s1mple’s debut for FaZe might have been spoiled by the 0-2 loss, but all things considered, the FaZe camp has more than a few positives to hold onto. For one, s1mple hasn’t lost his fire. That alone bodes well; it means the early signs of this gamble are pointing in the right direction. And if I’m karrigan, that’s all the assurance I need. Everything else can be fixed. Now, before the thoughts fade into the void, let me go over what stood out to me while watching the match.
s1mple is here to play — that’s the silver lining
In my view, the veto should’ve leaned FaZe’s way. Honestly, had Inferno been the first map, we might be talking about a different result. But let’s not cry over what could’ve been. There is no denying that Liquid is a formidable opponent, and this was s1mple’s first official in six months. Even in defeat, he still managed a 1.12 rating.
Compare it to broky: the last time he scraped together a rating above 1.10 against a top-10 opponent was three months ago against MOUZ. So, fair play to s1mple, he’s already looking like an upgrade, even after just one match. Moreover, what he brings isn’t just numbers, it’s presence. That star factor FaZe’s been missing, and it is going to have more implications than just round wins. FaZe had been throwing away man-advantages left and right, and with that, the team’s confidence had slowly drained away. But being on the winning end of those 1v4s? That lifts the spirit. That brings life back into the squad.
Why did FaZe lose against Liquid?
To answer that question, it is fairly easily conceivable. While the T-side of FaZe was what sparked life into the series, the CT sides were atrocious. Four rounds on Ancient, three on Inferno, even with pistol rounds and force buys in hand, just shows how poor they were when it came to gun rounds.
Ancient CT has been a thorn in FaZe’s side for a while. They’ve scraped four rounds against Falcons, three against Astralis (twice), and six against The MongolZ. Today’s four rounds weren’t much better, but the signs felt different. A lot of end rounds led to this adversity, but s1mple was patching up holes as the rotator during the mid rounds. Being one of the smartest minds in Counter-Strike, s1mple’s awareness could be the missing piece in FaZe’s defense. Not just that, but his confidence to reclaim territory and his ability to trade can be used to patch up the broken CT sides. That’s something FaZe had been lacking. And when rain returns, one of FaZe’s better performers on the map, this might finally start to click.
On Inferno, EliGE and skullz both had rough outings. For those out of the loop, FaZe’s never really nailed down their CT setup on Inferno. The roles keep shifting. When EliGE came in, he took A Long, and rain was asked to anchor Pit. But EliGE struggled there, and now he’s moved to B, though that didn’t seem to help much. Still, it’s a new position, and I’m willing to give him a pass. Same goes for skullz. He never played pit in FURIA, and now he’s asked to hold arguably the most important part of the map.
Moreover, on Inferno, where retakes are a nightmare, you need your anchors to hold their ground, and neither did, which turned out to be the recipe for disaster. Unlike Ancient, this isn’t something that needs to command the team’s fundamental game. It’s simply up to the players to figure out how they want to play these positions. And again, rain coming back might ease things a bit.
One thing still nags at me…
Yes, there were a lot of good signs. But I’m still worried about one thing. This was the first game, fresh blood in the roster, good vibes all around. The boys were laughing even after a 4-8 half on Ancient. But let’s not forget what this team looked like just weeks ago, tired, tilted, out of sync.
I said s1mple’s clutch factor might revive the mood, and I stand by that. But he’s still a double-edged sword. Even in his first match, there were moments where the frustration crept in. FaZe is a team that lives and dies by energy. That’s how karrigan does his best work. But once the honeymoon phase ends and we’re back to the weekly grind, if results don’t follow, the mood can go south real fast. And we’ve seen that story before.
But if the vibes hold, and this spark doesn’t fade, FaZe might just claw their way back into the top five sooner than most expect.
CS is healing me! Ggwp @TeamLiquid
Looking forward for next game, see ya tomorrow #FaZeUp— Sasha (@s1mpleO) May 19, 2025
