Full Wrap #2

Another routine CDL weekend with FaZe and Thieves picking up wins to go along with OpTic getting 3-0’d. There can’t be many bricks left in the Green Wall after this stage.

HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE WEEKEND

OpTic Need to Chat Game

• If you were the lone fan still hanging onto hope for an OpTic turnaround, this weekend’s results surely put an end to that. The defending world champs had another embarrassing showing, dropping two more matches 3-0 to Miami and Toronto. Even Big OpTic HecZ made his frustrations clear, retweeting OpTic Update’s scoreboard of the Ultra match where his team rolled out the red carpet, no one managing to secure a positive K/D. 

• Kills have been coming at a premium for the boys in green. The only player with a positive series this weekend was Shotzzy, who posted a 1.13 in their drubbing at the hands of their old pals Miami. To add insult to injury JoeDeceives set the season series K/D record with a whopping 2.05 (86-42). If OpTic had managed a control round win he almost certainly would have broken the record for kills in a 3 map series that Nero set at 90 earlier this season. All four players hold negative K/Ds during Major 2 qualifiers. Kenny’s 0.68 K/D is dead last of all 50 players to participate in a series this split. And yes, there are only 48 active players in the CDL.

• Speaking of dead last, the impossible has happened: 0-5 OpTic has dropped below the Vegas Falcons in the Major 2 qualifier standings on the merit of their 0-15 map count and are guaranteed a Losers’ Bracket start. Their hold on the 8th Champs spot has become tenuous with Breach and Cloud9 New York now firmly in their rearview. Objects may be closer than they appear.

FaZe and Thieves Rolling

• They’re the clear top 2 for a reason. A combined 4-0 weekend has them neck and neck for 1st seed in stage 2 and for the season. It feels like they’re on a collision course for a Grand Finals rematch at Major 2.

• FaZe kicked off the weekend as expected with a swift 3-0 against Rokkr. A 1.58 from aBeZy means bad things for whoever he’s playing. He even started the Control 16-1 if Minnesota wasn’t already demoralized enough. Some cracks in the armor showed against Boston, who were able to force a map 5 after rallying from behind to steal a Hacienda Hardpoint. Map 5 started with Cammy clutching a 1v3 and a 1v2 back to back before a massive delay. Once action resumed, FaZe won six of the next eight rounds to take the series. Search has become a worry for FaZe, who now sit at 3-5 in the mode this stage.

• Thieves' matches saw them take out Surge and Breach without dropping a map, extending their map record to 15-1 during Stage 2 qualifiers. There’s been a massive talent gap when the Thieves load up this stage with their entire roster ranking in the top 5 in BP rating. Yes, they hold 4 of the top 5 spots.

Northern Rising

• Surge and Ultra have been stacking wins recently and both secured Winners' Bracket this weekend. Surge are 7-2 since adding Neptune, highlighted by a pair of wins over FaZe and losses only coming to Thieves. Ultra have stabilized after opening Stage 2 with a loss to Cloud9 and are 5-2 in their last 7. One question remains, will this continue on LAN?

• Falling to Thieves again to open the weekend didn’t take any confidence away from Surge, who comfortably took out Heretics 3-1 Sunday. After dropping map 1, 04 made it look like he was playing ranked play in the Search. He finished 7/1 and Surge only dropped a single round despite only finding three first bloods. Safe to say, Miami’s Search could still use some work. Everything’s been clicking for Surge; Neptune even has a facecam now.

• It was a feet-kicked-up type of week for Ultra, who took on Falcons and OpTic. Some good stat-padding matches from JoeDeceives and CleanX have their fantasy owners grinning ear to ear. These series were never close, although the Falcons did manage to steal another Search map. This type of play from Ultra’s SMG duo could make them a real threat at Major 2.

• We will see another rematch from the Minor as Surge vs Ultra kicks off the final set of qualifier matches this weekend with seeding implications on the line.

LAGM8’s win The Burger Bowl

• Something had to give: LAGM8 and the Vegas Falcons both entered the opening match of Sunday winless on the split and 0-1 on the weekend. Their matchup was dubbed “The Burger Bowl” and it seems like Vegas is playing in one of these weekly. Both teams are all but locked into Losers’ and locked firmly out of the Champs bubble. The stakes could not have been lower.

• The teams traded leads in a surprisingly close Hardpoint, but ultimately the Falcons snatched defeat from the jaws of victory, squandering a 197-174 lead to lose 250-215. Their Hardpoint streak has reached Jordan status, 23 consecutive losses. It might be best for their players to be like Mike and retire early. They again could not clutch up in a 6-5 map 2 win for M8, and the Control was a 3-0 slam as M8 would take this one 3-0. 

• Their 16th straight loss left Vegas with the ignominious record for most consecutive series losses, previously held at 15 by the MW3 Boston Breach. Vegas continues their campaign to become the worst CDL team ever assembled.

• This series saw Priestahh play with the SMG while Lynz pulled out an AR in an apparent role swap. Lynz seemed to shine in this new role, posting a 1.4 that included a 24-9 performance in the Control.

KEY MATCHES

Minor 2 Finals rematch: The first match of the weekend saw LAT and Surge pick up right where they left off on the previous Sunday. This time LAT left no doubt, winning with a decisive 3-0 thanks to superstar performances from Scrap and HyDra. Despite the lopsided map count, Surge did put up a fight, taking the Search to a round 11 and the Control to a round 5.

Cloud9 finding form? After a disappointing first Major that saw C9 win just one qualifying match and one series at the event, they have found a rhythm in the Major 2 qualifiers. Every C9 player was positive in this doordash series against bottom feeding M8. The AR duo was a standout, with Attach posting a 1.57 and Sib outdoing him with a 1.72. Despite a shaky Major 1, Sib has begun to show the reason C9 chose to build around him after the departure of MVP HyDra.

Gwinn Hardpoint masterclass: Despite a 3-2 record on the split, Carolina still remains the 3rd seed for Champs, and showings like this against a streaking C9 team show that they are still very much to be respected. Last season’s Rookie of the Year Gwinn posted identical 38-21 (1.81) stat lines in maps 1 and 4, amassing 108 kills in just four maps. This win was necessary for Carolina to shore up their seeding for Major 2, currently sitting in 6th.