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FaZe Major Streak Is Over: Fnatic Slams the Door at DracuLan S6
It hurts a lot more when the final blow comes from a team that wasn't even supposed to be in the way. FaZe Clan are officially out of the IEM Cologne Major 2026 picture, eliminated by Fnatic in the lower bracket of Digital Crusade DraculaN Season 6, ending a Major attendance streak that stretched all the way back to 2016. That's nearly a decade of showing up for Counter-Strike's biggest stage. And now, for the first time, they won't be there.
How it all fell apart in Bucharest
FaZe came into DraculaN S6 with their backs already against the wall. With the VRS cutoff set for April 6, 2026, this Bucharest LAN was essentially their last real shot at grabbing the points needed to secure a Major invite. They had already crashed out of BLAST Open Rotterdam earlier in March, a 1-2 loss to TYLOO that cost them 30 precious VRS points and left the community alarmed.
The tournament in Bucharest started promisingly enough. FaZe beat aimclub 2-0 in the Round of 16, moving through to the upper bracket quarterfinals. But then things went completely south. Passion UA, ranked outside the top 50 globally, dropped karrigan's squad 2-1 in a brutal upper bracket clash, a result that sent FaZe into the elimination bracket and took the air out of any optimism still left in their camp.
From there, the final blow was delivered by Fnatic. A 2-0 defeat in the lower bracket sealed it. No more events, no more paths forward. FaZe finished 9th-12th at the event, and with that placement, their VRS ranking collapsed to 31st, falling below teams like NiP, NRG, Nemiga, Sharks, and Gentle Mates. The math was done. There's no coming back from that before April 6.
A historic absence that stings
Let that sink in for a second. FaZe Clan, a team that reached the Grand Final of the StarLadder Budapest Major just a few months ago and lost 1-3 to Vitality, will not be at IEM Cologne Major 2026. This is the first time since 2016 that one of Counter-Strike's most iconic organizations won't be competing at a Major. Ten years of presence, gone in a rough few months.
The crisis isn't new, though. FaZe's 2026 has been a spiral. Losses to Aurora, TYLOO, Passion UA, and now Fnatic, a team that has itself been on a downward run, paint a picture of a roster that has lost its cohesion. The map pool is narrow, individual form has been shaky, and the team simply hasn't looked like a unit capable of beating elite competition with any consistency. Former coach NEO departed in March, with analyst GruBy stepping in as interim, and none of that has steadied the ship.
How does the future look for Karrigan and his team now?
The absence from Cologne is more than just a bad result. It's a signal that something needs to change. FaZe still have the names: karrigan, broky, frozen, rain, jcobbb. These are players who have won Majors and S-tier trophies. But potential on paper doesn't win maps, and right now, this roster is losing to opponents it would have crushed in 2023 or 2024.
Missing a Major for the first time in a decade is a wake-up call that's hard to ignore. The question now isn't just how FaZe bounces back for the next cycle. It's whether the current roster, as constructed, is actually capable of doing it.
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Featured Image Credits: BLAST
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