The Call of Duty League returned this past week on Friday December 2, with the Boston Breach taking on the Atlanta Faze to kick off the season. The Breach entered the Call of Duty League last year as the newest expansion team, and proved to be quite the dark horse roster throughout the year. Pundits were skeptical about Boston as they brought in two veterans in Anthony “Methodz” Zinni and Thomas “TJHaly” Haly alongside two pure rookies in Kenyen “Capsidal” Sutton and Dylan “Nero” Koch to serve as the organizations first roster. The initial iteration of the Boston roster proved to be quite competitive, getting as far as finishing 3rd in the Stage II Major.
However just before Major IV, Capsidal was benched for Reece “Vivid” Drost – a new acquisition for Boston from the Florida Mutineers. Boston would go on to make the playoffs, but made an early exit after losing back to back matches. In the offseason Boston said goodbye to Capsidal and TJHaly and welcomed in Joseph “Owakening” Conley. With a key new piece to the puzzle, Boston appeared to be a solid competitor once again for the 2023 season.
Their first opponents, the Atlanta FaZe, were looking to kick off their revenge tour in 2023. The FaZe came incredibly close to winning every major tournament in 2022, but couldn’t quite ever get the job done. For a team with high expectations, they had plenty to prove in the season opener against Boston.
In their first map, Boston showed some signs of life but ultimately dropped their first Hardpoint of 2023. However that would be the last map that Boston would lose, as they proceeded to take the next three maps and secure the win in their season opener.
One of the biggest highlights of the first matchup was the performance of newcomer Owakening. The latest addition to the Breach posted and impressive 1.31 K/D in his first series with the organization, as well as netting the second most damage (8,493) on the roster right behind Vivid (8,617). “Big Joe, the new addition, is disgusting” Methodz told the Call of Duty League analyst desk after their win over FaZe. Owakening’s top moment came in the Fortress Search and Destroy when he clutched out a 1v2 that shifted the momentum of the match into Boston’s favor.
The Breach however could not rest after their impressive performance against Atlanta as they had a second match the following day against the Seattle Surge.
Unlike most teams in the league, the Seattle Surge did not make any changes in the offseason. They placed bronze in the 2022 playoffs after losing to the Atlanta FaZe and feel as though they could run the same roster back for 2023. To kick off their 2023 campaign however, the Surge lost a tight 2-3 match against the Los Angeles Guerillas.
After a back and forth Hardpoint that fell the way of Boston, the Breach once again found their rhythm on the Fortress SND. A 1v2 from Nero helped Boston push through and even the map as the Surge held a 2-1 lead after the first three rounds. Boston would go on to win SND 6-4 and move the series to match point, but the Surge found their footing in Control to take the maps to 2-1. But the reverse sweep was short lived as Boston was in full control in the last Embassy Hardpoint to take the series at 3-1.
Once again it was Owakening who stole the show in this match after impressive showings in both Hardpoint maps. While he did lead the team in terms of K/D, it was the aggressive duo of Vivid and Nero that notched the top damage numbers for Boston, with Nero taking the top spot in damage in the entire lobby.
Boston Breach fans are undoubtedly excited to see this new version of their team come out swinging this season. As the qualifier format changed to 4 games rather than 5, the Breach should find a spot in the first major of the year. This upcoming weekend the Boston Breach face off against the 0-2 New York Subliners and the 1-1 Los Angeles Guerillas.
Featured image courtesy of Activision Blizzard and the Boston Breach
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