Full Wrap #27

The unpredictability of the Black Ops 7 season continued with seven teams hitting the 1-1 mark this weekend. Only one week of qualifiers remains before Major 2, and seeds are still far from locked in.

HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE WEEKEND

Approaching Uncharted Territory

It was a short but big weekend for OpTic, with their only match coming on Friday against Gentle Mates in a rematch of the Major 1 Grand Finals. These two never fail to disappoint, even when M8s are in the midst of a losing streak. The OpTic hard-counter?

OpTic kept up their Hardpoint play, taking both in the series 250-165 and 250-200, but just like at Major 1, it was the Search and Destroy that tested them. Despite eight First Bloods from OpTic, Paris closed out Map 2 in Round 11 after a near 5-2 lead collapse. The Overload also went the way of M8s, which secured them at least a Map 5. It was another last map on Scar for the two, and M8s once again took a 5-3 lead, but unfortunately for them, the 5-3 curse activated. Huke was the star of Round 11, staying alive inside of shop as an easy target before escaping to clutch a 1v2 to win the series.

Mercules (107/91) was back in MVP form, leading the way for OpTic in the series and Map 5 with an 11/6 and two first blood performance. The win moved OpTic to 9-0 and just one more 2-0 weekend away from becoming the first team in CDL history to go 11-0 in a Stage. Will they do it, or is a tactical loss incoming?

Sunny Skies in Miami

The Miami Heretics entered the weekend tied with Minnesota, LA, and Riyadh at 4-3 but used the opportunity to springboard themselves solidly into the second seed for Major II; they were the lone 2-0 team this weekend, while the three teams they were level with all went 1-1. 

Their first series of the weekend was with the Riyadh Falcons, another contender for the second seed. The first two maps were close, but Miami was clutch in both, holding onto a slim lead for a 250-238 Hardpoint win before clutching up the last two rounds in a 6-5 SnD win.

The Overload started 1-0 in Riyadh’s favor, but Miami was able to tie as time expired in the first half before running away with the map in the second half, aided by a nine spree from Traixx. Miami outslayed Riyadh heavily in the 3-0 series as the Falcons turned in a red carpet performance, including a 0.76 from Cellium, his worst mark of the year.

The Heretics' second series of the weekend was against the lowly Vancouver Surge. While the first couple maps with Riyadh held some suspense, the Surge offered no such entertainment. This series could have been an email (luckily for you, reader, it is). Heretics bullied the newly called-up Capsidal, who posted a dismal 0.63, while Traixx and Super both posted K/Ds north of 1.40. 

The Heretics now control their own destiny with two winnable matchups in Carolina and Boston next week and are a shoo-in for the second seed behind undefeated OpTic.

Play-in Bound

The format for DreamHack Birmingham features a new twist: play-in matches. With only the top six seeds locking in their Winners’ Bracket spot before stepping on their flight, seeds seven to ten will battle it out in a one-and-done for their tournament lives. A few top teams are at risk of landing in the play-in and could face off to make the bracket.

Los Angeles Thieves: It’s been an up-and-down Stage 2 for LAT, taking care of lesser teams and losing to the better ones. They are currently 5-4, the 4th seed, and safe from the play-in, but that could swing quickly with six teams below them that could reach or surpass the five-win total. With matches against G2 and M8s coming up, they can’t afford a 0-2 weekend. A super team minus the super.

Toronto KOI: Toronto will be entering their final match of the split at serious risk of falling to the play-in despite their 5-3 record since the addition of Kips. Losing to Cloud9 was the last thing KOI could afford to do; now sitting in the 6th seed at 5-5 and with only a match against OpTic remaining, they’ll likely be relying on tiebreakers to avoid the play-in.

FaZe Vegas: FaZe was in danger of missing even the play-in entering the weekend; luckily, they took care of business in 3-0 fashion against the Ravens to secure their fourth win and move up to the 7th seed. Their upwards trend could continue as they close out Stage 2 against Cloud9 and M8s. Holding a good head-to-head record over a few teams on the cusp of making the Winners' Bracket, FaZe is in position to control their own destiny.

Paris Gentle Mates: The most surprising team of the split, Paris finally got a win this weekend over Boston to put an end to their five-series losing streak. Unfortunately for M8s, it doesn’t get any easier. Currently sitting at 4-5 and in the 8th spot, they play Thieves and FaZe next weekend and could be in one-and-done territory once they land overseas.

Bubble Watch

DreamHack Birmingham, the host event for Major 2, presents a novelty in the CDL regular season: the bottom two teams from the qualifiers will not be invited to attend. With that in mind, let’s take a look at which teams will likely miss the trip across the pond.

Cloud9 New York: Cloud9 have outperformed expectations with their two wins this qualifying, but unfortunately they have not done enough to put themselves in the top 10, currently sitting in last place. In order to avoid spending the Major on their couches, they will need to win out next weekend against FaZe and the Royal Ravens while Breach and Vancouver both lose out.

Boston Breach: The current 11th-place team, the 3-7 Boston Breach, are in a very difficult situation. They only have one more series to play against the red-hot Miami Heretics, and they do not have the tiebreaker over the current 10th-place Surge, as they lost against them head-to-head. Their only saving grace is that if (and mind you, this is a massive if) they manage to beat Miami, Vancouver could easily lose out with two tough matchups.

Vancouver Surge: Following last weekend’s 2-0 performance, Vancouver mailed in a 0-2 performance this week. While they do currently hold the tenth and final Major spot, there’s a possibility they can lose it. Their easiest path to qualification would be a win in either of their final two series against G2 or the Falcons. Failing to do so still leaves them with good chances, as they have the tiebreakers against Boston and Cloud9 with head-to-head victories over both. Outside of an absolute nightmare scenario, Vancouver will attend Birmingham.

TOP PERFORMERS

Ghosty: Gentle Mates finally got back in the win column, and it’s largely thanks to Ghosty, who led them in both series this weekend. He went a combined 195/148 in their two series, good for a ridiculous 1.32 K/D over nine maps. As per usual, he excelled in the Hardpoints, finishing the weekend with a 1.39 K/D while averaging 29.5 kills and 91.5 seconds of objective per map. M8s recent Hardpoint woes will quickly go away if he keeps this level of play up.

Lurqxx: Lurqxx has quietly been putting together a solid Rookie of the Year campaign on the middling Carolina roster, but he exploded this weekend with a 1.23 K/D. He led both lobbies in kills despite a 3-0 loss to FaZe. While he was a standout in Hardpoint with a 1.27 K/D and 81 kills in two maps, his highlight from the weekend was a 1v4 against Vegas where he killed all four players in 8 seconds before finding the defuse.

Traixx: Much has been said this season about the superstar AR duo on Miami, but the Argentinian Traixx was a force to be reckoned with this weekend. He led both lobbies this weekend in kills and damage while also putting up a 1.37 K/D. He was a standout in SnD, racking up a 23/11 (2.09) statline while chipping in five First Bloods in 19 rounds. If the newest addition to this Miami team can stay hot, they will be a tough out when it comes to Major 2.

JoeDeceives: The catalyst for nearly every KOI victory was in form this weekend. Despite their Neslo loss to Cloud9, JoeDeceives still finished with a 1.45 K/D and 106 kills while matching his production against Surge with a 1.36 K/D and 121 kills in just four maps. He was a respawn reaper, posting a 1.49 K/D in Hardpoint to go along with 37.3 kills and 74.3 seconds of hill time per map, as well as a 1.53 K/D in Overload.