Full Wrap #3

When saging the entire facility before a match doesn’t work, you’re left with no other option but to make a roster change. And would it really be competitive Call of Duty without some last-minute roster sketching before an event?

HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE WEEKEND

New Room and a New OpTic

• Entering the weekend with an 0-5 record and an even more embarrassing 0-15 map count, OpTic had decided that enough is enough. They turned to desperate measures before their Thieves matchup, burning sage to exorcise their demons. It didn’t work, however, and the embarrassments continued; in their 3-0 loss to Thieves, Kenny posted just 17 kills, ending the series with a record-setting 0.32, the lowest ever in a CDL match. 

• They had one more chance to prevent the unthinkable from happening, a matchup with the lowly LAGM8 whose lone win this split came against the Vegas Falcons. If there was ever a must-win matchup, it was this one. In yet another bout of superstition, the team all moved their setups into another room in the new facility, and it proved to be a difference maker. OpTic finally broke their map loss streak with a dominant 250-166 Hardpoint victory on Hacienda, the very map Thieves had dismantled them on two days prior. Despite this, the Gentlemates did not roll over and answered right back in the Search, a 6-3 Red Card win. OpTic bounced right back and made short work with a 3-0 Control win and closed the series by taking Map 4 250-192. Pred led the way in the series with a commanding 1.45, highlighted with an 11-kill streak in the final map. The curse has been broken. 

• With their victory, OpTic jumped from 12th place to 10th, jumping both the Falcons and LAGM8. Even with the win, Kenny claimed a second record this stage, another that nobody wants: his 0.67 surpasses Asim and Exceed’s 0.69 as the worst ever in a Qualifier.

• Following another lackluster performance, OpTic finally decided enough was enough and dropped Kenny. OpTic decided to invest in their game and turned to another proven world champ to fill Kenny’s role in Skyz, a player who can potentially help provide a spark. Skyz has shown his ability to be a top Search player, a game mode OpTic desperately needs to improve in. Odd timing for a roster move with very little practice time before Major 2. Will Skyz be the difference, or will OpTic still be on blow-it-up watch?

Thieves Chasing Greatness

• Where is she? Who cares because the Thieves are here. LAT entered this weekend 5-0 and had their eyes set on breaking records with matches against OpTic and Rokkr. Two sweeps for Thieves would see them break the CDL map win streak record and finish the Stage with the best map win percentage in CDL history. Wins wouldn’t be enough; the opponent must be embarrassed.

• All you need is one word to describe the Thieves match against OpTic: dominance. Led by HyDra and his 1.67, the Thieves boys all posted 1.3’s or better on their way to a quick 3-0 win. The Hacienda Hardpoint started out as a back-and-forth affair, with the teams neck and neck until after the second P2. Scrap led the way, going 30/17, and LAT closed the map 106-22 across the final four hills. The record books were getting ready.

• Another series kicked off with a Hacienda Hardpoint for the Thieves and the outcome wouldn’t be any different. Scrap once again led the way with a 1.93, and Rokkr was welcomed to the 100-point club. No momentum was lost in the Search as the Thieves capitalized on six first bloods in eight rounds to close out the map 6-2. HyDra and Ghosty were the catalysts, combining to go 19/5 along with five first bloods. One. More. Map. Well, two more actually. Rokkr put together an impressive performance to prevent LAT from making history while also handing them their first Control loss of Stage 2. Trailing 209-212 in the Protocol Hardpoint, the Thieves showed their respawn prowess with a flawless P2 hold to close out the series.

• Despite the map loss, LAT tied the CDL consecutive map win record with Atlanta FaZe at 13 and notched the first undefeated Stage in Thieves’ history. Their 21-2 map record is the second-best map win record ever, trailing Cold War Ultra, who went 15-1 in Stage 3. Going undefeated in a Stage hasn’t resulted in a Major win since Cold War FaZe; can the Thieves break the curse?

Boston have been Breached

• Boston started the season strong in Major 1 Qualifying, posting a 5-2 record with some impressive scalps. They took down Thieves, Royal Ravens, and OpTic. They earned a spot in Winners’ but bowed out in 0-2 fashion, failing to secure any CDL points. They picked back up at the start of the second stage, beating two bottom feeders in Falcons and LAGM8. However, they followed that with a four-match skid, losing to Toronto, New York, LA Thieves, and Atlanta. This set them up in a battle for the 8th seed against the Miami Heretics this weekend. Winner gets Winners’ Bracket. 

