Three maps, 13-11 on the decider. It was as close as it could have been between the two teams that contested the first big final of 2024 to conclude the Counter-Strike year, and in the end, youth triumphed over experience as Spirit barely edged out FaZe in a fantastic series.
The professional Counter-Strike year really truly began with IEM Katowice and the emergence of donk, with the grand final pitting Spirit and FaZe against each other. That time, it was a 3-0 romp in favor of the CIS squad, but the dominance it augured didn’t come to pass. Ten months later, after a topsy-turvy year, both teams defied expectations to make it to the grand final of the Shanghai Major, and they put on an incredible show.
Much was made of FaZe’s travails heading into the tournament, with rumors persisting about an impending roster change heading into 2025. Even with all the deep playoff runs and the occasional trophy, it’s been a huge fall from grace for the team that dominated the early proceedings in the CS2 era, including a runner-up finish at the Copenhagen CS2 Major.
But after a lethargic group stage showing, broky and ropz found their old selves in the playoffs, putting up vintage performances against Vitality and G2 to book their spot in the grand final. However, they barely fell short to Team Spirit, who ended the year with a resurgence of their own.
FaZe’s Nuke pick backfired spectacularly, as they couldn’t follow up a strong opening half on the T side with a meaningful defense of their own, losing the map 13-8 courtesy of massive individual performances from magixx and donk. However, they more than made up for it an Ancient, where it was the ropz and frozen show, but a similar story: Spirit’s 4 T rounds seemed fairly impressive, and they closed the gap with a pistol round win conversion, but FaZe then rattled off five straight round wins in a row to set up the decider.
If there ever was a time and a place for donk to make his mark, it was Dust 2 in the grand final. With a monstrous 1.98 rating on the map, he was the clear difference-maker in an incredible series. With a strong defense and an 8-2 lead that diminished to 8-4 at the end of the half, the CIS squad was inches away from the title as they won the pistol round on the T side and converted the subsequent two rounds as well, securing match point shortly thereafter at 12-5.
FaZe almost pulled off one of their usual incredible comebacks, producing many highlight-worthy moments along the way, but a seven-round deficit proved too much to overcome, as Spirit ultimately secured their maiden Major title in the final round of regulation, with donk breaking a series of individual records by becoming the youngest-ever Major MVP at 17 years of age, and the highest rating at 1.49 at that.
