FaZe beat Surge in dramatic fashion, Simp and Slasher discuss victory
Throughout the Major 3 qualifiers and entering the Winner's Bracket, Atlanta FaZe has been playing in a whole different tier than the rest of the league.
Seattle Surge has been playing at its best, but could it be enough to take down the giants?
The first map was going to be vital for the Surge to take control of the match, but they struggled to keep pace with FaZe on Embassy Hardpoint. They quickly dropped 250-185, giving FaZe a quick 1-0 edge.
FaZe has been lights out on SnD. Literally, unbeatable as of late. But if there's a team that's going to compete with them, it's going to be Seattle.
It started off shaky for Surge, with Tyler "aBeZy" Pharris getting off to a remarkable start, and FaZe never looked back. They took the Hotel Hardpoint 6-3.
It wasn't looking good for Surge. Going down 2-0 to any team in the competitive state of the Call of Duty League is never promising, but down 2-0 to FaZe is detrimental.
But to everyone's surprise, Surge came firing back, beating FaZe 3-2 in one of the closest Control matches we've seen all year. Then, they played a tremendous Fortress Hardpoint, making smart rotations and getting on hills quickly, winning 250-220, bringing the match to a game 5.
Seattle draws the dreaded Embassy SnD against FaZe. The dagger in the heart of Surge, right?
What was expected to be a quick game 5 turned into one of the more entertaining SnD rounds of the weekend. The Surge took FaZe to a round 11 but couldn't quite clutch up the last two kills and drop to the Loser's Bracket.
We spoke to Austin "SlasheR" Liddicoat and Chris "Simp" Lehr after their exhilarating game.
Obviously, you guys have been on fire in Search and Destroy. They took you down to game 11. How are you feeling after that?
Simp: Sigh of relief. I mean, especially, like, After round 11, game 5, just a lot of emotion goes into it. So just feel on top of the road after a game like that.
Slasher: Yeah. I mean, that whole game was just like we're clawing time I felt like we were always down. They were playing really well, especially Pred. So being able to clutch up that round, especially around 11. What he did was absolutely freaking insane.
You guys went up two nothing, and they got two back on you. Give me a little bit about the emotions you guys go through to hone that all in and take the win.
Slasher: To be honest, I was kind of kicking myself a little bit for my game my play in map 3 because we won the game, and I made, like, a costly mistake in round 5. But you gotta shake something off like that and always rebound. And I feel like I played pretty well in game 5.
Simp: Because I feel like you take every map, just by its own map, and now let the other one distract you because, you know, you can get the 3-0d in control, but, you know, with the search record we have, like, you can always run on search so you can always just get the next map.
I don't know if it was 5-4 or somewhere around there, but you [Slasher] got Sib sniping at you over in the corner. You're lying down. A perfect time to just stay prone and let your guys take charge there. Give me that mindset you're going through. You gotta sniper bearing down on you.
Slasher: To be honest, we're in a 2V3. So we're a man down. I was kinda just taking the chall. I was, like, if he hits the shot, he hits the shot, he wins like it is what it is, but it's a tough shot to hit. And I don't know how he didn't die. I gotta see the replay because I hit him 6 times in the face. No bullshit. I was counting my frickin hit markers. And he kept peaking. I kept hitting him, and he never dropped. But then he [Simp] went crazy in orange and won us the round.
For both of you, playing against a guy like Pred, he's always a tough guy to take out. What is it like playing against someone of his caliber?
Simp: I mean, it's difficult, but, at the same time, I feel like just having someone that puts your skillset to the test, I feel like, is the best competition you can get. So every time I play those guys, it's a really just close, great series.
Slasher: Yeah. I'm also really good friends with all the guys over there. So, like, it's always a good rivalry. I feel like our match is always really close. And, yeah, they're just a really good team, so it's fun.
