The IEM Dallas group stage is set to kick off with several interesting matchups, but arguably the most intriguing one of all is FaZe Clan vs Team Liquid.
The Counter-Strike GOAT is set to return. In a shocking move, Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev is returning to action. With FaZe Clan. Alongside his former teammate Jonathan “EliGE” Jablonowski. Seriously.
Not only that, but s1mple and EliGE will be making their reunion debut against the team where they were once partnered, Team Liquid. How can bettors approach this one?
QUARTER-FINAL! TheMongolz vs Liquid – HIGHLIGHTS – IEM Melbourne 2025 | CS2
Team Liquid and FaZe Clan will play in a best-of-three match on May 19, 2025. The match is a group stage showdown, with the winner advancing forward to face the winner of MOUZ vs BC.Game Esports. The loser isn’t eliminated, but will have to win their way through their group’s lower bracket to advance.
FaZe Clan has generally performed well throughout 2025, but hasn’t looked quite up to scratch with the 2024 iteration of the team that made two major grand finals. It’s hoping that s1mple can turn around its fortunes, but is that feasible? S1mple performed well individually in his short stint with Team Falcons, but the team fizzled despite that.
Team Liquid has its own roster change to figure out, though. The team added Kamil “siuhy” Szkaradek in April and his individual play has left much to be desired. That could open the door for a work-in-progress FaZe Clan to score a win against a fringe top-10 team.
Team Liquid posted a solid run in IEM Melbourne, finishing in the top six of the tournament, though it also didn’t score any especially shocking upsets:
siuhy joined the team just a month and a half ago, replacing Justin “jks” Savage:
Team Liquid’s 2025 has been generally shaky, with the team only mustering up a winning record on Inferno, Anubis, and Train. Train comes with an asterisk, as the team has played there just once. The team is close to even on Ancient and Dust 2, but is 3-6 on Nuke and 1-5 on Mirage.
FaZe Clan is coming off two “fine” showings in BLAST Rivals Spring and IEM Melbourne:
FaZe added s1mple at the expense of Helvijs “broky” Saukants, who was the second-most tenured member of its roster:
FaZe Clan isn’t especially deadly anywhere in 2025, but it has an even or better record across all seven active duty maps. Except for Mirage. The team is just 2-4 there. In theory, adding a fearsome AWPer in s1mple should help the team on maps like Dust 2 and Train in IEM Dallas and beyond.
FaZe Clan and Team Liquid haven’t played against each other in 2025, but they faced off six times in 2024. FaZe won all six of those matches. Both teams have undergone multiple roster tweaks since then, though.
FaZe Clan is a slight betting favorite against Team Liquid for this IEM Dallas group stage match. Even though it remains to be seen how s1mple’s presence will impact FaZe Clan, betting sites are buying in big. The moneylines are 1.7 against 2.0, with some variance from site to site
LOSER IS OUT! FaZe vs 3DMAX – HIGHLIGHTS – IEM Melbourne 2025 | CS2
FaZe Clan should be able to defeat Team Liquid. The team was performing fairly well before adding s1mple and there’s no question that the Ukrainian star will add more firepower to the team. Will that translate to a major championship? Maybe not, but it should translate to a win over Liquid.
Think you know who will win? Place your bets here!
21+ and present in VA. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER.
