For years, MOUZ has always been considered budget FaZe, but no more.

Gone are the days when MOUZ will be seen as a glorified academy project for FaZe, and even though FaZe got the better of MOUZ just last year, we’re pretty sure those days will stay firmly in their place in history.

Don’t let the Dust2 13-11 fool you, MOUZ always felt in control in their quarter-finalmatch against karrigan and co. Sure, FaZe may have gone on a lengthy round-winning streak, but MOUZ won when they decided they were going to. This xertioN 1v4 sums up just how much of a mess FaZe are right now.

Mirage was an absolute drubbing, too. Jimpphat was a menace on the T side, going 21-2 to limit FaZe to just two rounds. He didn’t let up in the second half either, adding six more to his tally as MOUZ sunk their long-time rivals 13-2.

That Mirage game wasn’t the only 13-2 in the quarter-finals at BLAST Rivals. Spirit also gave Wildcard a dressing down on Dust2. A scoreline that lies within the realms of expectation given the gulf between the two teams, alongside the 13-7 that came on Anubis, we had some hope for Spirit’s chances in the semis.

Boy, were we wrong.

As it happened, Spirit were just no match for Vitality in the next round. Even a month away to rest and practice couldn’t give Spirit enough juice to win a single map. They were blown out of the water with 13-8, 13-9 defeats on Mirage and Nuke.

MOUZ didn’t fare much better in their own semi-final, although they did manage to push Falcons to OT on map one, Nuke.

A far better outcome than at IEM Melbourne – this time they managed to make one of the maps competitive – but when Magisk even decides to turn up to work, it’s never going to be easy.

An eventual defeat that clearly took a lot out of MOUZ, Falcons secured their spot in the grand final with ease. m0NESY styled on them with 23 kills to send them packing at 13-6 on Dust2.