Full Wrap #6

After a crazy midseason rostermania that left some teams looking like they were formed using ZooMaa’s kick off-tourney wheel, we finally got to see how they stack up against one another. New franchise records, revenge matches, rookie debuts, and forfeits. The first week of qualifiers had a little bit of everything.

HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE WEEKEND

Champs Curse Gone?

Back like he never left, Huke is already frying for OpTic again. OpTic’s first match against Rokkr and familiar foe Kenny put the new roster to the test. Down 1-2 in the series and entering the third set of rotations trailing 196-137, OpTic played nearly perfect COD to chain P1, P2, and P3 to close out the map 250-207. A team kill from an Estreal RC car onto Kenny in Round 11 and a clutch pistol three-piece from Skyz led to an OpTic 3-2 victory. Estreal, Kenny’s not on OpTic anymore.

If OpTic had first match jitters against Rokkr, the quick 3-0 they handed Cloud9 would indicate that they’re long gone. Every OpTic player ended the series positive, and they each had a map going +10 or better, which resulted in an overall +47 for the team. Only the Halo team should be playing Slayer.

OpTic’s championship roster from MW3 looked abysmal last stage, and a two-player swap for Huke and Skyz has already paid dividends. A 2-0 start puts OpTic into position to make Winners’ Bracket with matches against Falcons and Heretics next weekend.

Bell Fibre Down

After placing 3rd at Major 2, Ultra had a chance to show that it wasn’t a fluke with a matchup against FaZe to kick off their Stage 3 Qualifiers. The hardest part for Ultra would prove to be the technical delays and not FaZe. After FaZe took a 2-1 lead with back-to-back map wins, Beans had the answer, dropping a 1.67 with over two minutes in the hill to force a Map 5. CleanX led the way going 11/4 with four first bloods on Ultra’s bread and butter Protocol Search to close out the series. Nothing beats Bell Fibre!

The technical issues for Ultra would continue into their series against Breach. Boston nearly 100-point clubbed Ultra on Skyline, which is one of Ultra’s best Hardpoint maps. The losing would continue, and the entire Ultra roster was visibly frustrated after Boston took Map 2. Could Dealership be that bad? A 2-0 series lead quickly turned to a 3-0 when Ultra decided to forfeit the series due to server problems that couldn’t be resolved. From Exit Lag to exiting the match.

Falcons are Free

Anticipation around the Falcons new roster came to an abrupt halt with an absolute rout at the hands of Vancouver Surge in the first match of Stage 3. Despite a new roster boasting three world champions, Vegas never got going, losing 127-250, 2-6, and 0-3. Surprisingly, the only decent performer was rookie Exnid. Arcitys’ return to the league went much like his exit; he struggled mightily, posting 32-56 (0.57). A DoorDash sponsorship in the works for the Falcons? 

Luckily for the Falcons, they got a chance at redemption this weekend against the Heretics. And they would pull off the seemingly impossible: winning a Hardpoint. Arcitys entered this series by turning back the clock, ripping off a 1.57 with 36 kills, spearheading a 250-167 Skyline win. This Hardpoint win also marks the first time the Falcons have led a series the entire year. They carried their momentum into the second map, the CDL debut of Dealership, which, along with Rewind, replaced Vault and Skyline. The Falcons found themselves at map point with a 5-3 lead off the back of Exnid’s record-tying six first bloods, but as COD fans will tell you, 5-3 is the worst lead in Search. The 5-3 curse reared its head, and the Falcons dropped three straight rounds, losing 6-5. A quick 3-0 loss in Control found the Falcons back in a familiar spot, chasing the series lead. In a twist no one saw coming, the Falcons would win yet another Hardpoint, with a clutch Exnid two-piece securing both the break on Rock Hill and the map. Could winning two Hardpoints signal winning their first series as well?

No, no it couldn’t. In a seemingly poetic end, Miami would secure the Neslo win as the Falcons drowned in the uncharted waters of a Map 5. The only curse left to break is winning a series.

Mace Kendu to the Rescue

The first outing of the new look Minnesota roster took a tough Map 5 Round 11 loss against Kenny’s former team, but their weekend was not over. They still had a matchup with Boston Breach, a team coming off a controversial forfeit victory against Toronto. Rokkr seemingly flipped the script from their first series in this one, winning both Hardpoints and clutching up in the Map 5 Round 11 to secure the series win. Kenny has seemingly shaken off whatever was ailing him this season on OpTic, laughing with relief after the victory. He posted his best statline of the season, a 1.26 series K/D (96-76) with a standout 30-15 in Map 4. New lightsaber, new Kenny? 

Glad to be Online

The Thieves were back in action this weekend after a disappointing Top 4 finish at Major 2. They continued the season’s dominance over Vancouver Surge with another 3-0 win, mirroring the scoreline of their Major 2 Qualifier matchup. Envoy bounced back from a below-par Major 2 performance with a 1.29, leading the lobby. While the win gets them off on the right foot, it does little to dispel the whisperings of this team being much stronger online than on LAN. Could we be looking at a potential 15-0 split?

TOP PERFORMERS

Envoy: Mr. Do-It-All for LAT, Envoy showed out with a series-leading 1.29 while soaking two and a half minutes in the hill. Envoy continues to be one of the best Control players in the CDL, as he topped the lobby in kills and damage in map 3. He was trying to take everything.

Cellium: Cell picked up right where he left off at the end of the last Stage, posting a 1.23 in Atlanta’s seemingly obligatory loss to open qualifying versus Toronto. He followed it with a 1.13 in the match against Carolina, punctuating a 6-0 Search win with a 9-1 performance. His highlight of the weekend was a surgical 1v2 where he methodically isolated Slasher and Vivid. Is Cellium a Dark Horse MVP candidate?

Dashy: Back in form for Stage 3, Dashy helped OpTic get two much-needed wins. He was the damage leader for OpTic in both of their series and posted a 1.08 K/D across the weekend, including a 1.35 in SnD. The most memorable moment for Dashy came in the map 5 Search against Rokkr, where he slid in and killed Nero to win the 1v1 with OpTic trailing 4-5 last map. The bat signal was out, and Bruce delivered.

Gio: Minnesota may have gone 1-1 on the weekend, but it wasn’t due to a lack of effort on Gio’s part. He led the lobby in kills and damage in both series, posting a 1.30 across ten maps as well as being the lone positive player against OpTic (1.31). If he can continue this level of elevated play alongside a seemingly rebounding Kenny, Rokkr could become a team that very few want to see in the bracket.

SupeR: A loss to the Falcons would have been the worst way to start your rookie season, so it’s a good thing SupeR came to play. Currently leading Stage 3 in K/D with a 1.35, SupeR really left his mark in the Heretics three map wins. A series-changing 1v1 win over Exnid map 2 in Round 11 while going 11/7 saved Miami from a 0-2 series deficit. SupeR followed that up with a 1.67 in the Control and closed the series out with an 8/3 performance map 5. That is really SupeR.