Full Wrap #8

The competition hasn’t been higher than it is right now this season. Five teams finished the Stage 3 Qualifiers 4-1, and FaZe wasn’t even one of them. I guess it wasn’t eZaF this split.

HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE WEEKEND

4-Peat Loading

Never a doubt. FaZe and Losers’ Bracket don’t mix. A 2-0 weekend with 3-1 wins over the Falcons and OpTic secured a 3-2 record and the 6th seed entering Major 3. FaZe lost Map 1 in both series by over 100 points before stabilizing to take three straight maps. If any team can afford to have a slow start, it’s FaZe, a luxury of being the best Search and Destroy team in the game. The first map is just a warm-up for FaZe.

Was aBeZy taking too many spiral gunfights this weekend? Probably not, but it was a slow weekend by his standards, posting a 0.93 vs. Falcons and a 0.89 vs. OpTic. The biggest surprise is that he only had one first blood over 17 rounds of Search. With Simp going positive in just a single series this split, FaZe will need the Tiny Terrors to step it up if they want to achieve the first 4-peat since Black Ops 3 OpTic.

Ravens Roster Wrecked?

In what has become something of an annual tradition, Vivid has found himself without a CDL roster spot after being released by Carolina. This move shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone, as the Ravens previously targeted Kenny after Major 2, but the deal fell through. His replacement comes in the form of Wrecks, who becomes the third player from the Challengers squad OMiT Brooklyn to find their way into the league this season. During Wrecks’ tenure in Challengers this year, his squads have gone 15-0 in Elite Stage matches and have won all three Elite Stage Playoffs. His most recent performance in the Elite Stage 3 Playoffs Final was a 106/77 1.38 KD in a 3-1 win over Team WaR. 

Unfortunately Wrecks was not able to muster anything close to that performance this weekend as Carolina remained the LA Thieves punching bag. HyDra and company gave him a rude awakening in the form of a 250-134, 6-2, 3-0 beatdown that left Wrecks with an abysmal 30-49 (0.61). The “good” news? He’s got a WR1 rematch on Thursday.

Commencing the Annual Purj

Boston remains one of just five teams in the CDL to not make a roster change, and the chemistry they’ve built is paying off. They started their weekend off flying high with a 3-0 win over Cloud9. Purj had perhaps the best respawn series of his career, doing everything in the Hardpoint with a 35-21 performance with 1:42 in the hill. He then left no doubt in the Control, running wild with a 9 spree in Round 2 and ending the map 26-14 in a 3-0 victory. 

If their 3-0 over C9 showcased their dominance, their 3-2 reverse sweep against Falcons displayed their ice. Down 0-2 after a disastrous 0-6 loss on Rewind Search, they reeled off three straight map victories, including a comeback from 4-5 down in Map 5, to close out the series in Round 11. With this victory they secured the second seed for Major 2 and solidified sole possession of the sixth seed for Champs. 

BRACKET PREVIEW

Thieves vs Ravens

Back-to-back matchups with a top two team is a waking nightmare start to a CDL career, and Wrecks is living it. Fresh off the 3-0 loss in the final match of Qualifiers, the Ravens have a four-day turnaround to, well, turn it around. Unfortunately, history does not paint a pretty picture for Carolina. They are 0-5 against LA with a 1-15 map count and have lost fourteen consecutive maps to the Thieves. Carolina’s time might be better spent prepping for a Losers’ matchup with Rokkr.

Thieves on the other hand are looking to right their wrongs from Major 2. Another loss on Thursday and the failure to reach the Grand Finals would open up a lot of discussion around the future of this LAT roster. They may not take everything, but they need to at least take something.

Heretics vs Ultra

A rematch from the qualifiers pits two 4-1 teams against each other, both boasting some top EU talent. Miami’s only loss in this split was handed to them by Toronto. Expect the Heretics to be out for revenge at their home event. A battle between the AR duo of RenKoR and SupeR and the SMG duo of CleanX and JoeDeceives. Both pairs have been playing at a star level, but only one can come out on top. The loser will face LAGM8, so the bounce back is inevitable.

Breach vs OpTic

If you were told before the season that Breach and OpTic would meet for the first time in a 2v7 seed matchup, you would have probably guessed that their roles would be reversed. However, coming off of a 4-1 split, Boston has the upper hand in this matchup. Boston is in far better form, as they have won their last three matches, while OpTic has dropped three in a row. Can OpTic pull it together and avoid a Friday rematch with Vegas? Or is a Winners’ Bracket run just a pie-in-the-Skyz fantasy?

Surge vs FaZe

From the Grand Finals to Winners’ Round 1. FaZe and Surge will be meeting up a lot earlier at Major 3. The season series currently sits at 2-2, with all of their matchups coming during Stage 2. Surge will need to crack FaZe’s untouchable Search and Destroy on LAN if they want to send FaZe to Losers’. At least this series can’t be a 4-0.

Losers’ Bracket

Starting a Major with one life is never a good sign for your tournament success, or lack thereof. LAGM8 and Cloud9 are looking like T12 locks, while Falcons and Rokkr have a chance to cause an upset against their potential matchups. Both teams have shown they can play good CoD in spurts during the Qualifiers despite finishing 1-4. With a Champs appearance on the line, can anybody make the run?

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