DraculaN Season 7 gave us pretty much everything.
A strong start, a trip through the group-stage decider, one of the smartest rounds we’ve played turning into a viral moment, and eventually a playoff series where we came within a few rounds of taking down FaZe.
It wasn’t the ending we wanted, but Bucharest gave us plenty to take home.
Starting Strong
Our tournament started against LEO in the Group D opening match.
Cache was the battleground, and we couldn’t have asked for a much better start. We took control early and never really let go, closing the map 13–2 and moving straight into the winners’ match.
That put us up against SAW with a direct playoff spot on the line.
This time, Cache didn’t go our way. SAW built a big lead in the first half and eventually closed the map 13–7, sending us into the group-stage decider.
And waiting there for us was a familiar opponent.
LEO. Again.
One More Against LEO
The rematch was now a best-of-three, with the winner moving on to the playoffs.
We opened the series by taking their Dust2 pick 13–4 before LEO answered back on Ancient, winning 13–7.
That left everything on Cache.
This time we made sure there was no question about it. A 9–3 first half put us firmly in control, and we closed the map 13–5 to take the series 2–1 and secure our playoff spot.
The series also gave us one of the moments of the entire tournament.
A full eco somehow turned into a ninja defuse — the kind of round where the guns didn’t really matter because the timing did.
The clip took off across social media and went on to pass two million views.
Not exactly how we expected to win a full eco, but we’ll take it.
FaZe Waiting in the Playoffs
Our first playoff opponent needed no introduction.
FaZe.
One of the biggest names in Counter-Strike and the highest-ranked team at the event.
We came into the series knowing exactly what kind of test it would be.
And on Ancient, we showed exactly what we’re capable of.
We controlled the map from the beginning and closed our pick 13–4, putting ourselves one map away from a major upset.
FaZe responded on Mirage, taking the second map 13–7 and sending the series to Cache.
The decider was exactly the kind of game you expect when everything is on the line.
Neither team could pull away. We fought through regulation and pushed one of the best teams in the world into overtime, but FaZe eventually found the final rounds and took Cache 16–14 to close the series 2–1.
Close losses still hurt.
But that series also showed us something important.
We can play these teams.
gxx- in particular had a huge series, finishing with 54 kills and a 1.41 rating across the three maps. For anyone who remembers his Bad News Eagles days and some of his previous battles against FaZe, there were definitely a few familiar moments.
The Final Match
The loss dropped us into the lower bracket, where Iberian Soul were waiting later the same day.
After the intensity of the FaZe series, we couldn’t find enough to keep the run alive.
Cache finished 13–9 before a close Nuke went 13–10 in Iberian Soul’s favor, ending our DraculaN Season 7 run with a 0–2 loss.
Not the way we wanted the tournament to finish.
Back to Work
Bucharest was a rollercoaster.
We qualified through the group, watched one of our plays reach millions of people, and came within overtime rounds of beating FaZe on LAN.
There are still plenty of things to fix, and performances like this only matter if we can keep building on them.
So for now, it’s back to the drawing board.
We know what we’re capable of.
Now it’s about doing it more consistently.
We’ll be back ⭐