What to expect from Liquid versus FaZe

The action in Group C of the BLAST Premier Fall Groups resumes tomorrow, with FaZe and Liquid set to tussle for a spot in the group's final, bringing them one step closer to qualifying for the BLAST Premier Fall Final. While FaZe's appearance in this side of the bracket was expected by many, Liquid's presence is a bit more unexpected, coming about after a hard-fought 2-1 victory over G2, one of the few squads who opted to go without roster moves during the recent off-season.

Liquid came to play

Losing star rifler Jonathan "EliGE" Jablonowski and IGL Nick "nitr0" Canella in favor of two European imports raised a number of questions regarding the future of this Liquid roster, but the most immediate concern for this event was whether or not the team would be able to tussle with established squads like FaZe and G2. Without a doubt, Liquid's 2-1 win over G2 has cemented that the team has not lost much ground despite the two additions, meaning that FaZe should not expect a walk in the park heading into this series.

It is worth noting that Mareks "YEKINDAR" Gaļinskis in particular played well in the series versus G2, averaging a 1.14 rating across the three maps, the second-best on the squad. This solid showing provides some indication that YEKINDAR's individual form may not be entirely hampered by his assuming of full-time IGL duties. Of, course this can be difficult to extrapolate from only a single game, but it is a positive sign nonetheless.

Could FaZe get caught off guard?

FaZe's opening match of the group was against OG, a team rebuilt around Nemanja "nexa" Isaković and Maciej "FIKU" Miklas with the addition of three new players, fundamentally a new core from the year's earlier lineup. Despite basically working from scratch, OG managed to keep FaZe honest, particularly on their pick of Inferno, where OG narrowly fell 14-16.

One could make the case that a strong Inferno for Iulian "regali" Harjău, with a 1.33 rating on the map, gave OG a better chance than anticipated, but it is also quite possible that FaZe were not as prepared to handle this fresh lineup as they could have been. If that were the true cause, then FaZe will need to be particularly cautious versus Liquid.

Previous matchups

These two squads most recently faced off at IEM Dallas, where FaZe bested Liquid 2-0, but this was prior to the additions of Aleks "Rainwaker" Petrov and Robert "Patsi" Isyanov, so quite a few variables have changed since then.

Likely vetoes

Liquid's new roster has also brought about new preferences for the team in regard to the map veto. While Vertigo was formerly the team's permaban, this is no longer the case with this lineup, forcing FaZe to use their first ban on Vertigo rather than just floating the map. Liquid's ban against G2 of Nuke could be indicative of a new permaban for the squad, but Liquid does have the opportunity to target a favorite of FaZe's if they feel so inclined. The remainder of this veto is difficult to discern, as this new Liquid has only played three maps, with FaZe also having a wide range of flexibility in their picks and bans leaving the latter portion quite open-ended. A potential veto could be:

• FaZe ban Vertigo

• Liquid ban Nuke

• FaZe pick Inferno

• Liquid pick Ancient

• FaZe ban Anubis

• Liquid ban Mirage

• Decider is Overpass

FaZe and Liquid are set to face off tomorrow at 09:00AM.