By defeating OG in the IEM New York Grand Final, European team Faze became the tournament leader. Such a final match was unexpected for many, as it brought together teams that were not in the top ten of the world ranking – OG is in thirteenth place in the world ranking, and Faze – seventeenth. That said, Faze hasn't won a major event since last November, when the team won the BLAST Pro Series in Copenhagen. It is an achievement for OG to make it to the grand finals – while this is the highest result of the team created about ten months ago.
OG has already met Faze at this tournament, defeating them 2-0. However, the team failed to repeat this success in the final match. On the first map (Mirage), the forces of the sides were roughly equal, and Faze managed to take it with only a slight advantage (20 – 22). But on the next two maps, the team achieved a more decisive advantage, eventually taking the match by a score of 3-0. Prior to this, Faze had already racked up some impressive wins at the tournament, winning unanimous decision victories against Heroic, BIG, and Vitality. This is the team's first significant success after adding Danish player Markus «Kjaerbye» Kjaerbye to its roster.
