FaZe’s win over Alliance and K27 at RLG Tesla Cup has put them in position to recover their invite to the PGL Singapore Major, with HLTV’s simulation page giving them a 97.1% chance of qualifying. The November 2 VRS update will make the standings official, but Russel “Twistzz” Van Dulken said the team is treating the event as a title run first and a qualification race second.
The FaZe captain spoke in Belgrade after a stretch that included back-to-back last-place exits at FISSURE Playground 3 and Stake Ranked Episode 4. That rough patch left FaZe with work to do before the November 2 update, but a title at Roman Imperium Cup IX and wins over Envy and HEROIC at DraculaN Season 7 have helped restore their position.
FaZe have turned a poor run into a much safer Major position
Twistzz said the recent losses were not empty weekends for the team. He pointed to the value of playing against teams that are active in officials and constantly building chemistry online, naming 1win and Nemiga as examples of squads that get a lot of in-server experience.
“Even though we lost these past events, I think it was really good experience,” Twistzz said.
From FaZe’s point of view, that experience has been useful because it has given the roster more time together in real matches rather than in practice alone. Twistzz said that has helped the team build synergy and understand how it operates on a consistent basis. He said the recent events also showed them where their structure needed work, which is one reason the team has looked sharper over this stretch.
At RLG Tesla Cup, the result matters because the standings are so close to the official November update. Twistzz was asked about the chance of going to the Major and said the team had not entered the event thinking about the number attached to the qualification race. Instead, the goal was to win the event and let the ranking picture take care of itself.
“The whole focus at this event was that it’s an event to win,” he said. “It’s a nice bonus, and our form is going up right now.”
That answer fit the broader tone of the interview. FaZe are clearly aware of where they stand, but Twistzz kept returning to performance, confidence and execution rather than the invite math. He said the team wants to prove itself in every event and show that it belongs near the top of the bracket, not just on the edge of a Major berth.
Twistzz and frozen are trying to lead younger teammates differently
A large part of Twistzz’s conversation focused on the mood inside the FaZe lineup. He said both he and David “frozen” Čerňanský have high standards for how the team should play, but that those standards have sometimes come out in the wrong way when rounds start slipping.
“Me and David [frozen], we have high standards for how the team should play,” he said. “These young players don’t deserve to have bad vibes around them always, so now I’ll just bring in the good vibes.”
Twistzz said that is not a softening of FaZe’s expectations. Rather, it is a conscious effort to manage how frustration is shown when things go badly. He admitted that he and frozen have a bad habit of getting down after mistakes, and said that habit can affect teammates who are still early in their careers and should not have to carry that atmosphere.
He added that his own role now includes making sure those younger players feel the game and stay confident even when he is not playing well individually. In his words, it should not matter if he is 4-15 or having a strong game; the point is to keep the group feeling positive enough to play with confidence. That, he said, is part of wanting the best for them.
Twistzz also said there has been honest reflection inside the team after the last few events. He said frozen is working on himself too, with both players trying to become better role models for the rest of the roster. The message from the captain was that leadership is not only about calling a round or hitting shots, but also about the tone set after things go wrong.
The preparation work after DraculaN was also more deliberate. Twistzz said he and coach Filip “enkay J” Kubski were working in the background on the playbook, meeting more often and giving the players time to rest. He said there is not a brand-new approach for the team; the bigger change is the energy he wants to bring and the way he wants to line players up for success.
Belgrade form, LAN rhythms and the trip back toward tier one
Twistzz said the recent run of tier-two LANs has been comfortable for him, even if those events are not where FaZe expect to stay. He described DraculaN-style tournaments as chaotic, high-octane and useful because the schedule and format are different from what the team gets elsewhere.
He also noted that the three best-of-three matches in a day are part of what makes those events distinct. In his view, if the format were easier, the trip would not be as useful as a competitive test. He said the events are a fun part of the process, even if the long-term aim is to move past them.
That process now leads into Beijing and a return to the tier-one circuit. Twistzz said he believes FaZe can be competitive there, provided the team trusts what it is building and plays its own game instead of reacting to the reputation of the opponent. He said the roster should approach a match against Sangal the same way it would approach one against Vitality or Spirit.
The emphasis, he said, is on not being shocked by the names on the server. FaZe want the opponent to be the one worrying about their name, not the other way around. Twistzz said that is tied to the momentum they are trying to build and the pride they want to take in their own style of play.
There is still background work going on as well. Twistzz said FaZe have analysts and anti-stratting in place, but the players need to stop overthinking and trust the structure they are creating. The aim is to stay focused on the team’s own CS, keep the current form going and let the recovery run carry them into the next official standings update.
With the RLG Tesla Cup results already lifting their Major chances and the VRS update set for November 2, FaZe have gone from a precarious position to one where the path forward looks much clearer. Twistzz’s message, though, was less about the number beside their name and more about how the group is handling the stretch: better energy, steadier leadership and more confidence in the server.
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