FaZe Clan vs Cloud9 at CS:GO IEM Rio Major 2022 - Predictions, head-to-head, livestream details, and more

The Legends Stage of CS:GO's IEM Rio Major 2022 is finally around the corner as the top eight teams from the Challengers Stage prepare to take on their eight Legends opponents. The 16 Legends Stage teams will compete over the next few days at Riocentro in Rio de Janeiro to claim the final eight slots in the tournament's Champions Stage.

The Challengers Stage of the ongoing Majors witnessed a few fan favorites being sent home after their efforts were toppled. After five weeks of intense CS:GO games, eight teams have qualified for the Legends Stage, namely, Bad News Eagles, MOUZ, BIG, FURIA, Outsiders, Cloud9, Vitality, and Fnatic.

They will be matched up in a Swiss-system format against the eight teams that qualified for the tournament with a Legends status, namely, FaZe, NAVI, NIP, ENCE, Sprout, Heroic, Spirit, and Team Liquid.

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FaZe vs Cloud9 at CS:GO - Who will win their opening matchup of IEM Rio Major 2022 Legends Stage?

On Day 1 of the IEM Rio Major 2022 Legends Stage, two of Europe's strongest contenders, FaZe Clan and Cloud9, will compete in a best-of-one fixture as they fight to get closer to their goals of winning the CS:GO Major title.

Predictions

Being the winner of CS:GO's most recent Majors, PGL Antwerp 2022, FaZe Clan carries the hopes and expectations of an army of Counter Strike enthusiasts. While FaZe has retained their Major winning roster, their recent performances have not shown the same level of dominance that they displayed ahead of the Antwerp Major.

Cloud9, on the other hand, enters the Legends Stage after three consecutive victories against top-tier opponents in the Challengers Stage. Although they were off to a rough start, they redeemed themselves with their performances in their elimination and advancement matches.

Apart from exhibiting a series of impressive performances as a team, Cloud9 has also witnessed a mind-blowing individual performance from their AWPer, sh1ro, who has averaged over 28 kills per map in the Challengers Stage. FaZe Clan is still a force to be reckoned with. However, considering Cloud9's current form at the tournament, they can be expected to secure the victory in this best-of-one matchup against the reigning world champions.

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Head-to-head

FaZe Clan has played against the current Cloud9 roster on seven different occasions in the past two years. Their most recent encounter was in a quarter-finals matchup at ESL Pro League Season 16 in September 2022, where Cloud9 emerged victorious with a 2-1 scoreline.

Out of their seven recent CS:GO matchups, FaZe has emerged as the winner in four of them, but has won 10 out of the 18 maps they've played so far. Furthermore, Cloud9 has won their last two encounters against FaZe, making this upcoming Legends Stage matchup something that fans are very excited for.

Cloud9 and FaZe head-to-head CS:GO results (Image via Sportskeeda)

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Recent results

FaZe Clan are yet to test their strengths in the IEM Rio Major 2022. Prior to the Majors, they competed in the Road to Rio: European RMR A, where FaZe's international roster outclassed their regional competition to finish the tournament in the first place. They also recently took part in the ESL Pro League Season 16, where the roster was placed in the 5 - 8th spot.

Cloud9 played against five different teams at the IEM Rio Major in their leadup to the Legends Stage. They kicked off their tournament with back-to-back overtime defeats on Day 1. However, on the brink of elimination, Cloud9 pulled off three consecutive flawless victories (2-0) against the likes of Imperial, Evil Geniuses, and GamerLegion, to claim a spot in the Legends Stage.

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Potential lineups

FaZe Clan

• Håvard "rain" Nygaard
• Helvijs "broky" Saukants
• Russel "Twistzz" Van Dulken
• Finn "karrigan" Andersen (IGL)
• Robin "ropz" Kool
• Robert "RobbaN" Dahlström (Coach)

Cloud9

• Vladislav "nafany" Gorshkov (IGL)
• Dmitriy "sh1ro" Sokolov
• Timofey "interz" Yakushin
• Sergey "Ax1Le" Rykhtorov
• Abai "HObbit" Hasenov
• Konstantin "groove" Pikiner (Coach)

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When and where to watch

CS:GO enthusiasts can tune into ESL CS:GO's official Twitch channel to watch the ongoing IEM Rio Major live. Several streamers and content creators will be livestreaming the match as well. With two matches taking place simultaneously, viewers will have to tune into Stream A to watch the FaZe vs Cloud9 matchup.

FaZe Clan will take on Cloud9 in a best-of-one matchup on November 5, 2022 at 8:15 am PDT / 4:15 am CET / 8:45 pm IST. Fans can also check out Sprout vs BIG, which will be streamed simultaneously on Stream B.