The fiercest competitors in the Call of Duty World Championships continue to battle their way through the loser’s bracket. A couple team’s dreams are still alive, but some giants have definitely fallen.
Optic Gaming vs. Cloud 9 – C9 3-2
The crowd here at the Forum in Los Angeles, CA is about ninety-five percent Optic Gaming fans. The “Greenwall” is definitely in effect, but Cloud 9 did not care at all. They proved themselves in an arena that I would consider to be very, very hostile territory.
This match started off as a very one-sided affair, with Optic leading the way. They cruised through C9 on the first Hardpoint map. Search and Destroy was the achilles heal for Optic all tournament, and the next mapped proved it. They lost a brutal SnD by a slim margin, 5-6. They continued their domination on the next map. Infection Uplink was nice for OG as they win it 13-1. C9 continued to be a pest as they took the next CTF in a statement game. Search and Destroy was the last map, and you could feel the pressure in the arena. Cloud 9 really proved their gameplay ability by taking it in another very close series, 6-5.
FaZe Clan vs. Splyce – Splyce 3-2
Faze came into bracket play with no map loses, but quickly got swept by Envyus to go down to the loser’s bracket. Splyce was looking amazing but managed to drop a series to the fellow European team, FAB Games. This five game series did not disappoint anyone who was watching it.
This was one of the most competitive series that was at this event. Faze came out strong on Hardpoint in a victory, but Splyce bounced back. They then swapped maps back and forth until the final map. Stronghold Search and Destroy went to Splyce as they took the series and eliminated Faze from the tournament. Faze performed really well all tournament long but just could not pull it out when it mattered.
FAB Games vs. Cloud 9 – FAB 3-1
The European powerhouses, FAB Games, have really made a name for themselves in this tournament. Nobody expected them to be this deep in the bracket, and definitely not to be continuing their run.
Cloud 9 was riding the high after their victory versus Optic Gaming, but they got a reality check. Cloud 9 took the first Hardpoint map by only eight points in the closets came of the weekend. FAB bounced back hard by winning the next three maps to send Cloud 9 packing. Dqve and Vortex for FAB really carried the team to the next round.
Rise Nation vs. Splyce – Splyce 3-1
After their lose to Elevate, Rise Nation had a point to prove. In front of their fans and their owner, they just could not pull it together in a timely fashion. Splyce eliminated Rise Nation in a very brutal fashion, 3-1.
This series was very close, regardless of the score. Splyce took the first Hardpoint map by only two point. That is now the slimmest margin of victory on a Hardpoint so far this tournament. Splyce dominated the next Search and Destroy, 6-2. RN bounced back, but barely. They took Uplink 14-13. Breach Capture the Flag was the nail in the Rise Nation coffin as they fall and go home. Splyce’s Bance did very well this series, leading the way with a 1.24 KDR.
Splyce vs. FAB Games – Splyce 3-1
This was the battle for European domination. These were the last two European teams in the tournament, and this was not their first meeting. FAB managed to inch out of a very competitive five game series. This meeting was different and Splyce wanted another chance to prove that they were the better team.
The first map was a close contest. Hardpoint went to FAB in a 250-213 game. Splyce got themselves together and crushed FAB in a 6-0 Search and Destroy victory. There was no looking back for them after that map. They took the next two maps in a crushing fashion, as well. Splyce advances to the loser’s bracket final and are cemented as the number one team in Europe.
The loser’s bracket final has one match left to decide who gets to battle for $800,000. Will Europe or North America come out on top? Stay tuned to Sports Gamers Online to see the greatest coverage of the Call of Duty World Championships.
