Full Wrap #39

A Major for the history books. The CDL hadn’t seen a crowd or a trophy quite on the level of what Gentle Mates put on for us in Paris. Major 4 even set the highest peak for Call of Duty Esports with 378,285 viewers. Other franchises, take notes.

HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE WEEKEND

Losers Bracket Cheese is Real

Another win-or-bust weekend for OpTic, and for the first time this season, they weren’t the favorites entering the event. OpTic’s mediocre online split was still good enough for the 3rd seed and a blessed bracket with LAT, FaZe, and Mates all ending up on the opposite side.

OpTic’s opening series with Breach went as expected, a 3-1 cruising to victory in all of the respawns. Shotzzy (94/73) and Huke (83/66) dominated in a clear talent gap series, but OpTic’s Search woes remained, losing 2-6 in Map 2.

Next up, OpTic had G2 on the schedule, a team that beat OpTic during qualifiers. Unfortunately for G2, the Major wasn’t being played online, and Dashy was unkillable. A swift 3-0, thanks to a 1.48 K/D series from Dashy, had OpTic back in the Winners Finals for a fifth straight event.

The series we were all waiting for: OpTic against the Thieves. LAT came out hot, playing a near-perfect Den Hardpoint where they had control the entire way, winning 250-181. Then we witnessed an OpTic breakdown. Leading 5-2 in the SnD and poised to tie the series, Thieves rattled off 4 straight rounds to steal the map. It was another close map in the Overload, but OpTic got antsy late, leading to a four dead and an extra-time game-winning goal from LAT to round out the sweep.

Knocked down to the Losers Bracket for the first time this season, and who was waiting for them? None other than the host, the Paris Gentle Mates, who had been building momentum all the way from Losers Round 1.

What looked like a routine opening map win for OpTic quickly got dicey. From leading 220-166 to trailing 238-225 with three dead on a Scar P1. OpTic was breaking down once again. Luckily, OpTic pushed it to a P2 and gained control. JoeDeceives made a last-ditch effort, running through the middle of the hill to find a two-piece before getting shut down by Dashy to close the map. Mercules was feeling the hype and got up to shush the crowd following the map win.

The rest of the series was quick and full of “nice Mase” comms. Merc led the way in each map, going 9/3 in the SnD and 26/22 in the Overload en route to a 3-0 sweep for OpTic. Not even Sib’s 36/23 could slow down OpTic.

Going into the Grand Finals, one question remained: can OpTic beat Thieves during the MPC meta? LAT was 4-0 against OpTic entering the series, and just like Winners Finals, they were starting out on a Den Hardpoint. The script was flipped this time around, and Thieves couldn’t buy a kill with OpTic starting the map 12/1 as a team. It was pure belt as OpTic welcomed LAT to the 100-point club, with Merc putting an exclamation point on the victory, ending on a 9-kill streak.

To nobody’s surprise, Thieves had an answer, taking the SnD 6-4 with HyDra and aBeZy dropping 10 kills with 3 First Bloods each. The series looked to be going back and forth until LAT ran in 6 unanswered scores during the second half of the Overload to take the map 7-3.

Trailing 1-2, it’s safe to say Map 4 was a must-win for OpTic. Thieves were looking to take a commanding lead in the series and held a 228-195 lead late, but it was yet another clutch Scar Hardpoint victory from OpTic. The map was a duel between Shotzzy (42/34) and Scrap (41/32) that ultimately brought us to a 2-2 series.

Once again LAT answered back with a win in SnD, this time a dominant 6-2. OpTic then decided, what better time to play our first Gridlock Overload than Map 6 of the Grand Final? There was in fact no better time. Leading 4-1 in the second half, OpTic held on just enough to take a 4-3 victory and force a Map 7.

OpTic saved their best SnD performance for last. It was an absolute slamming, taking the map 6-1 and finally securing their first Major trophy of the season. Dashy was named MVP, leading the series with a 1.21 K/D while posting the third most kills with 129.

Can OpTic do it again in Vegas and go back-to-back-to-back at Champs?

Thieves’ Streak Ends

Thieves came into Major 4 riding an all-time high: a Major win, two Minor wins, and tied for the CDL win streak record with 13 straight wins. Not only that, HyDra was back home in France.

What easier way to cement a CDL record than by playing the Ravens on LAN? This was a beating. 250-129 in the HP, 6-4 in SnD, and an 8-0 mercy rule in Overload. The French Phenom put up a series-leading 64 kills and 1.49 K/D. On the bright side for Carolina, at least it was on B stream.

Next up for LAT, a real test and the last team to beat them, FaZe Vegas. Thieves quickly learned this wasn’t the Ravens anymore, falling behind 114-18 in the opening HP. However, that lead soon evaporated as LAT rallied from behind to take the map, 250-202.

Thieves followed that up with another map win to take a 2-0 lead and seemingly put FaZe away. Unfortunately for LAT, it would not be smooth sailing the rest of the way. FaZe took the Overload 5-0 with Drazah and Abuzah combining to go 71/42 (1.69). It was then 04’s turn in the Hardpoint, putting up a ridiculous 45/21 performance to force Map 5.

