FaZe Clan vs Cloud9 – ELEAGUE CS: GO Invitational 2019

The first pairs of play-offs of the ELEAGUE CS: GO Invitational 2019 tournament were determined. FaZe Clan will fight Cloud9, and compLexity Gaming will meet with BIG. The first match is scheduled for January 25. The championship will be held in Atlanta from 25 to 27 January. All matches will play up to two wins. In the double-elimination grid, the four invited teams will play for $ 150 thousand. ELEAGUE CS: GO Invitational 2019 is the first tournament from ELEAGUE of the new year.

The reason we have picked this match for you is that it is a fight for Supremacy for two big names of CS: GO, FaZe Clan vs Cloud9. Both teams have made changes to their line-ups. Therefore, it will be interesting to see which team will start the year on a high.

FaZe Clan

A couple of weeks ago, FaZe Clan made some changes to their CS: GO lineup with the arrival of two new members in its ranks. The side has recruited, the former Gambit player AdreN and former coach of MiBR, YNk to replace karrigan and RobbaN.

Karrigan leaves

After many disappointments in a 2018 year marked by only three trophies, the team of superstars that FaZe Clan had went lineup changes a few days before the start of the 2019 season. The CS: GO side announced its decision to part ways from Finn ” karrigan ” Andersen. In fact, karrigan released from his role as leader. The player did like a change of the roles under the captaincy of his teammate Nikola ” NiKo ” Kovač, probably making him the weak link of this talented roster.

Reduced to the number of four players, it was then the historic coach of the American team:  Robert ” RobbaN ” Dahlström who had announced to leave his coaching role. On January 6, 2019, RobbaN left the position of FaZe Clan coach to spend more time with his family. He will remain in the structure of the organization; a new post will be announced in late January. However, FaZe Clan was quick to announce Robert’s Replacement.

AdreN steps in

Thus, to overcome these two major starts, FaZe Clan decided to sign to two big names in the Counter-Strike scene: Global Offensive. First, it was the Kazakh and Major winner, under the colors of Gambit Esports in July 2017, Dauren ” AdreN ” Kystaubayev who was selected by the formation to complete this already extremely experienced team.

Behind these players is the former coach of Made in Brazil training, who recently decided to return to make a return to the competitive scene Janko ” YNk ” Paunovic. YNk began his career as a coach in August 2018, when he became a MIBR mentor. Prior to that, he was an analyst at tournament broadcasts, and from 2013 to 2015 he performed professionally at CS: GO. With Paunovich, MIBR won the ZOTAC Cup Masters 2018, played in the finals of the BLAST Pro Series – Istanbul 2018 and ECS Season 6, and also reached the semifinals of FACEIT Major – London 2018. On December 21, 2018, Wilton zews Prado replaced YNk as the team coach.

Paunovich – the coach

Paunovich will occupy the position of FaZe Clan coach temporarily on a contract. Janko ” YNk ” Paunovic, especially known for being one of the sharpest analysts for three years now, should resume his services immediately and his focus will be to bring the glory back to the side of FaZe.

This new roster of FaZe has decent potential, we believe that they can make a solid mark this season. Since karrigan and Niko rivalry within the same team had a major impact in the fall of the side on the competitive scale. Now, they have a decent player AdreN who himself is a former major winner. The side has also acquired the services of one of the best coaches in the world. The team might take a few weeks to settle, but in this competition, they should see off teams like Cloud9.

Cloud9

Cloud9 had roster problems all year long. The NA side has not a permanent roster since May 26th. The team sent Pujana “FNS” Mehta to the reserve and temporarily acquired services of Martina “STYKO” Stico from mousesports. In July Tarik “tarik” Celik left for MIBR; in his place, CLoud9 redeemed Michael “Golden” Selim. The squad took 12-14 place at FACEIT Major – London 2018.  After this poor display, Cloud9 introduced Robin “flusha” Ronquest as a regular player.

Several roster changes

In 2018 the Cloud9 lived a kind of “roller coaster”, mixing between the greatest moment of its history in the CS: GO and a crisis in its escalation. In January, they won the game’s highest title after a FaZe Clan victory at the ELeague Boston Major. After that, the team did not meet again and underwent several changes throughout the year. In October, Tyler “Skadoodle” Latham went inactive and in the active lineup, he was replaced by Fabien “kioShiMa” Fier. With the signing of kioShiMa in Cloud9, now there are three Europeans players in the squad.

Zallsis joining the squad

Three weeks ago, the team in our opinion made the same mistake that they did last year. The NA side signed Jordan “Zellsis” Montemurro, on trial but they had a valid reason. In mid-autumn, Golden took a career break due to illness. According to his teammate automatic, the Swedish player has heart problems and needs to avoid stress. The Management of Cloud9 announced that Golden will return to the team as soon as he improves his health. After the replacement, the team could lose a slot in the preliminary stage of the major IEM Katowice 2019, as there were two players left who played at FACEIT Major – London 2018. But first, they will have to compete in the ELEAGUE, which they are likely to fail against the rejuvenated team of FaZe.

Final Verdict

FaZe Clan Victory

Odds on bookmakers

Bookmakers	FaZe Clan Odds		Cloud9 Odds
	European	American	European	American
GG.bet	1.62	-161.29	2.19	+119.00
Loot.bet	1.51	-196.08	2.51	+151.00
Bet365	1.57	-175.44	2.25	+125.00
Betway	1.55	-181.82	2.30	+130.00