ForZe vs FaZe Clan Preview: ESL Pro League Season 17 Playoffs

They might have similar names and stylizing, but there’s little else that’s similar between FaZe Clan and forZe going into this ESL Pro League Season 17 Quarterfinal

The constantly shifting landscape of the CSGO scene offers up many surprises from time to time, and this has to be one of the biggest so far this year. It’s not every day that a top team moves on from the Round of 12 to the Quarterfinal of a big-ticket tournament to find a tier 2 team already waiting for them there, but such has been the form of forZe. This is where their real test begins, though, and if you’re planning to do some CSGO betting or just want to know more about the teams involved, this preview is for you.

forZe 

Following their unexpected and epic dominance of Group D, forZe have been waiting on the wings for the Quarterfinals to begin. Unlike some other teams, their journey was far from easy as they fought and beat the likes of Natus Vincere, Team Spirit and ENCE enroute to their direct berth. The team seems to have shaped up nicely, but no team truly proves itself until it plays the knockout stage of the biggest LAN tournaments, and this will be forZe’s first of the kind. They have shown they have the talent, but now it’s time for them to show their nerve.

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Players

Andrey “Jerry” Mekhryakov

• HLTV Rating: 1.06
• Impact Rating: 1.05
• Kill/Assist/Survived/Traded: 70.9%
• Average Damage Round: 76.4
• Kills Per Round: 0.68

Vladislav “Krad” Kravchenko

• HLTV Rating: 1.06
• Impact Rating: 1.09
• Kill/Assist/Survived/Traded: 68.7%
• Average Damage Round: 76.6
• Kills Per Round: 0.69

Aleksandr “zorte” Zagodyrenko

• HLTV Rating: 1.14
• Impact Rating: 1.14
• Kill/Assist/Survived/Traded: 72.7%
• Average Damage Round: 73.3
• Kills Per Round: 0.72

Evgeniy “r3salt” Frolov

• HLTV Rating: 1.05
• Impact Rating: 1.07
• Kill/Assist/Survived/Traded: 68.8%
• Average Damage Round: 76.1
• Kills Per Round: 0.69

Aleksandr “shalfey” Marenov

• HLTV Rating: 1.12
• Impact Rating: 1.10
• Kill/Assist/Survived/Traded: 71.7%
• Average Damage Round: 77.9
• Kills Per Round: 0.71

Player To Watch

We’ve been backing shalfey for a while, but this time we’ll change things up and go with r3salt, who has also been superb.

FaZe Clan

After thrashing a formidable-looking FURIA, FaZe looks determined to finally take home the Intel Grand Slam they’ve been hunting for for so long. They had a good run in the Group Stage before falling to Vitality, but seems to have worked on their issues and are the overwhelming favorites to win this matchup. However, that same on-paper advantage could become counterproductive if it translates into pressure should they fall behind, so they’ll have to be on their toes.

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Players

Håvard “rain” Nygaard

• HLTV Rating: 1.03
• Impact Rating: 1.16
• Kill/Assist/Survived/Traded: 69.9%
• Average Damage Round: 80.0
• Kills Per Round: 0.71

Helvijs “broky” Saukants

• HLTV Rating: 1.10
• Impact Rating: 1.01
• Kill/Assist/Survived/Traded: 72.7%
• Average Damage Round: 73.1
• Kills Per Round: 0.70

Russel “Twistzz” Van Dulken

• HLTV Rating: 1.11
• Impact Rating: 1.08
• Kill/Assist/Survived/Traded: 73.8%
• Average Damage Round: 76.8
• Kills Per Round: 0.73

Finn “karrigan” Andersen

• HLTV Rating: 0.91
• Impact Rating: 0.92
• Kill/Assist/Survived/Traded: 66.9%
• Average Damage Round: 68.8
• Kills Per Round: 0.62

Robin “ropz” Kool

• HLTV Rating: 1.15
• Impact Rating: 1.09
• Kill/Assist/Survived/Traded: 72.5%
• Average Damage Round:78.4
• Kills Per Round:0.74

Player to Watch

Considering his return to form, we’re going with rain as the player to watch on FaZe for this match. 

ESL Pro League Season 17 Playoffs: forZe vs FaZe Clan Predictions

The Russian side is a great up and coming team, but FaZe are looking way above their pay grade. We call a 2-0 for the superteam.

Maps 

The first two maps should be a basic mix of Mirage and Inferno, while the third will likely be Ancient.

Score 

Map 1: FaZe to win with forZe <12.

Map 2: FaZe to win with forZe <10.

Top Fragger

Once again, we’ll go with rain for this one given the Norwegian’s tendency to pop off.

ESL Pro League Season 17 Playoffs: forZe vs FaZe Clan Match Links

ESL’s Twitch and YouTube channels are both slated to cover the match, with the broadcast set to begin at 10:30 ET/09:30 CST/07:30 PT.

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