Full Wrap #26

The CDL has turned into a coin flip league for everybody outside of OpTic, who win every match, and Cloud9, who lose every match. The other 10 teams all sit at three or four wins during a split with the most punishing format in league history. Somebody won’t be catching a flight to Birmingham.

HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE WEEKEND

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Like clockwork, another 2-0 weekend for OpTic, pushing them to 8-0 in Stage 2. They also extended their Overload win streak record to 13 straight and have shown no signs of slowing down. No wonder Scrap was begging for Control to return.

FaZe was the first test for OpTic, a team that 3-0’d them the last time they played. The script was flipped this time around, and OpTic throttled them each map, with FaZe’s 1-0 lead in Overload being the only time they trailed before quickly turning it into a 4-1 lead of their own.

Huke was undeniable, leading the way with 77 kills and a 1.40 K/D, while Dashy killed any of FaZe’s confidence, rallying multiple man-down situations in SnD thanks to the help of his trusty sniper. Sniper showdown, Dashy vs. SupeR—who says no?

To end the weekend, OpTic played another team who beat them the last time they played, the Ravens. Once again, the result was different this time, but not without a hiccup. OpTic finally played their first Blackheart of the season in the opening map, and they went on to lose 233-250. Carolina then held a 4-3 lead in the SnD before OpTic took three straight rounds to even up the series, with Shotzzy (15/4) taking over. 

The next two maps looked routine, and OpTic closed it out 3-1, with Huke (111/92) once again leading the way. Can anybody stop OpTic?

Heretics Finding Form

After a 1-3 start to Stage 2 Qualifiers, Miami has made a strong push for the wide-open second seed. After getting their get-right win over C9 last week, they kept the ball rolling with a strong 2-0 showing this weekend. Vamos.

Their weekend opened against G2 Minnesota, another team contending for the second seed. Despite MettalZ’s 0.76 on the series, the Miami heat melted the frosty Minnesotans in 3-0 fashion.

The Hardpoint might have ended 250-224, but Miami controlled the lead the whole way, leaving no doubt as their AR duo combined for 58 kills and 138 seconds. The 5-3 curse reared its head in Map 2 as Miami made the comeback led by SupeR’s 12 kills and four first bloods. SupeR again dominated in Map 3 to close out the series, dropping a 33/17 statline with two scores as Miami ran away with a 6-3 victory.

Miami’s second series of the weekend posed a greater threat: the Los Angeles Thieves. Despite their recent form, the Thieves still have two MVP-caliber talents on their roster. Luckily for Miami, they do too.

The Heretics picked up the first two maps of the series, pulling away late in the Hardpoint after trailing for the majority of the map. SupeR and Traixx combined for 24 kills in Map 2, with SupeR chipping in an absurd six First Bloods. Maps 3 and 4 were both stolen by the Thieves, setting up a hugely consequential Map 5.

In big maps, Miami turns to the big man. RenKoR showed his takeover ability in this one, showing he is nigh unkillable when in flow state. He started the map with not one, but two 1v2s and ended it with just two deaths in the 6-2 victory.

Miami ended the weekend 2-0 despite MettalZ dropping a combined 0.76. If their flighty SMG can lock in for Major 2, could we see them make a deep run in a condensed bracket?

A Not-So Gentle Slide

Coming off an 0-2 weekend, the Paris GentleM8s were surely looking for a bounce-back weekend, but they didn’t find it here. 

Their first series against G2 ended in an ignominious 3-0. They were fully set up on the last hill of the Hardpoint, but leading 248-225, G2 was able to take their time and set up a break to close out the map 250-240.

Envoy managed to pick up two first bloods in Map 2, but unfortunately they were also his only two kills of a 2/8 scoreline as Skyz and Estreal combined for 18/10 with five First Bloods in a 6-3 G2 map win. 

