The College Call of Duty Preseason kicked off with the first 2K tournament. This placement tournament allowed us to see the level of talent in the College Call of Duty league. We had the opportunity of seeing many new players make their CCL debuts while returning players continued to shine.
Bracket
Ohio State University Cruise Through the 2K
Winners Ohio State University cruised through the tournament showing flashes of brilliance along the way. The team showcased a number of times their situational awareness, good communication, and a strong understanding of the game.
Ohio State 3 – 0 Mississippi State University White
The first match of the tournament began with favorites Ohio State taking on MSU White. The match was won in emphatic fashion as OSU took Hardpoint 250 – 4, Search and Destroy 6 – 0, and the new game mode Control 3 – 0.
Ohio State 3 – 0 East Carolina University
East Carolina University, a returning competitor from Season Zero, met Ohio State in the quarterfinals of the 2K. OSU managed to take the Hardpoint 250 – 68, the Search and Destroy 6 – 2, and the Control 3 – 0. Momentus from OSU decided to give us a summary of Ohio State’s respawn performances throughout the tournament with his use of the Hellstorm.
Ohio State 3 – 0 Grossmont College
A heavily anticipated match, semi-final #1 had Ohio State taking on Grossmont for a chance in the finals. The most competitive Hardpoint of the day came in Summit as Ohio State came back to win the map 250 – 239.  Even though the match was a tight one, favorites OSU pushed through into the finals to face the unexpected underdogs Butler University.
Butler University the Real Deal?
Butler University worked their way through the bracket and beat top competition to face Ohio State in the finals. The team is lead by VortexNA, previously of CCL Green in Season Zero. Good organization and great individual performances carried the team. An underdog in this first 2K tournament, Butler University announced themselves as a potential contender for Season One with their performance.
Their first match was against Mississippi State University Maroon lead by Shack_is_best, previously of CCL White. With a win against MSU Maroon, they faced the University of Toronto off-stream. The University of Toronto, lead by Toonie2k previously of CCL Red, was unable to stop the Bulldogs as they marched their way into the semifinals. Butler University was able to swiftly put these two matches behind and now faced heavy favorites Ole Miss Red.
Butler University 3 – 0 Ole Miss Red
The Bulldogs kept the momentum going by taking the Hardpoint 250 – 143 against Ole Miss Red. Butler’s captain VortexNA lead his team to a strong map one performance. His team then went on to have a dominant Search and Destroy, followed by an incredibly tight Control.
Ohio State 3 – 0 Butler
Ohio State cut short Butler’s impressive run. OSU dominated the series as they had done throughout the tournament. Their respawn seems untouchable while their Search and Destroy is far more developed than other teams. With more time on the game and more teams entering the competition, the competitiveness of the College Call of Duty league will only grow.
Ohio State University ended the tournament undefeated with a 12-0 map count.
Showmatch: Liberty University 1 – 3 Ole Miss Red
Liberty University and Ole Miss Red faced off in round one of the 2K tournament. The two teams seemed up for it leading to a very close series. Liberty University struck first taking the Hardpoint 250 – 174.
Ole Miss Red bounced back after a very dominant performance in Search and Destroy winning 6 – 2. Although the series was now tied at 1-1, DFeth from Liberty University showcased an absolute brilliance as he clutched a 1v4. His play had it all, catching people from behind, on rotation, and by surprise. Ole Miss then went on to take the series 3 – 1 by winning Control and the second Hardpoint.
Final Placings and Point Distribution
- 1st (2000): Ohio State University
- 2nd (1500):Â Butler University
- 3rd-4th (1250):
- University of Mississippi (Red) or Ole Miss Red
- Grossmont College
- 5th-8th (625)
- East Carolina University
- Eastern New Mexico University
- Saint Peter’s University
- University of Toronto
- 9th-16th (300)
- Mississippi State University (White)
- University of Utah
- Finger Lakes Community College
- Mississippi State University (Maroon)
- University of Akron
- West Texas A&M
- University of Mississippi (White) or Ole Miss White
- Liberty University
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The second College Call of Duty pre-season tournament begins on November 10, 2018, at 4:00 PM EST. All series will be best of 5 matches following COD World League rule-set. Tune in LIVE at the College COD Twitch.
CCL Season One general information, rules, brackets, participants and results can be all found on College COD Esportspedia. You may follow College Call of Duty on Discord and Twitter.
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Featured Image courtesy of Ohio State Esports
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