The best team in the world according to the HLTV ranking was eliminated on the first day of the first CS2 LAN tournament after two consecutive defeats in the group stage.
We expected to see some surprise at the start of Sydney, not only due to the new version of the counter that most are still getting used to, but also due to the fact that the first round was played on only one given map in the abbreviated mr12 format, but no one could have guessed that one of the main favorites will end the participation already in the first day.
For that to happen, Vitality had to lose one Bo1 match, and then a Bo3 duel in the fight for survival, and such an outcome was facilitated by the fact that FaZe Clan also tripped at the start of the competition, which is why we have already watched the great Vitality - FaZe derby in the first round of the loser's bracket, that is, in the fight for survival.
Both teams lost their first matches after overtime. Vitality kicked off the tournament with a battle against BetBoom, and both teams took T sides on the Mirage map 8-4. Vitality managed to defend three match points that BetBoom had in regulation, but they succumbed in overtime and BetBoom took the 16-14 victory.
FaZe lasted longer against GamerLegion who needed two overtimes to pull off a surprise. The battle took place on the Nuke map, FaZe had victory in hand but Sebastian "volt" Malos made an incredible post plant 1 on 3 clutch and managed to defuse the bomb. Two overtimes later, GL gets a big 19-15 victory and is one step away from qualifying for the playoffs.
Vitality and FaZe began a battle for survival on the Overpass map. FaZe had a chance to take a 1-0 lead, but Vitality managed to outplay them and take the lead 16-14 after overtime. FaZe was able to respond and snatch Inferno from their rivals, only for Nuke to decide the eventual winner.
Vitality had a huge 8-1 advantage at the start of the third map, but FaZe managed to win three key runs in the end of the first half and then with steady play in the rest, completely shut down Vitality's T side for a 13-9 victory.
Tomorrow FaZe expects another derby for survival in the tournament, this time their opponent will be Na'Vi, but FaZe enters this match as absolute favorites as Na'Vi is forced to play without the star of the team Aleksandr "s1mple" Kostylieva who is replaced by the coach team Andrij "B1ad3" Ghorodenskjkyj.
