Opening matches in a double elimination group immediately create two different routes through the bracket for teams. A victory allows a team to keep its place in the upper part of the bracket and continue the fight with a larger margin for error, while a loss after the first series sharply increases the value of the next match.
Tournament context
FISSURE Playground 3 is played with a group stage in a double elimination Bo3 format. In the Opening round, the winner moves to the Upper semi-finals, while the losing team drops to Lower round 1 and continues the tournament with no room for another unsuccessful series.
In the opening match of Group B, FaZe and Alliance faced each other. FaZe approached the series with a higher position in the world ranking and had an advantage in previous head-to-head meetings, but this time Alliance completely changed the scenario of the matchup and closed the match without a third map.
How the match unfolded — FaZe vs Alliance
Series score: 2:0 in favor of Alliance
- Ancient (Alliance’s pick) — 13:9
On their own pick, Alliance managed to gradually take control of the map and played the decisive stretches better. FaZe stayed in the game for most of Ancient, but the Swedish roster converted key rounds more consistently and opened the series with a win. - Nuke (FaZe’s pick) — 13:11
On FaZe’s choice, the fight became even tighter, but Alliance once again played the closing stretch better. FaZe had an opportunity to send the series to the deciding Anubis, but Alliance withstood the pressure in key rounds and closed the match with a 2:0 score.
Player of the Match — Simon “twist” Eliasson (Alliance)
- K–D: 39–23
- ADR: 85.6
- Rating 3.0: 1.34
Key contribution: twist became Alliance’s most stable player in the series, created advantages in key duels, and helped the team maintain control in the most important stretches of both maps.
VRS results
- Alliance — +61 pt → 1465 pt
The victory brought Alliance a very large ranking increase and moved the team from 23rd to 18th place in VRS. Together with advancing to the upper part of Group B, this makes the start of FISSURE Playground 3 especially successful for the Swedish roster. - FaZe — -17 pt → 1583 pt
The loss cost FaZe 17 ranking points, although the team remained in 10th position in VRS. The much more serious consequence is the move to Lower round 1, where the next setback will already end their run.
What’s next?
Alliance advance to the Upper semi-finals of Group B, where they will play against Legacy for a place in the Upper final and the opportunity to continue the group stage through the shortest route.
FaZe drop to Lower round 1, where they will face magic. The team still has a chance to continue the fight at FISSURE Playground 3, but the next loss will already mean elimination from the tournament.
Match summary
Alliance played a very high-quality opening series and managed to outplay FaZe on two competitive maps. On Ancient, the team converted its own choice better, while on Nuke they withstood an even tighter fight and did not allow the opponent to send the match to a deciding third map.
The key difference was Alliance’s stability in the closing stages and a strong performance from twist. As a result, the team earned a 2:0 victory, +61 VRS points, and a place in the Upper semi-finals, while FaZe are now forced to continue FISSURE Playground 3 through Lower round 1.
