The second day of the Call of Duty Major V tournament in Toronto on Friday brought more hype for the rest of the weekend but was also littered with disappointment. Five matches took place Friday and virtually none of them were close. Aside from a few close maps, almost all of the series went exactly how the community expected.
The first series of the day went to a fourth map, besides that, the rest of them were relatively quick 3-0 sweeps. Friday has oftentimes been the most underwhelming day of the tournament, but it sets us up for an exciting rest of the weekend. Let’s look at what happened in Toronto on Friday.
Recap
Losers Bracket Round 1: (4) Boston Breach v. (12) London Royal Ravens
The first match on Friday at Major V ended quite unexpectedly. The Royal Ravens entered this match winless on Lan through the previous four Major tournaments. Meanwhile, after a tough winners bracket round one defeat to Minnesota ROKKR, the Boston Breach looked to bounce back. Unfortunately, they ran into a London squad that was hungry for their first lan victory of the season. Royal Ravens took a close first map hardpoint, 250-233 and continued that form into Search and Destroy, winning 6-3. Breach would go on to win map 3 but ultimately, lose map 4 and get bounced from the tournament. Behind a crowd buff, Byron “Nastiee” Plumridge and the underdog Royal Ravens proved victorious. The win for London set up a losers bracket round two matchup against the Major IV defending champions, LA Thieves. Although Boston will be competing at CoD Champs next month in Las Vegas, this loss proves their chances to win the big one are slim to none.
Losers Bracket Round 1: (6) New York Subliners v. (11) Los Angeles Guerrillas
After a surprising opening series to the day, fans got just what they expected in this one. With no hopes to qualify for CoD champs and little recent success to build on, LAG virtually stood no chance in this series. NYSL came out fast and never slowed, winning 3-0. On top of that, French phenom, Paco “Hydra” Rusiewiez was frying. Hydra ended the series with a 1.33 K/D and boasted 8k damage in only 3 maps. The Subliners weekend continues as they will face Las Vegas Legion in the losers bracket round two. For LAG, a disappointing season comes to an end.
Losers Bracket Round 1: (1) OpTic Texas v. (9) Los Angeles Thieves
The rematch of the Major IV Grand Final did not live up to the hype. OpTic Texas squared off against LA Thieves after a shocking 3-0 defeat to Florida Mutineers on Day 1. Whatever OpTic’s problem was on Day 1 bled through to Day 2 and simply, they got slammed. Thieves came out hot and never looked back. None of the three maps in this series were even relatively close. Thieves won map one by over 140 points. They dominated map 2, 6-2 and comfortably won map 3, 3-1. Their AR duo, Sam “Octane” Larew and Zack “Drazah” Jordan continued their form as the best in the league and combined for a 1.55 K/D. After back-to-back second place finishes, OpTic Texas and the greenwall have to be stunned as they did not win a single map this weekend. They will have a couple weeks to fix their weaknesses before CoD Champs.
Losers Bracket Round 1: (7) Las Vegas Legion v. (10) Seattle Surge
This matchup consisted of teams with two of the biggest storylines in the Call of Duty League currently. Legion need a top 4 finish this weekend to qualify for CoD Champs and knock Seattle out of a spot. Meanwhile, Surge have been one of the worst teams in the league as of late. With their backs against the wall, CoD fans’ second favorite team Legion began their losers bracket run. Legion won the series 3-0 and did so fairly convincingly. All four of Legion’s players boasted over a 1 K/D. Across the stage, Seattle Surge superstar Amer “Pred” Zulbeari, had one of his worst individual series of the season. Surge’s woes continue and they have yet to lock in a CoD Champs spot. If Legion wins two series in a row, they are in and Surge is out.
Losers Bracket Round 2: (9) Los Angeles Thieves v. (12) London Royal Ravens
Although the fans were behind a hopeful London Cinderella run, the Thieves were just too much to overcome. Royal Ravens kept the series extremely interesting to start. Losing map 1 by only 18 points and map 2, 6-5. But, a quick map 3 from the Thieves ended LRR’s season in Toronto. Octane once again showed his dominance as he was positive through all six maps on Friday. LAT’s losers bracket run is now beginning to roll.
A Look Ahead
After five uninteresting matches Friday, fans believe Saturday will be different. On Saturday, three matches will come from the losers bracket and two from the winners. Take a quick look at the schedule for Saturday and my quick predictions for each match.
Losers Bracket Round 2: (7) Las Vegas Legion v. (6) New York Subliners, 1:30 pm est.
Legion enters this matchup in a must-win scenario. A win and they are one series away from a Champs spot. A loss would mean they are out of Major V and their season is over. Not only is this match for a potential spot at champs, but it is also a revenge match for James “Clayster” Eubanks. NYSL should be favored, but slightly. With that said, I believe in the underdog story. Give me Legion to win the series 3-2.
Winners Bracket Round 2: (5) Minnesota ROKKR v. (8) Florida Mutineers, 3:00 pm est.
The Mutineers are the talk of the tournament thus far after dismantling OpTic in winners bracket round one. Many of the leagues’ players have stated how good Florida has been recently in practice. But, although they have shown signs of life, I think they fall short in this series. ROKKR, who recently brought back Dillon “Attach” Price, are looking good and will find a way with their experience to win. I’ll take ROKKR in a close 3-1 series.
Winners Bracket Round 2: (2) Atlanta Faze v. (3) Toronto Ultra, 4:30 pm est.
In terms of talent, this is easily the best match of the day. On top of that, it is highly likely one of these two teams will play in the Grand Final if not both. Ultra are at their home event and the crowd will undoubtedly be behind them, but it will not be enough. Atlanta Faze seems to be hitting a form that should be scary to the rest of the league and they will prove that Saturday. This match will go the distance, and Faze will win the map 5 search and destroy.
Losers Bracket Round 3: Winner of Legion/NYSL v. Loser of FLA/ROKKR, 6:00 pm est.
The two teams in this match will not be decided until the first two series of Saturday are completed. But based on my predictions, it will be Legion v. Mutineers. This could end up being the most exciting series of the year if Legion beat NYSL in their first series. Legion would need to win this matchup to qualify for CoD Champs and subsequently knock Surge out of a spot. Many people are backing this underdog story, and I just have to as well. Legion will get to this point and beat Mutineers 3-2 in a series that will be watched and heard around the Call of Duty competitive community.
Losers Bracket Round 3: (9) Los Angeles Thieves v. Loser of Faze/Ultra, 7:30 pm est.
The final match of the day is also setting up to be a massive series. Although Thieves are a 9 seed in this tournament, they are easily a top four team in the game. They will face off against another top four team, no matter what the first series outcome is. I have Faze beating Ultra in that match, which would set up Thieves v. Ultra on Saturday night. The loser will go home Top 6 and be dissatisfied with that placing. Once again, even though they will have the crowd behind them, Ultra will fall. After no series went the distance on Friday, this will be the fourth one to do so on Saturday. Thieves will take it 3-2.
Featured Image Courtesy of the Call of Duty League
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