The return of Joey “Gismo” Owen has been everything the London Royal Ravens could have asked for. Gismo returned to the team for the start of the CDL Major IV qualifiers, and since then, they are up 3-0. They got their third win of the stage earlier today by beating the Florida Mutineers by a score of 3-1. The match had some close moments, like the Search and Destroy, but London looked considerably stronger than their opponents. Florida has now dropped to 1-2 in the Major IV qualifiers and they’re still two spots away from securing a top-eight spot in the CDL standings.
The Royal Ravens, on the other hand, look locked in on all fronts, with the exception of Control. The EU squad took down the Toronto Ultra last weekend and the Minnesota ROKKR yesterday, both in 3-1 fashion. That trend continued today against the Mutineers. Gismo has provided a major jolt to the Ravens’ lineup at the perfect time.
Previously, London looked to be a non-contender without Gismo. While they were still in the top eight of the standings, not many outside of the EU considered them to be a real threat come Major IV or Champs. However, that narrative has been changed thus far in the qualifiers. London is looking especially strong in Hardpoint while they’ve been fairly lacking in Control.
Since Gismo’s return, the entire roster has turned things up a notch. Gismo led the slaying against Florida today, finishing with 88 kills, nearly 11,000 damage, and a 1.49 KD. The rest of the roster also finished above a 1.10 KD as well, though, which is a clear recipe for success.
If the Ravens can find a way to start winning Control maps, they could be extremely dangerous over the next six weeks. A red-hot London Royal Ravens team right before Major IV and Champs should make the rest of the CDL take notice. As for the Mutineers, they can’t seem to find any consistency with their new roster. They’re getting outclassed in Hardpoint in most matches, too; extremely evident today when they lost Tuscan Hardpoint by almost 250 points.
Not quite a 100 point club, but a caption is not needed.
Bocage S&D is up next. #6thRaven | #CDL2022 pic.twitter.com/lzbwKSY1TJ
— Carolina Royal Ravens (@RoyalRavens) July 2, 2022
As of right now, Florida needs a miracle run at Major IV to make the Champs bracket. Specifically, newcomer and rookie Brendan “2ReaL” Stockdale needs to vastly improve in a short time. He finished with a 0.63 KD against London, which isn’t far off from his average KD since Major IV began.