The Overload was seemingly an afterthought for Paris, as they were never in it. G2 scored the first two goals before Paris got on the board and then also scored the next three. Paris scored late to make the score look a bit more respectable at 5-2, but outside of Sib, none of the defending Champs showed up to this one.

Paris’ second match was the capstone of the weekend against the Vancouver Surge. The floundering Surge called up yet another Telluride Bush player in Capsidal, who made his Black Ops 7 CDL debut this weekend. 

Despite facing a roster composed of two players that started the year in Challengers, the Gentle Mates again looked overmatched as Gwinn and Lunarz ran wild. The two combined for 74 kills in Map 1, while Envoy dropped a 0.49 in a 250-214 Vancouver win.

Despite coming away with 6/9 First Bloods in Map 2, Paris managed to fumble most of them right back to Vancouver, losing 6-3. Paris managed to claw a map back with an overtime win in the Overload, but they were anything but competitive in Map 4 as Vancouver closed out the series with a 250-134 win on Den.

In both series Sib was the only player positive for Paris, while Envoy carried a 0.68 K/D on the weekend in his annual post-Major 1 slump. Alarm bells have to be blaring for the Major 1 Champs, as they have now dropped four straight series while winning only three maps. To twist the knife, two of the losses came to C9 and Vancouver, the two bottom teams in the league. We’re far from a roster change, but something is broken somewhere.

FaZe in Danger

FaZe entered the weekend on a three-series losing streak and a 2-4 record during the Stage 2 Qualifiers. It wasn’t getting easier either; with matches against Thieves and OpTic on their plate, they couldn’t afford to fall to 2-6.

In need of a win, FaZe clutched up to take Map 1 250-243, despite trailing for the majority of the map and Simp (37/27) being the only positive player for FaZe. The next two maps went the way of LAT, giving them a 2-1 series advantage.

It was then the other members of FaZe who stepped up, likely sensing their spot on the line. Drazah (35/22) and 04 (30/21) helped force a Map 5 where Abuzah (11/2) was near perfect, en route to a 6-1 win.

Simp (97/90) still went down as the series MVP, posting 12,967 damage, over 1,000 more than the second highest. His former Tiny Terror duo, aBeZy, was the LVP, finishing with a 0.84 K/D.

After their 0-3 loss to OpTic, FaZe is at serious risk of missing Major 2, as they currently sit in the 10th spot with Boston trailing closely behind with the same 3-5 record. Their current seed would put them into a play-in series against Gentle Mates, a rematch of Major 1’s Losers’ Finals. Should we worry about FaZe now?

TOP PERFORMERS

Huke: Huke has separated himself as the best respawn player in the CDL during Stage 2, and the gap is growing. This weekend he finished with an overall 1.28 K/D while leading both series in kills and damage and while also posting the highest K/D. It was the Overload's where Huke stood out this weekend, finishing with 72 kills and a 1.53 K/D, making it easy to see how OpTic has won 13 in a row.

RenKoR: RenKoR has become something of a staple on this list, as you might expect from the league’s K/D leader. While SupeR had the higher highs this weekend, RenKor remained a steady controlling presence for Miami with a 1.18 in his two series. He also showed off his ability to take over against top teams with 11/2 showing in Map 5 against the Thieves.

KiSMET: Only one series on the weekend, but the Bulldog was doing it all for the Falcons. After a slow Map 1, KiSMET played out of his mind, topping the lobby with an 11/7, two First Blood, SnD performance to secure a Round 11 victory. He then followed that up with a ridiculous 26/14, 4-goal Map 3 to close out KOI in 3-0 fashion.

Lunarz: To contrast the mainstay RenKoR, Lunarz is making just his second appearance on the Full Wrap Team of the Week, and he does so for good reason. The sophomore AR stood out this week as the lone player on his team positive in both series, boasting a 1.31 overall. Most of his success came in Hardpoint, where he held a 1.32 K/D across four maps, including a 36/19 performance in Map 4 against Paris to end the series.