Full Wrap #16

Another team went back-to-back with OpTic winning at EWC. The scriptwriters need to come up with new storylines for Black Ops 7, and the teams outside of the top 3 need to find some Grand Finals ice.

HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE WEEKEND

Trust the Process

OpTic had a chance to prove their Champs victory wasn’t a one-off at EWC. Thieves and FaZe entered the event as the two favorites, but that didn't stop the same OpTic we saw at Champs from showing up. OpTic quickly dispatched FiveFears and Cloud9 in group play with a 6-0 map count, securing their spot in the bracket. A good warmup for the reigning champs.

Another juggernaut awaited OpTic in the first round of bracket play; at Champs it was FaZe, and this time around it was 100 Thieves. The last time these teams matched up was on Sunday of Major 4 when Thieves sent OpTic home Top 4. History repeated itself with OpTic winning the opening Skyline Hardpoint and Thieves winning Map 2 6-4. That’s where the repeating stopped; OpTic took the next two maps and were too much in the respawns for Thieves. The AR duo of Mercules and Dashy took over, finishing with a 1.33 and 1.29, respectively, while leading the series in kills. Mercules must not count as a Challengers player.

The next team in OpTic’s way was the Heretics. A team that had been thought of as OpTic’s boogeyman, dating back to their Mutineers days. OpTic hadn’t beaten the Heretics yet this season, but they also hadn’t played them since plugging Mercules into the lineup. Surprise, surprise, Mercules was the difference maker once again. Team Heretics took Map 1 250-249 and Map 2 6-5 after trailing 1-5. The closest OpTic came to closing out the Search was when Mercules tried to ninja defuse, but the Heretics had it covered. The crowd may have provided some assistance.

For the first time since Major 4, OpTic was one map loss away from being eliminated. The reverse sweep began with a 3-2 win in control, where OpTic clutched a round 5 offense with just seconds remaining. Shotzzy and Huke took over in Hardpoint, combining to go 60/44 while flipping spawns and popping pieces in the biggest moments to allow OpTic to cruise to a 250-186 victory. With OpTic gaining all the momentum, Map 5 felt like a formality. Shotzzy led the way, going 14/6 with four first bloods, while Mercules chipped in an 11/4 performance of his own, which included an insane 1v3 clutch. Undeniably superstars.

A rematch in the Grand Finals with a hot Surge team appeared like it would be the final test for OpTic. There was no test, just a speedrun. The third 4-0 Grand Finals of the season and the third team to go back-to-back. Dashy got to shoot bots for the final time this season, finishing the series 86/58 (1.48) to lead both teams in kills, K/D, and damage. 

OpTic ended their season on a 9-series win streak with a 30-6 map count. Dominance.

Vanguard FaZe Reincarnated

The players on this Surge roster were still all seeking their first tournament victory at EWC, having failed to win three Grand Finals already this season. What could possibly go wrong? Another Grand Finals beatdown. 

Surge took care of Team Orchid in their first match through the respawns, finishing +77 as a team in maps 1, 2, and 4. Their reward for being the 2nd seed at the event was playing 100 Thieves to advance out of their group. Luckily for Surge, this wasn’t Thieves in a Grand Final, and they were able to take them down in a Map 5 thanks to 04’s 10/3, three-first-blood performance. Abuzah was the series MVP, finishing with a 1.18 and as the damage leader. 

Bracket play gave Surge a real reward this time in the form of a first-round matchup against FiveFears. A quick 3-0 put them one series closer to another Grand Final, with only KOI in their way.

Surge held a five-game winning streak against Ultra going into EWC, including a 3-0 in their most recent head-to-head at Champs. The new-look roster, now under the KOI branding, proved to be a tougher matchup, but they still weren’t enough. Abuzah clutched up in a Map 5 Round 11 1v1 to win the series and save Nastie from the biggest scam of all time. Diving out in the 2v1 post-plant? Turn on slide only for BO7.

The final series of the season summed up the Surge’s season perfectly. Another 0-4 in the Grand Finals to match their Grand Finals record of 0-4. Rebrand for 04, coming soon.

Welcome KOI

Ultra made their debut under the Movistar KOI branding at EWC while also debuting their new roster. For the second time this season, they made a run to 3rd place with a Challengers pickup. If only they kept the first guy.

KOI breezed through group play with a 2-0 record. They kicked things off against the Falcons, and CleanX showed that the AR is the god gun with an 89/66 (1.35) opening series as a flex. Next up, they took down the Breach 3-0. Abe had his first takeover series, finishing with a 1.39 K/D, including a 33/19 (1.74) Map 1. Hopefully they don’t mess this one up.

Their form held into Saturday, where they picked up another 3-0 victory, this time over OMiT. JoeDeceives was playing a different game than everybody else in the Hardpoint, leading the lobby with 43 kills, a 2.05 K/D, and two and a half minutes in the hill. Unguardable.

Their momentum was quickly halted against Surge, a team who had their number all season. Luckily, EWC had a consolation match, so their event wasn’t over yet.

