It’s the end of the road for FaZe at EWc, and possibly for the famed trio as a whole.
After barely escaping the first day of the Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Esports World Cup (EWC) tournament, FaZe Clan couldn't skate by for another day. In their first match on day two, FaZe Clan was thoroughly defeated by OMiT, the same amateur team they barely beat on day one.
This officially ends FaZe's run as defending EWC champions, and they placed top 12 at the event this year. That marks Simp's worst placement of his career and the first time Cellium and aBeZy have placed that low since Black Ops 4 in 2019. The low placing might not even be the worst part about this entire ordeal, however, as many expect FaZe's famed trio to split up following their tumultuous end to the Black Ops 6 season.
FaZe lose to OMiT to bow out of EWC
Let's take stock of FaZe's run at EWC. First, the team narrowly escaped disaster against OMiT in their first match, defeating the Challenger Champs winners in map five, round 11. Simp and Drazah responded to the win by saying a "win is a win," but it was clear FaZe's troubles from Champs, which saw them place top six, had followed them to EWC.
After that sluggish win, FaZe was immediately outclassed by Team Heretics in their second match, losing 3-1. This forced them to compete on day two against the winners of the Project 7/OMiT match. As expected, OMiT defeated Project 7, which was really the OMiT Brooklyn roster, and a rematch with FaZe was now a reality.
The second time around, it was clear OMiT wasn't going to get beaten for a second time. The amateur squad made FaZe look like they belonged in Challengers, dismantling them in both Hardpoints and the Control. FaZe only managed to squeak out a Search and Destroy map win on Hacienda, but even that wasn't convincing.
It was a series of mistakes for every member of FaZe, but mostly Drazah, who mistakenly gave up spawns at the end of the first Hardpoint on Skyline to allow OMiT to easily gain control of the final hill. Drazah finished the series with a 0.79 KD, the worst on the team. However, every FaZe member finished with a KD below 1.00, so it's hard to put the blame on a single player.
The loss sends FaZe home for the year, forcing them to wait for perhaps the most intriguing rostermania season of the CDL era. Meanwhile, OMiT are flying high and propel themselves into bracket play against Team Heretics. OMiT is the first amateur team to make bracket play in COD's history at EWC.
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Will the FaZe trio split up following their horrid EWC performance?
Obviously, the question on every COD fan's mind is: "Will Atlanta FaZe split during rostermania?" While we won't have an official answer to that burning question for at least a few weeks, the outlook for FaZe is troubling.
The team did win two Majors in Black Ops 6, but the end of the season proves that the team chemistry simply isn't there anymore. Something needs to change if FaZe wants to consistently compete against the rapidly improving competition in the CDL.
The most likely outcome for FaZe during rostermania is that the team moves on from Drazah. He's been on the team for the least amount of time and performed the worst out of the four players in the second half of the season. With how great Challenger players have been performing in the CDL and against pros in Black Ops 6, maybe FaZe looks to pick up an AR like OMiT's Craze or Mamba, both of whom just walloped FaZe at EWC.
Of course, the other way FaZe could go is finally splitting up the trio of Cellium, Simp, and aBeZy. The three players have been together since 2019, and a change of scenery could be beneficial for all sides. It remains to be seen whether or not the trio are free agents, which would obviously play a large role in how rostermania plays out. However, a team like the Vegas Falcons, who have money to spend, could tempt FaZe with an intriguing buyout figure to pry one or more of the trio away.
Right now, everything seems to be on the table for FaZe. The general consensus, though, is that the most successful trio in COD history has likely played their last match together. We'll have to see how things play out when rostermania begins following EWC and before the Black Ops 7 season gets underway. You can expect teams to start making changes in August, but nothing has to be done by a certain timeframe.