FaZe bomb out yet again as Aurora bag playoffs spot

When will the pain and suffering end?

TYLOO got the better of two round 24s to send FaZe packing from BLAST Open Rotterdam and pile the misery onto an already struggling FaZe Clan.

Sandwiched between those two close maps was a pretty clean win from FaZe with a rare karrigan masterclass that only makes the other two maps all the more frustrating.

TYLOO put up nine on the T side of Mirage, and even a bit of FaZe magic to get the game into a winnable position wasn't enough as Mercury found a slice of arcana himself to put TYLOO on 12 with a nasty 4k, and the Chinese team found a way to win in round 24 even if it wasn't the prettiest.

FaZe's T sides were generally pretty solid in this series; eight on Mirage, six on Ancient and five on Overpass. Quite simply, their CT sides were awful in the two lost maps. karrigan got bullied hard on Mirage, and Twistzz - having been one of the best CT side players in the world last year - found little to no impact on both defenses this time around.

It's all so predictable, and yet we're still disappointed.

We're starting to get a little concerned for FURIA, who have hit a bit of a snag in their form. For most of the second half of last year they were borderline unstoppable, but recent results have been nowhere near that level.

They keep finding themselves in massive deficit situations, and while they have the ability to dig themselves out, your luck will run out against a very good team, and Aurora are starting to click.

This would have been an insane clip were it not for the above sentiment.

Well, it still is, but it's diminished somewhat.

XANTARES absolutely flattened what was the best team in the world not too long ago on Inferno with 16 kills, and MAJ3R, again, has really leveled up individually of late and has been key in many of Aurora's big wins.

Unsurprisingly, Dust 2 was woxic's domain, as it so often is, and Wicadia had one of his better games too; though far too frequently, YEKINDAR was too easy to kill, such is the life of a hyper-aggressive entry fragger.

There's little else to say; Aurora were extremely comfortable on Inferno, though needed overtime on Dust 2, and FURIA do not look like the same team they did last year. YEKINDAR is off it somewhat, and molodoy isn't having one of those pop-off games every map like he seemed to before.

NAVI bagged a playoffs spot over Falcons in a back-and-forth affair that once more served as an audition for makazze's top 20 appearance in 2026.

The guy is on fire and was the best player in the server yet again, narrowly beating out the enigmatic iM, who is as quicksilver as he is talented, as NAVI won back-to-back 13-9s to turn the tide against Falcons.

This is a particular important win for NAVI as kyousuke was actually back for this series over NucleonZ, and it was he who powered Falcons to a win on NAVI's favourite Mirage pick with well over 100 ADR.

Beating Falcons with their full roster outlines NAVI's credentials as a genuine threat to the Vitality throne (or at least as one of their semi- and grand final prey), and makazze being such a key part of the next two map wins only succeeds in underlining his shot at the top 10 players in the world title.

It is, of course, not all him, but NAVI's structure and core around him has forever been solid and it is only his level up that has allowed them to take the next step, so much credit should go to him for filling in the shoes of jL.

NAVI look like one of the best teams in the world right now, and we're desperate to see them against Vitality.

Something has gone horribly wrong at B8, as they've gone out with a whimper against NRG.

oSee, who many were calling for on Liquid, ripped them apart as they struggle to find consistent performances out of their AWPer role, and this is another disappointing showing from B8 who were such a dangerous underdog last year.