One series against the Heretics for an extra $80,000 had the teams locked in despite being eliminated. The series went to the third Map 5 of the day, and the Heretics found themselves up 5-2. Yet another 2-5 comeback on Championship Sunday. A 13/4 performance from Insight that included an 11-streak to spearhead the comeback saved KOI from another Map 5 loss on the day and secured a podium finish. 

Heavy MettalZ

Heretics had been on the cusp of making a Grand Final for multiple events, and EWC was their final chance. A couple more clutches and a few more kills would take them there. Their x-factor? MettalZ. His only negative series? The two they lost.

The entire team came out hot to start their tourney with a 3-0 against Project 7. The rookie AR duo was back at it; RenKoR led the way with a 1.91, but SupeR wasn’t far behind with his 1.54. Next up was FaZe Clan, a team they sent home 3-0 at Champs, and the Heretics didn’t slow down. A near Map 4 choke, followed by a last-second regain, closed out the series 3-1 and sent the Heretics to bracket play.

Round one gave them a chance at redemption from Champs against the Breach. After falling Map 1, the Heretics didn’t look back. MettalZ had one of his best series of the season, dropping 95/71 (1.34) to lead the series by 11 kills, closing it out 3-1.

The rest of the event was heartbreak for the Heretics. Being reverse swept by OpTic in the Semi-Finals and losing a 2-5 lead Map 5 in the 3rd place match is the last way you want to end a season. Too many vamos taken.

100 T8ieves

The upside: Thieves did not go 0-2 for a second straight event. The downside: They placed Top 8 for a second straight event, beating only Gentlemates at EWC. Envoy also had the lowest K/D (0.80) of any CDL player at the event, which was 58/64 of all players. After starting the season 6-0 against the Surge, they lost to them for a second straight time after being eliminated by them at Champs, and it was getting under Ghosty’s skin. He stood up to yell at Neptune for snaking after losing a map. 

Thieves qualified for bracket play with a win over Gentlemates (LAGM8), but their Saturday was short-lived after they flamed out in Top 8 after losing to OpTic in their first matchup with the new-look World Champs. Ghosty lived up to his name in the series, going 57-71 (0.80). Envoy somehow had an even worse series, dropping 55/82 (0.67) to cap his abysmal event. Does the “super” team need to pack-a-punch? 

The Last Dance

The defending EWC champs came into the event with nothing but question marks surrounding them. Was Champs a fluke? Will the trio break up? Can they repeat their EWC magic of last year? It turns out they would not even qualify out of group play, as they lost to Heretics and the Challengers Champs OMiT. A Top 12 exit marks the worst effort of Simp’s career, and the team looked lifeless. Cellium, Simp, and aBeZy are the longest-standing teammates in the CDL, having teamed since the very first MW19 Homestand. Was what was once the next dynasty collapsing in front of our eyes?

CHALLENGERS MAKING NOISE

OMiT

OMiT set the standard all year in Challengers, with their two rosters supplying nearly every CDL call-up this season, including stars Neptune and Mercules. Their star of the Challengers season was Craze, who won every Challengers event and Challengers Champs and was itching to make a name for himself against CDL opponents. Rounding out the squad were Mack, Vivid, and Mamba. First up for OMiT was a big one: FaZe Clan.

After battling hard for the first four maps, OMiT acquitted themselves beautifully and were tied 2-2 with FaZe. The dream seemed about to be realized as they went up 5-2 in Map 5 before it became a nightmare. The trio was still the trio, and they ripped off four consecutive rounds to send OMiT to a bracket eliminator matchup with Project 7, a team they had recently swept in Challengers Champs Grand Finals. After dropping Map 1, OMiT ripped off three straight to eliminate Project 7 and set up a second series with FaZe.

The second time around went largely the same as the first. After three maps, OMiT once again found themselves up 2-1 against the powerhouse, and this time they did not let it slip through their fingers. Map 4 was a statement win, with Craze and Mack combining for 72 kills and a 1.64 K/D, perhaps knocking the final nail into the coffin of the trio.

FiveFears

FiveFears entered the EWC as an afterthought, only attending as a late replacement for the Carolina Royal Ravens, who were disqualified after the departures of Gwinn and TJHaly. It was a team made up of CDL rejects and Burger Kings: Hicksy, Exceed, Fire, and Capsidal. Nobody batted an eye when they were 3-0’d by the World Champions OpTic Texas in quick fashion. Just put the fries in the bag. 

They woke up in the second round against G2 (Minnesota Rokkr), where two famed CDL slayers, Exceed and Hicksy, combined for 78 kills to take a 1-0 series lead. The hype was short-lived as G2 fought back, winning maps 2 and 3 and were just one map away from ending FiveFears’ glorified last-minute vacation. It looked almost over as G2 had a 187-163 lead until a near-perfect hold by FiveFears chained into three straight hills, and they fought back to even the series at 2-2. Map 5 was a victory lap by FiveFears as Exceed went 13-2 and FiveFears sent G2 packing early. Talk about a Whopper of a performance. 

The run continued later that day against C9 in a revenge match for Capsidal, who had been dropped prior to this event for Gwinn. He did his best to prove them right, dropping a 0.78 K/D on the series, but it didn’t matter as FiveFears won a second straight Map 5 in dominant fashion (6-1) to send home a second CDL team in a single day. Envoy, were you watching?