FaZe continue free fall, down 0-2 after losing to paiN

After losing their first match in Stage 2 of ESL Pro League Season 23 to G2, FaZe stumbled again in their second. After trading two competitive maps, paiN dominated FaZe on the third, sending them down to the 0-2 group. FaZe now stand one match away from elimination in EPL without winning a single series.

Also read: FaZe can't recover after first map stomp to G2; lose Stage 2 opener at ESL Pro League S23

The series began on paiN's pick of Nuke. Though they lost the pistol and conversion, paiN still put up a phenomenal 8-4 T-side. After losing another pistol and conversion, paiN got two more to take a 10-6 lead. FaZe were not done yet though, as they rallied back to take the game to overtime. There, paiN kept their composure and went flawless in the first half. FaZe got one, but paiN managed to secure their pick 16-13.

FaZe started their Dust2 pick with a strong 4-0 lead. However, paiN hit back hard with eight rounds in a row to put FaZe down 4-8. After losing the next two rounds, FaZe faced a daunting 4-10 scoreline. Despite the long odds, FaZe came back again to get another overtime. paiN got the first round, but FaZe won the next four to take their pick 16-13 and tie the series.

The decider was Mirage, and the first half was a familiar story. FaZe struggled to break through paiN's defense as the Brazilians put up a 9-3 CT-side. FaZe won their fourth pistol to start their CT-side, but it wasn't enough. paiN quickly closed out the map 13-5, ending the series 2-1.

Brazilian AWPer Lucas "nqz" Soares had a great series, ending the match with 70 kills and a 15-3 K/D in opening duels.

ESL Pro League Season 23 Stage 2

Bo3

FaZe

1 - 2

paiN

All maps

FaZe	K - D	+/-	ADR	KAST	Rating 3.0
David 'frozen' Čerňanský	62 - 52	+10	83.8	73.7%	1.26
Jakub 'jcobbb' Pietruszewski	47 - 59	-12	67.3	67.1%	0.94
Helvijs 'broky' Saukants	54 - 54	+0	65.7	68.4%	0.91
Russel 'Twistzz' Van Dulken	45 - 56	-11	66.7	64.5%	0.85
Finn 'karrigan' Andersen	32 - 55	-23	54.5	56.6%	0.76

paiN	K - D	+/-	ADR	KAST	Rating 3.0
Lucas 'nqz' Soares	70 - 44	+26	89.1	78.9%	1.35
Guilherme 'piriajr' Barbosa	53 - 50	+3	76.6	77.6%	1.28
Rodrigo 'biguzera' Bittencourt	56 - 46	+10	80.4	72.4%	1.20
Vinicius 'vsm' Moreira	49 - 43	+6	67.6	76.3%	1.02
João 'snow' Vinicius	47 - 58	-11	70.2	68.4%	0.93