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FaZe Destroy Cloud9 to Win ESL Pro League Season 17 and Secure Intel Grand Slam

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FaZe Destroy Cloud9 to Win ESL Pro League Season 17 and Secure Intel Grand Slam

The month-long 17th season of ESL Pro League came to a close with the superteam claiming a massive payday

ESL Pro League Season 17 is finally over, and we have a winner in the form of FaZe Clan. The transatlantic giants triumphed in commanding fashion after beating CIS squad Cloud9 3-1 in a Best of 5 Grand Final. In addition to their Pro League prize of $200,000, Finn “karrigan” Andersen and his team also finally managed to seal the deal on the $1 million Intel Grand Slam by winning 4 out of the last 10 ESL or DreamHack events. 

This also means that FaZe member Russel “Twistzz” Van Dulken becomes the first player to win the Intel Grand Slam with two different teams, having first won the jackpot in July 2019 while playing for American clan Team Liquid. 

ESL Pro League Season 17 Grand Final Recap

The stage was set for FaZe and Cloud9 to fight to the death with a lot more than pride and glory on the line. Five of the seven maps were chosen, and the teams began their battles.

Overpass 

FaZe got off to a good start on their chosen T-side of Cloud9’s pick Overpass, and although the Russian side struck back with 5 rounds on the trot, the former was able to secure the last two rounds of the half to win it 8-7. Once the sides were switched, C9 fought valiantly despite FaZe’s own 5-round streak on the defense, but their efforts went in vain when FaZe closed the game out 16-13 in the nick of regulation time. Abay ”HObbit” Khassenov’s titanic effort was thwarted by Robin “ropz” Kool and Håvard “rain” Nygaard.

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Inferno 

Moving on to Inferno, FaZe showed just why they picked the map with a 9-0 start on the defense. Cloud9 were able to salvage the half somewhat with 4 rounds by the end of the first 15, but after FaZe won the Pistol Round and converted the next two, the margin for error for Cloud9 was simply too narrow, and they lost 16-9. A godlike effort by Sergey ”Ax1Le” Rykhtorov was undermined by his underperforming teammates, while Helvijs “broky” Saukants and the aforementioned ropz rocked the server for their team.

Mirage 

Despite a good start on the defense by FaZe, C9 finally showed signs of life with a 6-round streak that saw them secure a decent 7 on the attacking half. For once, FaZe’s attacks fell short, and the CIS side’s ironclad defense won them a much-needed 16-11 victory to keep their tournament life alive. This time it was another incredible performance by broky that went in vain (which included an insane 1v4 clutch), with HObbit and Dmitriy ”sh1ro” Sokolov leading the charge for C9.

Ancient

It was a repeat of Mirage as Cloud9 secured 7 rounds on their T-side, but FaZe were lightning-quick in striking back as they piled up 5 quick rounds on the attack to lead 13-7. A short comeback by C9 followed, but just when it seemed as though they might take things to a fifth map, FaZe managed to take three on the trot to win the match and series as well as lock down the Intel Grand Slam. Twistzz led the way for the winners, with ropz following close behind. 

Robin “ropz” Kool Wins MVP 

Known for his namesake demeanor and incredible clutches, ropz, whose name you’ve already seen mentioned many times above, became the MVP of the tournament for his borderline ridiculous consistency. The Estonian has been the anchor for the team, and has played a massive part in FaZe’s success over the last year or so.

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