FaZe carried the momentum they had gained from the previous two maps into the SnD, taking an early 4-1 lead, and the brooms were getting ready for the reverse sweep. Thieves started to find their footing, bringing it to a 5-3 score and activating the age-old curse. Three straight rounds and FaZe’s efforts to send Thieves to Losers Bracket were all for nothing. A full red carpet for Thieves couldn’t even end their streak, as HyDra’s 21/11 in SnD helped them hold on.

Beating OpTic in the Winners Finals extended Thieves' win streak to 16, a record that likely won’t be broken anytime soon, if ever. That streak was snapped in the Grand Final, though. 16 straight and only one Major to show for it.

Thieves will look to bounce back from their Major 4 loss, as well as their end-of-season collapse in Black Ops 6, and capture the franchise’s first Champs win since Vanguard. Scrap and Nium also look to win their first ring in the process.

There’s No Place like Home

The Paris Gentle Mates got to host their first CDL Major since joining the league at La Défense Arena, Europe’s largest indoor venue. The Mates fans responded by filling it to the brim. 

Unfortunately, the Mates didn’t respond to their home crowd in quite the same way in their opener against FaZe. They won the opening map but then proceeded to lose three straight maps to get sent to the Losers Bracket immediately.

The upside to being sent to the Losers Bracket was more matches for the home crowd. The Gentle Mates fell into a matchup with C9. I won’t bore you with the details, because it’s C9. Suffice it to say, Nejra’s 49 kills led his team. Sib’s 49 was the least on Mates. 3-0.

Paris’ next test came against the Miami Heretics. The teams traded wins across the first three maps, with Miami coming out with the best of it and a 2-1 lead. Scenes got very scary for the Mates as they played for their tournament lives as Miami led 227-212 late, but they locked in and didn’t allow another second for Miami to force a Map 5. The late comeback must have broken the Heretics, as they continued to get shut out through the SnD as the Gentle Mates sent them packing in Top 8.

Their match to qualify for Top 4 came against G2 Minnesota. G2 never posed a threat to Gentle Mates in this one as they grabbed the Map 1 lead in the second hill and never trailed again in the series as Joe put up 106 kills in just four maps.

The Gentle Mates and their faithful opened championship Sunday with a rematch against FaZe, a rematch the fans were waiting for after Drazah told them to “suce mi bite” (pardon my French) after beating them on Friday.

The series started poorly for the Mates, losing decisively in a 250-172 Map 1. They would pull it back by winning two consecutive tight maps, securing a Round 11 in Map 2 and then a 5-4 Overload. Vegas would tie up the series with a dominant 250-125 Hardpoint, but the Mates completed their revenge in Map 5 with a 6-2 victory to secure Top 3. Joe was again the standout Gentle Mates player, the only one on the team to post a positive K/D while also ending with 99 kills.

Their win over Vegas set up a match between the two largest organizations in COD, and the Parisians let the Green Wall have it, raining down jeers on a team so used to cheers. Still, it was seemingly easy for Dashy to pretend the boos were still “Bruce” as he and Mercules carved up the Gentle Mates in a 3-0 win.

Failure Again for FaZe

FaZe Vegas pulled a tough bracket. After facing the hosts in Winners Round 1, their event didn’t get any easier in a matchup with the Thieves, whose victory over them marked four straight in the matchup. They faced a short reprieve in Losers, getting the freshly downgraded Toronto KOI.

Vegas made quick work of Toronto: the Zah Zah duo dominated KOI, with Abuzah dropping a 1.32 and Drazah bettering him with a 1.33 in a 3-0 victory. 

FaZe’s tournament would end early on Sunday (apologies to all the West Coast fans who thought getting up at 5AM was a good idea) as they failed to make Top 3 for the second consecutive event. With the rise of the Thieves and the new look Gentle Mates, did their window slam shut after Major 2?

TOP PERFORMERS

Dashy: It’s only right the Major 4 MVP tops our Team of the Week. Dashy posted a 1.14 K/D on the weekend, good for 5th overall. His 1.22 K/D in Overload helped OpTic get out of the mud in a game mode that was giving them trouble recently. On top of that, for his second straight Grand Finals, he was OpTic’s best player, putting up a 1.21 K/D in the biggest series of the weekend.

JoeDeceives: Joe may have failed to qualify for the Grand Finals yet again, but it wasn’t for lack of trying. He led the event in K/D (1.17), Slayer Rating (103.97), HP K/D (1.19), First Bloods (13), and Plants (15). His 1.12 BP rating was also good enough for #5 at the event. He settled in quickly with this new Paris roster, but will his dominant stats ever translate into tournament success?

Drazah: Drazah was a hazard on the map this weekend. His 1.13 K/D was good enough for #6 overall, and his 100.16 Slayer Rating (#4) and 1.15 BP Rating (#3) were even better. Drazah has been a LAN riser all year: his 0.96 online K/D jumps to a 1.07 on LAN when it matters. 

HyDra: The French Phenom is hitting his end-of-season peak, as per usual. HyDra ended Major 4 with the 10th best K/D (1.07) and the 2nd best BP rating (1.16). His biggest impact this weekend was felt in SnD where he posted a 1.59 K/D, which was the highest of anybody that played more than one SnD map. HyDra clearly stepped up his game on home turf, and with EWC being held in Paris, that could be Thieves’ event to lose.