Full Wrap #31

It may not be a Major, but the higher stakes of a single elimination tournament made for must-see action this weekend. How much stock goes into an online tournament? Well, last season both Minor winners made it to Sunday at the following Major, and FaZe even won the event.

HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE WEEKEND

Minors Beware

The Los Angeles Thieves are your Minor 1 Champions. After two disappointing placings to start the year, the Thieves strung together a run that they hope will be the turning point for their season. With the win, LAT also became the first franchise to win two Minors.

The run started with a match against a dangerous Minnesota team that proved toothless against the Thieves. aBeZy, Scrap, and Nium all dropped a 1.20 or higher as they quickly dispatched G2 3-0.

Their Semi-Final matchup was OpTic Texas, who were also gunning for their first piece of the pie for the season. The Thieves started strong with a 2-0 lead before OpTic woke up and battled back to force a decisive fifth map. Map 5 was anticlimactic, as the Thieves ran away with it 6-2.

The final matchup of the weekend came against Miami, a surprise on both sides as both OpTic and FaZe fell in the semis. At the very least the pair of upsets set up the most anticipated listen-ins of the year.

Miami jumped out to an early lead in Map 1, but once LAT wrested the lead from them, they led the rest of the way. HyDra surprisingly led the Thieves with 2:13 in the hardpoint, a departure from his usual hill-avoidant style.

Map 2 was the only Search map LAT would lose the entire weekend as Traix put on an 11/5 masterclass in a 6-3 victory. Map 3 also went to Miami, a high-scoring 7-6, or if you prefer, 6-7, Overload.

MVP Scrap showed up in Map 4 to even the series. While HyDra and Nium struggled, combining for just 37 kills, Scrap equaled them with 37 of his own while also clocking 87 seconds in the hill and nearly 4,000 damage in a 250-161 map win.

In Map 5 Scrap was undeniable yet again, this time joined by HyDra. The two combined for 18/9 with seven First Bloods in just eight rounds to bring the series to map point.

Miami would score the first two overloads of Map 6 and held a tenuous 2-1 lead going into the second half, but from there it was all Thieves, scoring the next four goals. Scrap dominated once again, dropping 33/22 (1.50) while outscoring Miami on his own with three goals.

The change from the Dravec to the MPC seemed to benefit LAT more than anyone else. To this point the SMG duo had left something to be desired, but this weekend they were fast, supporting, and aggressive.

The most significant change was their Search and Destroy dominance as a team: Scrap posted a 1.62, HyDra a 1.41, and aBeZy a 1.22, as LAT had a 4-1 record in the mode. Could this weekend’s performance be a sign of what’s to come for potentially the most talented roster in the league?

Heretics back Online

Miami came into the weekend on a three-match losing streak, getting double-rounded at the Major and opening their Stage 3 Qualifier with a loss to LAT. Their recent struggles along with the recent addition of ReeaL to their bench had rumors running rampant, and Heretics were in need of a good string of matches.

To start the tournament, Miami was given Boston on a silver platter. Not much to break down in that series, as Breach did enough breaking down of their own. A quick 3-0 sweep led by Traix (1.26) and RenKoR (1.23) advanced the Heretics to Saturday.

Next up was the Gentle Mates, a real CDL team. Miami’s resilience was tested early, dropping Map 1 250-236, and in need of a rebound in Map 2, they couldn’t buy a First Blood. Despite an 8-1 First Blood count in favor of M8s, the Heretics clutched up in their 3v4s, led by a 10/6 map from SupeR.

Clutching up was the theme of the series for Miami. Paris scored in the Overload to make it 3-4 with 1:41 remaining, and the Heretics defense held on to take the map, followed up by a 250-203 Hardpoint win to close out the series.

Waiting for them in the Semi-Finals was the reigning Major 2 Champs, FaZe Vegas. Miami opened up the series with another close Hardpoint win (250-224) and stole another SnD while losing the First Blood battle, this time 6-3.

