It’s week two of the CWL Pro League and the action continues in Division B. Midnight Esports, Gen.G, and OpTic Gaming look to battle it out for the top spot in the division.
With the second week of the CWL Pro League comes the last batch of matches for the first round of Division A. Gen.G and Midnight Esports looked to keep their flawless record. OpTic Gaming sought to reclaim their throne at the top. Red Reserve looked to prove themselves a top team. UYU and Team Reciprocity wanted to bounce back from a disappointing previous week. The situations for Evil Geniuses and Luminosity Gaming looked pretty desperate with their 0 – 3 records.
Day 1: Monday, Feb 11
Evil Geniuses vs. UYU
Series scoreline: 3 – 1 UYU
While both are teams with flaws, Evil Geniuses had a good chance to win against UYU. The boys in blue came out swinging, dominating the first Hardpoint Gridlock with a 250 – 38 scoreline. UYU regained their nerve, capitalizing on Evil Geniuses’ misplays. UYU took the Search and Destroy Hacienda 6 – 3. They kept the momentum going, dominating Evil Geniuses in the Control Seaside 3 – 1. Evil Geniuses brought the final Hardpoint Seaside closer but failed to close it out. UYU brought back the game to win 250 – 180.
Evil Geniuses simply made too many little mistakes. They did not execute any site retakes well and just over challenged gunfights. Evil Geniuses’ success falls on SMG support Brice “Faccento” Faccento’s performance. Unfortunately, he hasn’t been able to keep up with the rest of the team’s front line. UYU, on the other hand, saw great plays from Nicholas “Proto” Maldonado in key situations. UYU take a comfortable series win to strengthen their playoffs chances.
MVP of the series: Nicholas “Proto” Maldonado
Luminosity Gaming vs. Gen.G
Series scoreline: 3 – 1 Gen.G
Luminosity Gaming faced a tough week, starting with their match against Gen.G. Out of the gates, Luminosity looked like a better team, taking the Hardpoint Frequency 250 – 147. However, Gen.G has statistically lost all their first maps. They took a relatively comfortable Search and Destroy Gridlock 6 – 3. Luminosity showed up in their strongest game mode, barely closing out the Control Frequency 3 – 2. Gen.G was unfazed and won the second Hardpoint Gridlock 250 – 168 off of strong rotates. They closed out the series in the Search and Destroy Frequency 6 – 3 by snowballing with streaks.
.@ScufGaming Play of the Game: @i2Gunless thrills in the 1v2! pic.twitter.com/ZFUkXWPUJ6
— Call of Duty League (@CODLeague) February 12, 2019
Luminosity’s woes continue despite looking a bit improved. Josiah “Slacked” Berry played a much better series after the criticism he has received. The team has flashes of brilliance when they wolfpack together and have the same pacing. Gen.G is just more of a consistent and well-composed team. Main AR Chance “Maux” Moncivaez and his solid passive play proved to counter Luminosity quite well. He had a consistently great series, popping off in game four.
MVP of the series: Chance “Maux” Moncivaez
Day 2: Tuesday, Feb 12
Midnight Esports vs. Team Reciprocity
Series scoreline: 3 – 2 Team Reciprocity
Midnight Esports looked to be a scary team, but Team Reciprocity was determined to prove themselves. Midnight took the first Hardpoint Arsenal 250 – 184 after poor streak use from Reciprocity. However, Reciprocity saw Thomas “Tommey” Trewren go huge to win the Search and Destroy Arsenal 6 – 5. Reciprocity kept the ball rolling, narrowly winning the Control Seaside 3 – 2. Midnight took back the Hardpoint Hacienda 250 – 144 in a scrappy game. Reciprocity executed the unthinkable and took Midnight all the way to round 11 in the Search and Destroy Frequency. Clutch plays and well-invested specialists won the map 6 – 5.
DOWN goes Midnight!@TeamReciprocity win in Game 5 round 11 and hand @GGMidnight_ their first loss in the #CWLPS4 Pro League! https://t.co/NKHQSgV6Gh pic.twitter.com/W6MFX6kpYA
— Call of Duty League (@CODLeague) February 12, 2019
A recurring theme for Reciprocity is a poor usage of streaks. They will have to improve this if they look to win any Hardpoint games. Midnight, while they didn’t play poorly, failed to clutch up in significant situations. Reciprocity has proved that Midnight can be outgunned. Singling out Midnight players and breaking down the team coordination is the best bet in beating this team. Tommey has consistently been playing at a career high, with a memorable 3k in the Search and Destroy Frequency coming to mind.
