Chicago OpTic and NYSL are on a collision course towards each other after their respective 3 – 1 wins.
Subliners get back on the right track
In their second series of the Major, the New York Subliners once again dodged elimination by winning over the Los Angeles Guerillas 3 – 1. After upsetting the LA Thieves, the possibility of this underdog team extending their Major run was quickly stomped out.
In their first game on Checkmate, NYSL played most of the early match on the back foot as they were completely outfragged by Apathy and company. NYSL’s performance was largely contingent on Mack, a running theme throughout this series, as when he turned around his double negative into a five spree that equalized his K/D, NYSL took a lead they never let go of. Asim particularly was responsible for their domination of the objective as he doubled the next highest total Hardpoint time in the lobby. On the verge of winning, LAG put together a decent final push however NYSL’s veteran IGL, Clayster, resecured the point and got his team the final 5 points needed to start them 1 – 0 in the series.
Game 2 saw an initially explosive start from Mack, as by round 5 playing SND on the map Miami, the rookie had garnered a 10/3 K/D. This made up a vast majority of his team’s frags, as his other 3 teammates at this point only made up a combined 3 kills. As Mack’s performance stalled, not getting another frag for the remainder of the game, NYSL fell fast and hard. LAG found great early trades that forced their opponents to play at a man disadvantage, putting them in a 1v3 situation more often than not. This was certainly NYSL’s most volatile game and one to review before their next series.
The next two games saw much more decisive victories from the Subliners. On Control, round 1 saw a contentious game where NYSL and LAG were neck and neck in terms of lives. After winning round one, the Subliners ultimately ran away with the whole map as they went 3 – 0, making this the quickest game of the series. Game 4, Hardpoint on Raid, was similar to the first map of the series in terms of how closely it was played and how LAG gained an early lead that they ultimately threw. Though NYSL were able to gain leads, LAG would almost always close the gap after clean rotations from Hardpoint to Hardpoint. Just as the first game ended though, Clayster clutched out the series-winning point in courtyard on another killing spree.
NYSL have plenty to be proud of in winning this game, however, their dependence on a few selected fraggers every round could prove to be their shortcoming later on in the tournament. A mistake that won’t get them any closer to the finals as their opponent was decided in the following matchup.
OpTic finds redemption, LA Thieves get knocked out
The new classic, this rivalry between H3CZ and Nadeshot got another chapter in its long history as their organizations met in an elimination series. Both of these teams came into the matchup looking for redemption, OpTic after being eliminated by the reigning champs, and the LA Thieves after their upset by the now eliminated Guerillas.
In game one on Hardpoint, the LA Thieves got an early lead that did not last long as FormaL and Envoy put in the work to get them a win by clearing the point relentlessly and showing aggression in 1 on 1 trades. The Thieves were never allowed to get more than a twenty-point run after their initial objective take and FormaL’s duel with TJHaly at the end of the match gave the first map to OpTic.
The LA Thieves started with a strong 2 – 0 on SND in Raid. Temp specifically was showing his tactical genius, getting information in the first seconds of rounds and adjusting accordingly to catch OpTic before they could even plant. As Temp went 9/5 and put Chicago OpTic to game point, it seemed that OpTic could only grab every odd round as a consolation prize. Chicago resurged to take the match to round 11, though despite Dashy’s best efforts the LA Thieves claimed Raid as their sole victory.
OpTic dominated the next match as they took Control on Checkmate 3 – 1. Both teams put up good defenses, however, Dashy once again topfragged for OpTic and decisively cut into LA Thieves’ life pool. In the final game of the series, OpTic maintained their impressive winrate on Hardpoint as FormaL closed out the series with 22 frags and 1:35 time on the objective, proving his worth once again on this game mode.
Meeting NYSL in their next series, OpTic are certainly the favorites going in, showing both greater individual skill and team cohesion in their similarly 3 – 1 series.
Who will come out on top in the NYSL vs Chicago OpTic matchup? Join the discussion on social media or our Discord!
You can also help improve our website by submitting direct feedback!
Image Credit: New York Subliners