FaZe Clan vs Ghost Gaming

iBUYPOWER Masters 2019

In this tip, we will be taking a close look at a best of one match-up between teams FaZe Clan and Ghost Gaming in the first round of the iBUYPOWER Masters 2019. Faze Clan is currently favored in this matchup with the current odds at time of writing being a 1.31; they are also the team I am predicting to win this series. Let's dive into detail and back up why I feel this way.

Faze Clan:

Throughout 2018 Faze Clan has been dipping in and out of the top 5 teams in the world. After the heartbreaking loss at the 2018 Major in Boston to the once all-american Cloud9, Faze Clan have been struggling to find themselves. With mostly second place finishes and just a handful of actual event wins Faze Clan as an organization and not so much as a team decided to replace in-game leader and captain of the team Karrigan. In his spot Faze opted for more of the thing that got them to those deeper event finished: firepower. So in replacement of the leader of the squad Faze Clan picked up CIS rifler and Major MVP 'Adren' from Gambit. With Karrigan's departure 'Niko' will take over the shot calling and we should see a lot more aggressive fast-paced levels of play where Faze Clan should be able to run over opponents with sheer brute force. An interesting team with a new interesting dynamic that I foresee to be an unpredictable force in the current meta. Only time will tell.

Ghost Gaming:

Ghost Gaming is as unique in their team as they are in their potential. I praise highly Ghost Gaming for taking the chance they did on 'Steel' and allowed him to build a team to compete in non-valve based events. For those unaware, in-game leader 'Steel' has banned from all Valve sponsored events for engaging in match-fixing in the early years of competitive Counter-Strike. Steel has grown since then and has established himself as one of the best and most knowledgable North American players. Truly a unique team and they have been only getting better with time. However, in this event and more specifically this game against Faze Clan, Ghost Gaming will have a hard mountain to climb. Ghost Gaming is a strategy-based team with different setups and executes to maximize the value in their players, they watch a lot of demos in an attempt to predict opposing teams plays to come. But this may be an issue against a play style like Faze Clan's. Where the style of play is almost unpredictable and therefore difficult to read for a team like Ghost.

Maps:

When it comes to maps in a best of one, almost anything goes, Faze Clan is showing an advantage on all maps but Cache and will likely ban it out and try to play towards a favorite like Train or Mirage.

Final Statement:

Faze Clan have purposely made themselves become unpredictable. Which will be an interesting dynamic to watch when this game is played, I feel Ghost will struggle against such a wild formatted team and may string together a few rounds but ultimately Faze Clan should come through as the winners.