CoD Pro League Recap: Day 1, Week 1, Cross-Division Play

Cross-division play promised us some scintillating games, and Day 1 of it did not disappoint at all! Three out of the four matches played went all the way to a Game 5, with two of them being reverse sweeps.

Overview

First, Team Heretics showed signs of faltering from their Fort Worth performance suffering a defeat at the hands of UYU. For the second match, the previously struggling Red Reserve came back strong to easily defeat Excelerate Gaming in a reverse sweep. The third match and second reverse sweep of the night came as Team Envy narrowly clutched a victory against Luminosity Gaming. And finally, a nail-bitingly close match between EUnited and Evil Geniuses closed out the night.

Match 1: UYU vs. Team Heretics

                This defeat of Team Heretics at the hands of UYU made the Heretics look sloppy, which is surprising since the Heretics out-placed UYU at CWL Fort Worth last weekend. (Team Heretics placed Top 8 while UYU got Top 12.) A sign of this defeat to come was evident as early as Game 1 (Hardpoint). Heretics held a convincing lead through much of the game, but UYU were not only able to keep it close, but eventually take the lead right at the very end, as UYU won 250-220.

UYU started to pull away from Team Heretics even further in Game 2 (Search & Destroy). This one was intense, as UYU were able to secure a significant round lead that they nearly choked. It went the distance to a Round 11, but finally UYU shut down the Heretics’ chances of a comeback as they clutched Game 2 with a score of 6-5. Heretics’ defeat was all but certain in Game 3 (Control), as they’ve traditionally struggled with the Control game mode. UYU quite simply blew them out of the water with a round score this game of 3-0.

Match 2: Excelerate Gaming vs. Red Reserve

This was the first reverse sweep of the night. It was an especially surprising reverse sweep on the part of Red Reserve, considering their recent roster drama post-Fort Worth. Red Reserve looked to be in dire straights in Game 1 (Hardpoint) as Excelerate easily defeated them with a score of 250-166. Game 2 (Search & Destroy) had Red Reserve show some signs of life, with Trei “Zer0” Morris almost clutching a 1-vs.-4, but sadly this was not meant to be as Excelerate won 6-3.

Red Reserve needed a miracle, and that miracle began with Game 3 (Control). They relied upon their past experiences playing Control to win this game convincingly with a score of 3-1. Game 4 (Hardpoint) saw Matthew “Skrapz” Marshall go absolutely ballistic, as he chalked up a ridiculous double-positive KD of 33/16! He was easily Red Reserve’s MVP that game as they won 250-180. The miraculous reverse sweep came to fruition in Game 5 (Search & Destroy), where Red Reserve maintained a comfortable round lead over Excelerate, before closing it out with a victory and a round score of 6-3.

Match 3: Team Envy vs. Luminosity Gaming

This second reverse sweep match did not come without some controversy. Luminosity Gaming was previously trying to get a “gentleman’s agreement” going to ban the Rampart 17 assault rifle, which can shoot through some forms of cover with the FMJ attachment. However, that agreement did not come to pass before this particular match, as both sides were seen using it.

Regardless, this was a fantastic match. Game 1 (Hardpoint) saw Luminosity come out of their corner swinging, as they decimated Team Envy with a score of 250-117. Peirce “Gunless” Hillman was especially dominant with a KD of 30/12. Game 2 (Search & Destroy) was a similar story, as Team Envy could not stand Luminosity’s assault for more than a couple of rounds. Luminosity easily wiped the floor with Team Envy this game with a score of 6-2.

Game 3 (Control) was where things got…interesting, to say the least. Josiah “Slacked” Berry made Call of Duty history by getting 5 kills – the whole enemy team – with a single use of Gravity Slam. Despite this historic moment, however, Luminosity still lost that round with a score of 3-1 in favor of Team Envy. Game 4 (Hardpoint) saw victory continue to slip from Luminosity’s grasp. Cuyler “Huke” Garland especially saw renewed life as he slaughtered Luminosity with a KD of 44/20, as Team Envy won the round 250-174. The reverse sweep was completed in Game 5 (Search & Destroy), which went all the way to a Round 11. It was there that Team Envy clutched up and won 6-5.

Match 4: EUnited vs. Evil Geniuses

This was the debut Pro League game for new EUnited squad member Chris “Simp” Lehr, and the pressure was on for him to perform. Thankfully, he and the rest of the EUnited squad didn’t disappoint, although they came close to losing numerous times. Game 1 (Hardpoint) was a great start for Simp as he and the rest of EUnited won a close game with a score of 250-220 over Evil Geniuses. The Evil Geniuses answered back in Game 2 (Search & Destroy), as they took advantage of EUnited choking an early lead, to claim that game with a round score of 6-5.

The back-and-forth warfare continued in Game 3 (Control), which EUnited were able to claim supremacy over. James “Clayster” Eubanks was instrumental in helping EUnited claim a 3-1 game victory here. Game 4 (Hardpoint) saw the pendulum swing the way of Evil Geniuses once more, as they once again answered back. This time they decimated EUnited with a score of 250-101. Game 5 (Search & Destroy) was the game for all the marbles this match, but finally EUnited were able to clutch it thanks to the skills of Simp and Tyler “aBeZy” Pharris. EUnited closed out Game 5 with a round score of 6-3.

Tune in later for our recap of Day 2 of cross-division play. Day 2 features more exciting matchups as the Heretics take on Evil Geniuses, EUnited slug it out with UYU, Luminosity Gaming duel Excelerate Gaming, and Red Reserve square off against Team Envy. Watch the official matches on Twitch or right here on ESTNN.