The MLG Pro League Season 3 Playoffs took place this weekend, Sept. 18-20, and it was full of surprises. In case you missed the event, here’s a quick recap of how things went down and a few of the main storylines from the tournament.
As usual, we’ll start with the champions:
With back-to-back Best of 7 series wins, FaZe are your @MLG Season 3 Champions! #FaZeUp pic.twitter.com/7QQKEo3QKS
— FaZe Clan (@FaZeClan) September 20, 2015
FaZe Clan
They’re back. After only placing top-eight at UMG Washington D.C., the FaZe squad has returned. Falling to Epsilon in the winner’s semifinals, things looked grim for the team and it didn’t seem like they would return to form. However, they stumbled their way up to the losers bracket final for the rematch against Epsilon, won the match 4-3, and never looked back. They defeated OpTic in two best-of-sevens, 4-1 both times. No stumbles, no problems, no hesitations. FaZe was better, without a doubt.
OpTic Gaming
After a full weekend of dominance, the Green Wall hit a wall in the Grand Finals against FaZe. OpTic did not struggle against any team except Epsilon in their run to the Grand Finals, and then they got steamrolled. OpTic is clearly better than every team, except FaZe. The back and forth between these two squads is incredible to watch, and FaZe is on top right now.
Epsilon eSports
How in the world did this happen? After a 13th-16th placing at UMG Washington D.C. just two weeks ago, Epsilon managed to finish third at this event. Starting with a 4-2 win over Denial eSports, followed by a 4-1 win over Team eLevate and a 4-1 win over FaZe Clan, the squad looked dominant. Then they played OpTic Gaming in the winner’s bracket finals, and took them to a Game 7. OpTic came out on top however, which set-up a FaZe vs Epsilon rematch in the loser’s bracket finals. Epsilon looked poised to sweep past FaZe again as they went up in the series 3-0, but FaZe stormed back and completed the first 0-3 comeback in Call of Duty history. Regardless, Epsilon surprised everyone at this event, and they were by far the most interesting story to pay attention to.
Team EnVy
I’m starting to sound like a broken record talking about these guys. The team is very good, and there’s no denying that, but they never seem to close it out when it matter most. EnVy fell to FaZe and eLevate this weekend, placing top-eight, and there really isn’t much else to say. They just can’t seem to beat the other high-calibre teams.
Denial eSports
After their second-place finish at UMG D.C., Denial couldn’t quite stay on form. The team was Epsilon’s first victim in their Cinderella run, and then fell to FaZe later in the tournament after defeating Rise Nation and OpTic Nation. Denial ended up with a top-six finish, in a tournament dominated by confusion.
iSolation eSports
The rookie team of the year, iSo has continued to perform incredibly well for such a new team. Although they only ended with a top-six finish at this event, they did take down Team Orbit and OpTic Nation, before putting up a strong fight against OpTic Gaming and Team eLevate. Only losing to two of the most elite teams in the game, iSo is a darkhorse team to look out for when MLG Finals roll around.
OpTic Nation
It’s the same story every tournament for OpTic Nation: inconsistency. After getting a first-round bye because of their seed, Nation was taken down by iSo. From there, they defeated TCM Gaming in the loser’s bracket, and fell to Denial 0-4. Mochila announced free-agency almost immediately after the loss to Denial, and had a few comments for the members of Nation when he left. We won’t link those, but his Twitter is full of information.
Final Placings
1st: FaZe Clan
2nd: OpTic Gaming
3rd: Epsilon eSports
4th: Team eLevate
5th-6th: Denial eSports
5th-6th: iSolation eSports
7th-8th: Team EnVy
7th-8th: OpTic Nation
Did any teams surprise you? How did your favorite team do? Let us know in the comments below, on our Twitter @eSports_Guru, or on my Twitter @esn_DeeGee . Be sure to follow us to keep up with all things eSports.