Looking to close out the series with their second sweep of the weekend, we were treated to one of the best Overload maps of the season. Trailing 2-3, FaZe was able to grab the device as time ran out for one final play, and a flank three-piece ensured the score and forced overtime. Neither team could score on the first side of overtime, setting up a golden goal scenario where Miami found the kills and punched home a score after nearly seven minutes of scoreless play. A map that lasted 17:25 of game time sent the Heretics to Finals.

Unfortunately, Miami’s recent kryptonite was the team they met in the Finals. Thieves eliminated them from the Major with a 3-0 and opened up Stage 3 with a 3-1 win as well. The series was closer this time around, with the 4-2 loss marking a 3-10 map count against LAT over their last three series.

The question remains, can Miami translate this success to LAN? They were the only team without a bye to make Sunday and the only team outside of LAT to win more than one series, taking three straight before falling in the Finals. ReeaL is hoping the LAN struggles continue—probably.

Going through FaZes

Winning Major 2 put FaZe alongside OpTic as best in the game and as a clear favorite to make the Minor Final. However, the new maps and meta has shifted up the league just enough to halt their momentum.

It was déjà vu for FaZe in their first series of the Minor, taking out Falcons 3-1 for the second week in a row. None of their map wins were very close, and they rolled out the red carpet for Riyadh, with no player posting anything above a 0.89 K/D. On the opposite side, Simp led the way with an 88/73 (1.21) performance.

Their weekend was short-lived, dropping their next series to Miami. The new meta change had Drazah and Abuzah looking uncomfortable in the Map 1 Colossus, where the duo combined to go 47/64 (0.73). Besides that, if FaZe closed out more man advantage rounds in the SnD and took one of the closest Overloads of the season, we’d be looking at a much different series. Don’t hit the panic button yet.

Champs Curse Continues

It’s championship or bust at this point for OpTic. They’ve looked as dominant as ever at times this season, but outside of their online Launch Invitational win, it’s been disappointment after disappointment when it matters. That didn’t change with the Minor.

OpTic had a familiar matchup to start the event, taking their third straight win over KOI since their addition of Kips. A 100-point club victory in Map 4 was the exclamation point on the series. Shotzzy and Mercules combined to go 52/23 (2.26) with over four minutes of hill time, while CleanX finished with just 10 kills and 1,602 damage.

After going down 0-2 against the Thieves, OpTic put up a valiant effort to force a Map 5 and threaten the reverse sweep. Unfortunately, there was nothing threatening about OpTic’s SnD on Sunday, dropping both 6-2. Shotzzy was blooded three times in each map and finished the series 3/15 in SnD.

Their early dominance, despite winning no events, has quickly begun to fade with the maps and meta update. If OpTic want to join MW2 Thieves as the only teams to break the Champs curse, they’re going to need to return to form, especially in Search.

TOP PERFORMERS

Scrap: Scrap was back with a vengeance this weekend, proving he’s still a top player in the league. He had a 1.14 overall K/D, the fourth best mark of any player. He also had the top Breaking Point rating (BP rating) with a staggering 1.20. Search was his best game type, as he went 42/26 with 13 First Bloods across five maps. He was easily the best player in the Final, racking up a 142/105 (1.35) scoreline while also leading the lobby in damage by over 1k.

Mercules: One of the frontrunners for MVP, Mercules bolstered his resume this weekend with a 1.17 K/D, the third best at the event. His best mode was Hardpoint, where his 1.29 K/D was also the third best mark. His best series came against the Toronto KOI, where he led the lobby in kills (90) and K/D (1.34). 

RenKoR: RenKoR continued his dominant season, helping Miami reach the Final of Minor 1. He held a 1.11 K/D (#6 overall) across four matches on the weekend. His 1.12 BP rating was fourth overall. While Search has been his weakest mode so far in Black Ops 7, this weekend it was his strength with a 1.28. 

aBeZy: While aBeZy’s 1.05 K/D (#17) doesn’t jump off the page, his contributions outside of K/D led to a 1.14 BP rating (#2 for the weekend). The change in meta (or perhaps secret sensitivity training) has rejuvenated his game, as he was able to bail his team out time and time again with a two or three-piece. He also contributed mightily in Overload, with 1.18 goals per 10 minutes, the sixth best at the event.