FaZe Clan emerged victorious from their grand final match-up against Team Liquid, securing $125,000 in prize money.
Last night saw the finalisation of ESL One New York 2017, where FaZe Clan managed a 3-0 map victory against Team Liquid in the grand final. A grand total of $125,000 was obtained by the team for first place, whilst the American roster would subsequently have to do with $50,000. Whilst the series adhered to a best-of-five format, only three maps were played in the end, as FaZe Clan came out with an incredibly convincing performance.
FaZe Clan vs. 
Team Liquid - 3-0
de_inferno - 16:3 (15:0, 1:3)
An absolute disaster of a start for the local representatives, as immense struggle was experienced by Team Liquid on the T side of the map. Over the entire first half Team Liquid was unable to produce a single round, destroying any chance of a comeback on inferno. All fifteen rounds fell in favour of FaZe Clan, leading to a very real possibility of a flawless map score for the European mix.
Having switched over to the CT side Team Liquid managed the pistol round, followed by two, however the map was finalised on FaZe's gun round, demolishing the opposition with a 16:3 score line. The entire roster of Team Liquid was underperforming, all sporting a rating of less than one. Not a single member was able to contest the individual performances of FaZe, with NiKo leading the charge at a 2.7 K:D.
de_overpass - 16:14 (11:4, 5:10)
Following a bitter loss Team Liquid realigned and engaged the enemy head on. Kicking off on the CT side the Americans managed the first pistol, followed by two more rounds to leap into a 3:0 lead. Despite the successful early effort things went south once more for Liquid, as FaZe Clan capitalised their gun round and exponentially developed momentum. The CTs were able to punch in an additional round at four for the first half, however the majority went to FaZe at 11:4.
Significantly more fruitful for Liquid was the second half on the T side. FaZe snagged the pistol round, followed by one, only to be upset in the third by a force buy from the Americans. Having reset the Europeans' economy, Liquid struck with vim, stringing together rounds consistently. Unfortunately the initial deficit sustained had given FaZe just enough mileage for a victory, as the team secured the thirtieth round at the expense of potential overtime at 16:14.
de_mirage - 16:4 (11:4, 5:0)
Championship map kicked off with FaZe Clan on the CT side of affairs. The European mix snagged the pistol plus two, following two consecutive losses. Once again able to buy the team continued their winning streak, securing a total of eight additional round come half time. Team Liquid on the other hand were in quite the predicament faced with a 4:11 deficit.
No breathing room for the American roster on the defence, as FaZe blitzed five consecutive rounds to close out the map and series at a rather brief 16:4. Undeniably one of the most crucial factors in the entire series was Nikola 'NiKo' Kovacs who consistently sustained the highest performance rating of all players on the server. Additionally, all members of FaZe were able to outshine the Americans in individual performances.
Images courtesy of ESLCS Twitter
