Rise Nation-OpTic Gaming, Two Giants Square Off Once Again

OpTic Gaming versus Rise Nation will be a battle for the top of the standings in CWL:NA (Photo Courtesy: YouTube)

The epic rivalry that has been developing between Rise and OG will add another chapter tonight. The match of the week will feature two of the undeniable top teams on the Call of Duty scene.

Ever since Rise changed the roster and added Classic, Octane, Slacked, and Loony back as Captain before Black Ops Three, the team has taken a quick rise within the CoD community. A first place finish at UMG South Carolina would be enough to get them noticed. They’d be invited to the CoD World League qualifier and successfully make it into Stage One. They would finish Stage One in second place at 16-6, winning 73 percent of the maps. In the tournament they were coasting through, getting to the Grand Final. That’s where they met OpTic. It would come down to a game five, round 11 victory by OG to derail the dreams of Rise Nation. Since then, Rise has beaten OG in the first matchup (3-1, Week One) and has managed to end up in second place currently. LuminosityGaming, Dream Team, and Team EnVyUs have scarred the record. But they’re looking to put all of that behind them and take the victory against OpTic tonight.

OpTic has been quite the team in BO3. OG would win first place in the Stage One regular season, going 20-2. A 63-19 (91%) map win percentage made the first stage even more impressive. They would then win all three matches in the Stage One tournament, taking first place overall in Stage One. Since then it’s been an interesting Stage Two. The team started out by beating EnVy; two losses to Rise and H2k would soon follow. The H2k match was one OG still considers a win; connection issues coupled with CWL officials not allowing a reset/replay would result in a loss they feel that they would’ve won. Since then the team has won its last seven matches. FaZe and TSM have been the only teams to take OG to a game five this Stage. For OpTic tonights match will be about beating Rise, evening the record for the Stage, and taking a full two-game lead in the standings. It would be big for the team to take that lead into the latter half of Stage Two.

Overall, the teams are about as even as possible. OG has a 1.03 Kill/Death ratio overall, 1.07 for Rise. The two teams both average 72 kills per match. Scump and Octane will both pull the best K/D for their respective teams, both are around 1.2. Looking at stats, Rise averages more captures in Capture the Flag, more dunks and throws in Uplink, and they have a better K/D in Hardpoint. Looking purely at the stats, Rise looks like they’re just a notch above OpTic currently. However, it’s the timely plays and lack of mental errors that push OpTic above most teams. Stats don’t neccessarilly dictate success in CoD; a lot of the time, the team with the better communication and knowledge will win. That’s OG’s philosophy.

Tonight we will get a matchup that dictates the number one team in CWL standings. Can OpTic defeat Rise and open up a two match lead on the rest of the CWL division? Or will Rise take back first place? Leave your comments and predicitions down below; or head over to our fourm page and discuss who you think is the top team in CWL: NA.