New York Subliners defeat L.A. Thieves, secure last Champs spot

The New York Subliners defeat the Los Angeles Thieves to secure their spot at Champs and make it to a grand final at the Stage Four Major.

With the chance at Champs and a grand final appearance on the line, the New York Subliners had to give everything they had in front of the home crowd. That was showcased in the opening Hardpoint on Tuscan with a decisive 250-176 win to go up 1-0 in the series. All four members of the Subliners turned things up a notch, but Paco “HyDra” Rusiewiez walked away with a 1.57 KD after dropping 35 kills and 23 deaths.

The crowd chanting for New York is exactly what the Subliners needed during the second map on Berlin Search and Destroy, a mode for which the L.A. Thieves had been on a winning streak. That win streak was quickly broken off the back of Matthew “KiSMET” Tinsley and Paul “PaulEhx” Avila, who finished the 6-3 win with 1.6 and 2.0 KD, respectively. Now with a 2-0 lead in the series, the Subliners would be only one map away from winning the series and knocking the Florida Mutineers out of Champs contention. Although the Thieves quickly reminded the Subliners not to challenge them on Berlin Control as the Thieves walked away with a quick 3-0, repeating the magic that they pulled out when 3-0ing Toronto Ultra the day before.

Berlin Hardpoint would be the final map of the series and would be the defining moment for New York to secure Champs after they were seemingly out of the running for the longest time. The Subliners took early control on the Hardpoint but allowed the L.A. Thieves to bring it back and bring it down to one last hill and a couple of critical kills from KiSMET. 250-235 with KiSMET dropping over 40 kills was all it took to take the series 3-1.