Full Wrap #35

The CDL was back in full swing for the first time since Major 3 this past weekend. We got to see plenty of new rosters in action and some outcomes served as a reminder that some missed the mark by not changing.

HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE WEEKEND

Midseason Rostermania

In the lead-up to the last split of the season before Champs, half the league made moves to improve their rosters, including the four teams outside the Champs bubble. 

The biggest move was the first-ever trade in the CDL: Paris Gentle Mates and G2 Minnesota agreed to a swap of players, with Envoy being sent to Minnesota in return for Estreal. Minnesota’s moves didn’t end there as they went after Boston player Nastie to replace the underperforming rookie Mamba.

The Ravens, the first team outside the Champs bubble, also dropped an underperforming rookie, Craze. They added yet another recycled pro to their roster of misfit toys, Standy.

Vancouver seized the opportunity to make another roster-building mistake by reuniting former Challengers teammates Craze and Mamba, while simultaneously dropping Gwinn and TJHaly.

Boston, now with a gap in their roster after Nastie’s departure, went after TJ, who always has a friend in the league.

The last move of the week off was Cloud9 finally dropping Okis for a different high schooler, Wevy. Surely this will be the move that turns their season around. Fortunately for Wevy, this opportunity came at the cost of only $1,000 paid to C9 out of his EWC winnings.

As for the teams with a more conservative approach, cough, cough, Toronto and Miami, their failure to make a change has them sitting behind the eight ball early on in Stage 4 Qualifiers. KOI was 3-0’d by the Ravens, and Miami was Neslo’d by the Falcons and 3-0 slammed by OpTic. Perhaps now change is on the horizon.

Online OpTic

This weekend was just a formality for OpTic, who were back to their regular ways for the online qualifiers. Another 2-0 start to Stage 4 was no surprise, especially given that their opponents were not the most formidable.

In their first series they took down Surge, as expected, in a quick 3-0. After a 100-point club victory in Map 1, Vancouver decided to fight back in the Search. Nero led the way, going 13/7 with three First Bloods, but it wasn’t enough as Shotzzy and Mercules found 12 kills each, closing Map 2 in Round 11. OpTic finally put their foot on the gas again during overtime of Map 3, scoring goals on both sides to close the series.

Finishing out their weekend, OpTic was matched up with the Heretics, who were coming off another disappointing LAN performance at Major 3 and a 0-1 start to their qualifiers. 

Miami kept the opening Hardpoint close, losing 250-215, wasting a 38/32 kill and damage-leading map from SupeR. If that wasn’t demoralizing enough, OpTic won another Round 11 in a round that the Heretics never had any direction and got picked apart one by one. The Overload showed the cracks of what could be a chalked roster. OpTic outslayed by 29 en route to a 6-1 blowout. 

MettalZ ended the series with an abysmal 49/71 statline in what could be his final series of the season. That is unless Miami decides to go full Spanish once again and undeservedly move on from Traix. Either way, ReeaL, it’s time.

OpTic is poised for yet another undefeated qualifying stage, but if it doesn’t end with a Major victory, questions about their ice on Sundays will persist.

Red (and Pink) Wedding

The match of the weekend was the only series for Thieves and FaZe, and it did not disappoint. FaZe opened the series by taking the Hardpoint, outslaying LAT by 17. So much for a lack of gun power.

Thieves quickly answered back in the Search thanks to 10/6 from aBeZy and four First Bloods from Scrap. The Major 3 Champs kept things rolling in Overload, taking a dominant 5-2 victory on the newly added Gridlock.

In Map 4, FaZe showed their Hardpoint is arguably the best in the game, if you exclude OpTic, taking down Thieves 250-119. Once again, FaZe heavily outslayed, finishing the map plus 28 as a team.

All down to a Map 5, Gridlock SnD. FaZe held a 3-0 record against Thieves in Map 5s entering the series and jumped out to an early 3-1 lead, signaling the trend would continue. That was not the case. Thieves took 5 straight rounds, winning the series despite losing the First Blood battle 6-3.

Falcons Flying High

Falcons seem to have turned a corner since deciding to stick following the rumors of an Exnid or Pred change. Whether it’s the pressure from potentially being dropped or the new MPC meta that favors their SMG-heavy lineup, all that matters is that they’re finally starting to find form.

First up for the Falcons was a breaking Heretics squad. It was an off day for Riyadh in Hardpoint, dropping two close maps, but despite that, they still found a way to stay in the series. The Neslo angle was always there, with the Falcons' strong Overload pulling through and the recent additions of Fringe and Sake being exactly what they needed to strengthen their SnD.

The slaying numbers from Riyadh were unbelievable, with Pred, KiSMET, and Exnid combining for a staggering 340 kills, rolling out the red carpet for Miami. Who needs an SMG duo when you have an SMG trio?

Unfortunately for the new-look Gentle Mates, a change isn’t going to save them. 3-0’d by the Falcons on LAN and now 3-0’d online. Welcome to your new team, Estreal, the lone positive player in the series for the Mates. Exnid once again showed out during qualifiers, leading the series in kills (73) and K/D (1.16). 

Since the start of Stage 3, the Falcons have only lost to OpTic, FaZe, Thieves, and KOI, going 8-0 against everybody else while also picking up a win over FaZe at Major 3. Are they finally ready to make a Sunday?

Boston Bottom-Feeders

Surprisingly, the last undefeated team of the weekend was the Boston Breach. In fact, their two wins this weekend account for 20% of their season series win total. What was unsurprising was their opponents.

First was Vancouver. Despite the pedigree of their opponent, the Breach still dropped the first two maps of the series. After that, Purj locked in, dropping a 1.53 K/D across the last three maps of the series to secure the reverse sweep.

Second was Cloud9, which can barely be counted as a CDL win. Boston would drop only the Search, as Purj was again the hero. He led the team in K/D (1.20) and damage (12,759), including a 34/23 performance in the last map of the series.

Riyadh may be the gatekeepers of the top five right now, but Boston may just be the gatekeepers of the top ten.

TOP PERFORMERS

Shotzzy: Shotzzy kicked off Major 4 qualifiers with two of his best performances in over a month. He dropped 144/115 (1.25) for the weekend, including a 1.40 SnD K/D. He also had the highest BP rating of any player this weekend, a 1.33. He also had the highest K/D of any player with multiple series played this weekend.

Pred: The Thunder from Down Under had himself a weekend with 182 kills and a 1.22 K/D. He was a menace in Search, with six First Bloods to go with a 2.00 K/D. He was especially effective against Miami with a lobby-leading 120 kills in five maps.

Mercules: A big weekend from Mercules who had begun to fall slightly out of MVP talks. He helped lead OpTic to a 2-0 weekend, posting a 132/117 (1.13) line to go along with the second highest BP rating (1.31). Merc’s SnD bag is unmatched, and he continued to show why, ending the weekend with a 1.77 K/D while going 3-0 in opening duels.

Afro: Last on our Team of the Week is Afro, who led everybody this weekend with 210 kills to go along with a 1.10 K/D. His 1.15 K/D in Overload was his highest mark in any mode and a big reason why Boston went undefeated there this weekend. It’s basically an unwritten rule that if you lead one of the bottom three to a 2-0 record, you make the list. It's unlikely we see that happen again this season, though.