Call of Duty Pro League: Week Two, Day One

The first heat of Division A has brought some surprises thus far. On the bright side, Midnight has continued their torrid start to the CWL season with a 4-0 first week. However, Evil Geniuses and Luminosity Gaming, two storied rosters, have gotten off to winless starts in the Pro League. Week Two of the Call of Duty Pro League kicked off today with those two organizations looking to turn things around. Their continued poor performances would invariably lead to roster shakeups during the transfer window next month which could sideline many of these players for the foreseeable future.

Match 1: UYU vs. Evil Geniuses

Evil Geniuses took on UYU in the first match of the day. After displaying fantastic teamwork to get into the Pro League, Evil Geniuses has struggled to find any footing in the league itself. EG won only one map from all three of their matches last week; however, they also played the top three teams in the division. They hoped that their easier schedule this week would translate into more success.

After a 250-38 thrashing of UYU in the opening Hardpoint map, EG looked well on their way to turning things around. However, UYU quickly shook off their cold start to take the Search and Destroy in a 6-3 fashion. UYU took this positive momentum into the map 3 Control, where the assault rifles of Mehran ‘Mayhem’ Anjomshoa and Anthony ‘Methodz’ Zinni went 29-13 and 25-15, respectively, to lead their team to a 3-1 win. UYU then thwarted a valiant Seaside Hardpoint comeback attempt to take the map 250-180, and thus, the series. With the win, UYU solidified their position at the middle of the table with a 2-2 record and will have a chance tomorrow to break into the top four against a formidable Gen. G team. Meanwhile, Evil Geniuses will face off against fellow struggling roster Luminosity Gaming.

Match 2: Gen. G vs. Luminosity Gaming

Gen. G finished week one with at 3-0 record, but have yet to play their competition at the top of Division A (Midnight and OpTic). They looked to build some momentum going into those matches with a win over the talented, but struggling Luminosity roster. Meanwhile, after finishing 4th in the CWL Las Vegas tournament, Luminosity has played miserably in the Pro League thus far. Some evidence suggests that their roles and teamwork have been a bit asynchronous recently, and they looked to rectify their errors in their match against Gen. G.

Showing some preference for the map Frequency, Luminosity came through with solid wins on the map in both the game one Hardpoint and the game three Control. However, Gen. G was able to successfully take their map picks in the games two and four, sending the series to a pivotal game five, again on Frequency.

After Pierce ‘Gunless’ Hillman clutched a ridiculous 1 vs. 2 in the opening round, LG were able to find some early momentum to go up 3-0 in round count. However, Gunless was unable to turn his hot start into scorestreaks of any kind, and after Luminosity’s early run, Colt ‘Havok’ McLendon found scorestreaks of his own. Gen. G would go on to take six rounds in a row to win the map and the series, sending Luminosity to seventh place in the division with a 0-4 record. Meanwhile, Gen. G will go to second place in the division with a 4-0 record; they sit behind only Midnight Esports on map win-percentage.

After today’s action, Division A stands thus:

Tomorrow:

Tomorrow’s action will see Midnight Esports looking to continue their hot start against a hungry Team Reciprocity, before UYU and Gen. G, our victors from today, face off themselves. Afterward, OpTic Gaming, most likely still with their substitute Thomas ‘ZooMaa’ Paparatto, will take on their nemesis from last season, Red Reserve. Finally, the two teams from the bottom of Division A, Luminosity and Evil Geniuses, will go up against each other, ensuring only one team will remain winless after tomorrow’s matches.

Matches begin at 3:00 PM EST. As usual, you can check out today’s action on twitch.tv/callofduty or ESTNN TV.

Images Via: CWL Twitter