OpTic secure Copenhagen Spot, defeat XSET

OpTic Gaming defeats XSET 3-1 in the Upper Bracket Finals of NA Challengers 2 to secure a spot in Masters 2 Copenhagen. This victory secures one of two spots to represent North America at Masters 2 Copenhagen. OpTic now wait in the Grand Finals to decide seeding going into Copenhagen and the champion of NA Challengers 2. XSET drops to the Lower Bracket Finals to face the winner of Faze Clan and NRG, having another chance to secure a Masters 2 slot.

Related: [EMEA Challengers 2 Playoffs Preview: Top 4]

Map 1: Haven

Map Bans: OpTic ban Split; XSET ban Fracture

OpTic’s Map Pick; XSET choose Defense

OpTic first opened up the series with a pistol and bonus round win following Victor “Victor” Wong’s blazing Neon performance. XSET would quickly strike back on the first rifle round, tying things up at 2-2. OpTic would consistently plant the spike in eleven out of twelve rounds, racking up a 7-5 advantage at the half. However, XSET would take full control of Haven from thereon, winning the pistol following four kills from Matthew “Cryocells” Panganiban. XSET would then claim the bonus and all six rounds after to clean sweep their attacker half and win 13-7.

Zachary “zekken” Patrone would stand out on his Jett, averaging an ACS of 333 and a 22/13/6 K/DA. His quad kill and 1v3 clutch in Round 11 would jumpstart XSET’s momentum to win Haven. Although Victor would lead OpTic with a 294 ACS and a 19/15/5 K/DA, Jaccob “yay” Whiteaker would noticeably underperform, ending the match at 13/16/6. The Chamber would struggle to find opening fights, unable to outperform his counterpart Cryocells, who held a 6-4 head-to-head ratio against yay in Haven.

Map 2: Icebox

XSET’s Map Pick; OpTic choose Defense

Icebox would open up with a XSET pistol win, but OpTic stealing the bonus with a Headhunter Ace from yay. This would lead OpTic to five rounds in a row. XSET would rout their opposition in Round 6 with a quad kill from Cryocells, claiming six of their own before ending the half in the lead at 7-5. OpTic would win the pistol round on their offensive half, taking the bonus but then losing to a triple kill from zekken on Sage, as XSET takes back the lead for the final time on Icebox. OpTic would go on to pick up eight rounds on offense, ending the map at a close 13-11 score.

yay would wake up from his Haven performance, delivering a 34/11/3 K/DA with an ACS of 403, the first in the entire Challengers 2 stage. Although dueling Chamber Cryocells would put up a respectable 24/18/0 K/DA and a 258 ACS, yay’s impact of 6-0 uncontested first kills/deaths delivered OpTic the map win, with a parallel 6-4 head-to-head against Cryocells. The reversal of roles from Haven, plus OpTic’s greater strategic depth at faking rotations to claim free bombsites for spike plants consistently gave advantages that converted to round wins over XSET.

Map 3: Ascent

OpTic’s Map Pick; XSET choose Defense

Although OpTic chose to go to Ascent, XSET would take the initial pistol round and dominate their defensive half. OpTic would win the first rifle round and close two thanks to heroics and a 4K from Jimmy “Marved” Nguyen, but fall short at a 3-9 XSET-led half. Rory “dephh” Jackson would carry XSET’s lead on KAY/O, consistently fragging in all rounds but one before the half. All of this would change with the side swap, as Marved again would score three and four kills on the pistol and bonus respectively to put control firmly in OpTic’s hands. XSET would only win two rounds on their offensive side, as OpTic reclaim their map pick at 13-11, now leading the series 2-1 overall.

Marved would prove to be the leading force in OpTic’s comeback, being the only positive member with a 247 ACS and a 22/17/7 K/DA. His Astra utility paired with Pujan “FNS” Mehta’s Fade would consistently buy space for OpTic, despite the lack of a traditional duelist in their composition. Despite the map loss, XSET’s defensive side was dominated by their control of Site A, and consistent opening kills in ten out of twelve rounds.

Map 4: Breeze

XSET’s Map Pick; OpTic choose Defense

Breeze starts with XSET winning another pistol and bonus round. OpTic however, would take the rifle round and carry their momentum throughout their defensive half, ending at 8-4. Victor’s second game on Jett in Challengers 2 would be to great success, as lurks from him and yay proved constant thorns in XSET’s side. Switching sides, the pistol round would narrowly go to OpTic by spike detonation, before leveraging their round advantage to a 13-6 series finisher. Winning on Breeze ends the series 3-1, giving OpTic NA’s first Copenhagen slot.

https://twitter.com/OpTic/status/1540481416378683392

Victor’s Jett continues to be a powerful pocket pick, ending with the map high of 262 ACS and a 16/13/5 K/DA. Austin “crashies” Roberts’ performance on Sova would also be tremendous, constantly trading upwards in double digits at a 18/7/3 K/DA. The consistent teamwork in proactive rotations and flanks would prove too much for XSET, who would only claim two rounds after the half. Cryocells’ own Jett, while impactful in shutting down yay and Victor, would fall consistently against the rest of OpTic. Cryocells delivered the best performance on XSET with a 230 ACS and a K/DA of 15/17/1.

Masters 2 Implications

OpTic now lock their spot as one of two teams representing North America in Masters 2 Copenhagen. Their Grand Finals match on June 26 will decide their position and seed going into the international event. XSET are not eliminated from Masters 2 contention, now waiting in the Lower Bracket Finals for another chance. They will compete against the winner of NRG and FaZe Clan for the last NA spot in Copenhagen. OpTic cements themselves as the fourth team confirmed at Masters 2, with EMEA’s Fnatic, Guild Esports, and FunPlus Phoenix.

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