FaZe have locked in the inaugural spot for the BLAST Bounty 2026 Season 2 LAN finals after overcoming DENDELE with a 2-1 series victory in the Round of 16 clash.
The team will travel to Malta next week for the finals, scheduled from July 30 through August 2 at BLAST's Malta studio. Seven additional teams will join them, to be decided throughout the weekend's matches.
Jakub "jcobbb" Pietruszewski delivered a standout performance for FaZe, posting an impressive 1.40 rating across the three-map encounter. The Polish player made critical plays during the first half of the decisive Cache map, including a pivotal 1v3 clutch that denied the Brazilian squad crucial momentum. David "frozen" Čerňanský also contributed with a notable AWP highlight in the round prior.
DENDELE, who recently rebranded from Sharks earlier this month, came into the matchup following an impressive upset victory over FURIA the previous evening. The quick turnaround—with less than 12 hours between matches—may have affected their preparation, as they struggled initially.
FaZe dominated the opening map Nuke, with Jason "JBOEN" Boe Nielsen posting an outstanding 19-1 scoreline. Mirage appeared headed for a similar outcome as FaZe opened with six consecutive rounds.
However, DENDELE mounted a spirited comeback, salvaging Mirage through two successful forcebuy rounds. They challenged FaZe on Cache's first half with well-executed A site splits that caught their opponents unprepared. Ultimately, lack of coordination during the rounds where frozen and jcobbb made pivotal plays proved decisive, alongside a lost 5v3 situation in the second half that kept FaZe in control.
