Optic Gaming Win the CWL Stage 2 Playoffs

Finally, after four weeks of group stages and a weekend of playoffs, the top sixteen teams have boiled down to Optic Gaming who finished on top. It was an epic journey for the Greenwall who made a superb loser bracket run as we’ll walkthrough briefly now.  In short, it was an epic weekend of Call of Duty.

Day one saw the expected progress of eUnited and OG through the winner’s bracket easily. What nobody expected was Team EnVyUs clutching a map 5 against Faze and Splyce getting absolutely smacked by Luminosity.  The second day then had the likes of Splyce, E6, Faze and Fnatic elimiminated. It will be noted that a 7-8^th finish for the European side of Splyce is a severe fall from the side’s domination earlier this year. On the same day, eUnited managed to sweep OG into the loser’s bracket while nV did the same to Luminosity Gaming. Again, another upset for another squad such as LG.

Championship Sunday consisted of just four teams, namely eUnited, nV, OG and LG. To claim victory, Optic Gaming would have to run through every single opponent; that’s exactly what they did.  Starting with LG, the boys in blue put on a poor show which didn’t replicate what they’ve accomplished before – sent home without winning a single map. Then came eUnited, the youngsters led by the emphatic “Clayster” thirsty to prove his worth on the new roster. The matchup was not for the faint of heart as it dragged to a game five SnD where OG clutched up to stop eUnited at a respectable 3^rd place.

Waiting at the grand final was an opponent nobody expected to be there, Team EnVyUs. With only one player having a positive k/d, “Slasher”, it was quite head-scratching to see such a hard carry until the grand final. Due to arriving form the loser’s bracket, Optic Gaming would have to win two BO5s to secure a victory; you can guess what happened.  Taking one map at a time, they closed out the first series in a 3-1 fashion. nV never really looked hungry for the win. The second series was exactly the same regarding scoreline, a cakewalk for OG.

To finish off the tournament, “Formal” from Optic was crowned Astro Gaming’s MVP of the event while the draw for the CWL Championship was held after the dust settled.

The Stage 2 Playoffs were proving grounds for many ahead of the largest event of the year. On top looks to be OG, but they weren’t perfect-especially when they were swept by eUnited. Call of Duty esports enthusiasts hold their breath in pure excitement for the next few weeks.