Luminosity have avenged their brutal loss to OpTic Gaming in the CWL Pro League by sending the Green Wall down to the losers bracket at the 2018 CWL Anaheim Open.
After pool play concluded, we learned that one of the four championship winners bracket quarterfinal matchups included OpTic vs. Luminosity, a match that went heavily in OpTic’s favor a few weeks ago during the CWL Pro League. Both teams have learned more about their playstyles and opponents since then, so it shouldn’t be surprising that the teams gave much different performances in today’s meeting.
Some of Europe’s best also were featured in the quarterfinals, with Splyce, Red Reserve, and UNILAD all facing off against North America’s top teams.
Here are the results from the first round of the championship winners bracket at the 2018 CWL Anaheim Open.
OpTic Gaming vs. Luminosity
When OpTic Gaming and Luminosity met in the CWL Pro League a few weeks ago, it was a one-sided affair that went in OpTic’s favor. With their assault rifle players leading the way, OpTic made a massive statement against one of their longtime teammates, Matthew “FormaL” Piper.
This time around, though, FormaL and his LG teammates came to play. Despite dropping the first map to OpTic, LG refused to be beaten like they were in the Pro League. The team took game two, Valkyrie Search and Destroy, which they lost in the first matchup, and followed it up with strong showings in an intense Ardennes Forest Capture the Flag and Valkyrie Hardpoint.
The win gives LG a 4-2 series record against OpTic in WWII, but this rivalry seems to be nowhere close to finished.
UNILAD vs. FaZe Clan
One of OpTic’s most storied rivals, FaZe Clan, also made it to the championship winners bracket. There they met European team UNILAD, who have arguably been the biggest surprise of the CWL Pro League’s second stage.
UNILAD continued to shock fans and opponents alike today, taking down FaZe in three rather convincing maps. The win puts the Europeans into their first winners bracket semifinals, while FaZe drop into the fourth round of the losers bracket.
Red Reserve vs. Echo Fox
Red Reserve, who are widely considered the best team in Europe, continued to show off their incredible talent in the championship bracket today.
Taking on Echo Fox, Red dominated the first two maps of the series. They followed up a 125-point Hardpoint win to kick off the match with a swift 6-2 Search and Destroy victory to put all of the pressure on Echo Fox.
Echo Fox made game three, Flak Tower Capture the Flag, competitive, but they fell just short of a map win. The loss will make them fight their way through the losers bracket and allow Red to meet Luminosity in the semifinals.
Rise Nation vs. Splyce
Since April, Rise Nation have been considered by many to be the best team in the world. Their championship at the CWL Seattle Open and strong start to Stage Two of the CWL Pro League backed up that claim, but Rise were shockingly swept in pool play by Team Kaliber earlier this weekend.
Although the team still finished atop Pool B, it was one of the only times in the last few months where Rise looked vulnerable—but it seems like their issues have been resolved.
In a matchup against one of Europe’s top teams, Splyce, Rise looked like the squad that walked away with the title in Seattle two months ago. It took just three maps for the defending champions to clinch a spot in the winners bracket semifinals.
The championship bracket at the CWL Anaheim Open is in full swing, and we’ve already seen some incredible matches. With Luminosity squaring off against Red Reserve and Rise taking on UNILAD tomorrow, there will certainly be some more matchups to watch out for in the next round.
Published: Jun 16, 2018 11:08 pm