• The series featured a string of tightly contested maps. Miami clutched up with a huge break on the last hill of Map 1 to secure a 250-245 Hardpoint victory. Boston evened up the series in Map 2, clutching up in Round 11 on Skyline. The Breach reeled off two more consecutive map wins (3-1 in Control and 250-223 Hardpoint) to secure the 3-1 victory and the 8th seed at Major 2. 

• Despite this weekend’s result, questions still remain about this roster. They have a combined 0-4 record across both Minors and Major 1, and now a first-round matchup with LA Thieves looms. While they were 3-4 this split, all of their victories came against teams that will start Major 2 in the Losers’ Bracket. They remain outside the Champs picture, 10 CDL points behind 8th place Rokkr. While that gap seems tantalizingly small, Rokkr has a much better bracket draw. Even if Rokkr lose their opening round to FaZe, they would fall to face the flounder OpTic. Will Breach be able to overcome their LAN woes?

Flightless Falcons

• The Falcons were in action against Carolina this weekend, looking to finally put a win on the board. To end your suspense, they were unable to do so, falling 3-1. Despite scoring a combined 264 points, they failed to win either Hardpoint (250-233, 250-231) and remain winless in the mode.

• Despite leaving themselves ample room for improvement, the Falcons failed to take advantage, as they ended with the same 0-7 record and identical 4-21 map count as Stage 1. This is the third-ever 0-7 stage and the second time a team has posted two back-to-back winless stages.

• Somehow the Falcons still found a way to surprise everybody by releasing their longtime coach LewTee. I guess we will find out if he’s the reason the team continues to black out and miss rotations or not. Could his release be a sign of things to come for Vegas?

Major 2 Preview

• Two overwhelming favorites to make the Grand Finals, a few dark horses, and the most unlikely run. Will the drums be enough?

• It’s hard to feel like you made Winners’ Bracket when your first match is against FaZe or Thieves, and that’s exactly what Rokkr and Breach are up against. The two superpowers combined for a 15-1 record against everybody else at Major 1, and they haven’t shown any signs of slowing down outside of Surge’s 2-0 record against FaZe. Surge will take on the Ravens in Round 1 and will likely need to get past Thieves if they want to send FaZe to the Losers’ Bracket. On the other side, Ultra will seek revenge on Cloud9, who 3-0’d them to start Stage 2.

• Lots of unknowns await in the Losers’ Bracket. Heretics look far from their Major 1 form, and they only have two map wins in their last three series. Will the new-look OpTic find form in front of the home crowd after their 1-6 Stage? LAGM8 and Falcons look to be a free win for whoever plays them. Just don’t be the team to give them a win.

EWC You There

• In other CDL news, the Esports World Championship has announced its Call of Duty format for the second year. The format remains the same: four groups of four teams with the top two teams of each group advancing to an eight-team single-elimination bracket. All twelve CDL teams will be invited, as well as four Challengers teams. The first automatic bid will go to the winners of the DreamHack Dallas Challengers’ event, running concurrently with Major 4. The other three Challengers teams will come from the top three place-winners at Challengers’ Champs. The prize pool remains the same as last year, 1.8 million dollars.

OTHER KEY MATCHES

Canadian clash didn’t disappoint: Ultra showcased why they should be thought of as a top team in Search as they beat Surge in Neslo fashion. CleanX went off in the control with a 1.71 to help secure the map win, and Insight posted a 4.5 in the map 5 to close out the Surge 6-2.

Ravens get Major 1 revenge: RenKoR saved the Heretics from the red carpet with his 1.19, but Thanos decided to snap, and SlasheR’s 1.97 was too much for Miami to handle. Carolina cleanly swept Miami in a series that was never close.

FaZe are on Cloud 9: Only slightly familiar. Cellium is back to shooting bodies and going double positive. FaZe will need to clean up their Search if they want to go back-to-back, but their respawn remains dominant against anybody not named Thieves.