer with an aggressive one will pose some challenges. But if s1mple finds his groove, well, all problems become irrelevant.
How s1mple will affect FaZe’s map book
FaZe’s go-to map has been Dust2, picked the most – 13 times, but their success rate on the map hasn’t been enchanting, with a win percentage barely clearing 50%. Over the last three years, s1mple has only touched Dust2 once. So while the road ahead is still a bit foggy, I’d bet Dust2 will remain their blind first-pick map. On a loose, puggy map like that, letting FaZe’s individuals run wild would be terrifying, even for a team like Vitality. My only worry is the B bombsite on the CT side, which has been tasked to rain who has played A short most of his life. His struggles on the other side of the map has been apparent. The B bombsite is a leaking pipe in the defences of FaZe that opponent teams are bound to keep hammering. But if they can patch that up, FaZe could have a real stronghold on Dust2.
Next up, Nuke, a map that’s been a bit rough around the edges for FaZe. Ever since karrigan started dabbling with the idea of giving yard control to EliGE, things haven’t quite looked right. But who better to clean up the mess than arguably the greatest Nuke player of all time? Against top 10 teams, broky could only muster a 0.99 rating. So FaZe don’t need prime s1mple, just a sharp one.
Another map FaZe has leaned into is Ancient. It’s been right alongside Dust2 in their practice pool, but their 50% winrate tells the tale. Unsurprisingly, the problem lies on the CT side. On offense, EliGE and frozen have been solid, but on defense, only rain and frozen have been doing the heavy lifting. broky, their AWPer, has completely struggled to find his footing on the map.
Inferno has traditionally been one of FaZe’s comfort picks, but recently they’ve had trouble staying on solid ground. The main issue has been EliGE’s inconsistency on A long. I’ve wanted to scream at karrigan to just swap frozen and EliGE on that side of the map, but that’s a discussion for another day. I believe s1mple will have to rise to the occasion here, because the only FaZe player looking at home on Inferno this year has been rain. What’s troubling, though, is that none of the players on CT side have managed a rating above 1.00 in the five times they’ve played Inferno against top 20 teams. In that context, s1mple’s CT impact could be the difference-maker.
Then comes the real issue, which includes Mirage and Anubis. Both maps have consistently been trouble spots for broky and FaZe. Mirage, however, could see a serious glow-up with s1mple in the mix, given his strong track record on the map, we might just witness the sharpest version of Mirage that FaZe has ever brought to the server. Anubis, on the other hand, might follow a different narrative. It’s likely to remain FaZe’s worse map, and might be a puzzle even s1mple can’t crack.
I have high hopes for FaZe s1mple