MVP of the series: Thomas “Tommey” Trewren
Gen.G vs. UYU
Series scoreline: 3 – 1 Gen.G
Despite an early slaying edge, Gen.G lost the first Hardpoint Arsenal 250 – 208. At this point, this surprises no one, as they easily 6 – 0ed UYU in the Search and Destroy Payload. Gen.G continued their domination in the Control Gridlock. However, Gen.G’s sloppy mid-game plays allowed UYU to bring it to a close 3 – 2 in Gen.G’s favor. Maux went huge again in the second Hardpoint Gridlock, winning the map 250 – 213 and taking the overall series.
The new leaders of Division A: @GenG improve to a 5-0 record with the 3-1 series win over @UYU_GG! https://t.co/NKHQSgV6Gh #CWLPS4 pic.twitter.com/JIjHn9wVnm
— Call of Duty League (@CODLeague) February 12, 2019
Gen.G are just much more coordinated than this struggling UYU squad. UYU has inconsistency problems with multiple players going quiet. Gen.G on the other hand have shown that they can sometimes fall into complacency. Also, captain Michael “Spacely” Schmale consistently underperforms in Hardpoint games, allowing opponents to bring it closer. Despite these issues, Gen.G is one of the best teams in Division A.
MVP of the series: Chance “Maux” Moncivaez
OpTic Gaming vs. Red Reserve
Series scoreline: 3 – 1 OpTic Gaming
In a classic matchup, OpTic Gaming faced Red Reserve in a close series. Damon “Karma” Barlow continued his high-level play to help win the Hardpoint Gridlock 250 – 186. While OpTic had an early lead on the Search and Destroy Payload, Red Reserve didn’t falter. However, an explosive 4k from Thomas “TJHaLy” Haly shut down the comeback and won the map 6 – 4. The Control Gridlock saw Ben “Bance” Bance and Trei “Zer0” Morris step up for Red Reserve. Bance dropped massive numbers while Zer0 made cracked-out plays to stay alive. Red Reserve took the map 3 – 1. Red Reserve continued to gun in the Hardpoint Arsenal, controlling the lead for the most part. OpTic Gaming managed to win the series with a close scoreline of 250 – 248.
While Red Reserve saw Bance and Zer0 play to their potential, star player Matthew “Skrapz” Marshall still continues to struggle. On the flip side, OpTic Gaming had most of the team performing relatively well. This series, however, TJHaLy consistently made heads-up plays that put OpTic in an advantageous position.
MVP of the series: Thomas “TJHaLy” Haly
Luminosity Gaming vs. Evil Geniuses
Series scoreline: 3 -2 Luminosity Gaming
In what the analyst desk called the “donut match,” Luminosity Gaming finally saw their first win. The first Hardpoint Seaside saw Evil Geniuses take it in a close score of 250 – 233. Luminosity took the Search and Destroy Hacienda 6 – 3, relying on individual picks to win rounds. The Control Gridlock was a chaotic map, with players simply flying at each other. LG took the map 3 – 2. Evil Geniuses showed their slaying strength in Hardpoint Arsenal, hundred-point clubbing LG with a scoreline of 250 – 99. However, Luminosity brought it back to win the series in the Search and Destroy, 6 – 4.
.@Luminosity get it done! They take down @EvilGeniuses in the five-game series to pick up their first W in the #CWLPS4 Pro League. pic.twitter.com/elNa32VIUN
— Call of Duty League (@CODLeague) February 13, 2019
While the games were close, both teams still have massive flaws. A key difference for the win was improved gameplay from SMG slayer Johnathan “John” Perez and SMG support Slacked. Just as well, AR flex Nicholas “Classic” DiConstanzo stepped up massively this series. When it came down to a 1v1 on the Control to win the map, Classic clutched up in a nail-biting fashion. Meanwhile, Evil Geniuses’ Faccento still continues to struggle. Most of the slaying pressure falls on John “Xotic” Bruno, who has been consistently performing.
MVP of the series: Nicholas “Classic” DiConstanzo
The second week of the CWL Pro League has already produced a handful of great, clutch, and exciting moments. Keep updated with the rest of the second week of Division A, right here on Daily Esports.
