Hot on the heels of the Western Conference games, the first batch of Eastern Conference finals have come to a close. Even though there is a victor, the team’s work is far from over. The road to December looks to be a challenging one.
Soniqs faced off with Peak Everything Esports on Coastline with Glaz, Ying, Maestro, and Mira banned out of play. Soniqs entered the match as the favored team and grabbed the first two rounds for and an early lead. Peak Everything ran the show in round three to earn their first attacking win. Angel “wholesalemilk” Audon showed fans how to enter as Ash several times in rounds three and four, but the team couldn’t capitalize on the momentum gained in round three.
Scott” Neptunez” Webber held down the fort in round five with a solid 3K roam to throw Peak Everything off balance. Peak Everything whipped out some pretty crazy five-man push strats, but were found out early on in the match. Soniqs led 5-1 going into the half.
Soniqs ran a perfect attack to bring it down to match point, 6-1. With another solid round, Soniqs secured the match victory. Now Soniqs have a chance to compete for a spot against the victor of match two. And despite the loss, Peak Everything’s Ryan “OBS1” Lee put on a show.
OC clashed with Dream Chasers on Clubhouse while banning out Thatcher, Maverick, Kaid, and Maestro. OC was the favored team of the match and it showed in the form of a round one win. Although, Dream Chasers was able to answer with a round two win thanks to Dylan “Affected” Atkin’s Montagne and a cohesive push overall.
Affected treated fans to an impressive one-tap headshot as Montagne to take the site away from OC to bring the match 3-2, Dream Chasers. OC managed to clutch up and push past the half to bring the match 5-3. CJ “Cookiez” Brooks wrangled a 4K to put another round on the board for Dream Chasers.
OC brought the series to match point at 6-4. Ultimately, Dream Chasers would fall to OC, 7-4. Both teams put on quite the match in terms of solid skills and big plays. OC now advances to the first round of the Eastern Conference finals.
The night culminated in Soniqs and OC going toe-to-toe on Clubhouse to see who would have a shot at the title of Team USA. Teams banned Capitao, Thatcher, Echo, and Mira from play. Soniqs were barely favored in this matchup and OC’s performance in their previous match indicated it would be a much more balanced match this time around.
Soniqs wrapped the first two rounds in a highly-coordinated effort. Once again, Neptunez proveed lethal when challenged, while John “Avian” Ackerly’s Maverick was essential to both wins. OC finally picked up a win in round three on Arsenal defense.
Soniqs led 4-2 heading into the half. Avian extended Soniqs’ lead when he shutdown OC with a one-vs-three clutch play as Kaid. Soniqs brought OC to an uncomfortable position at matchpoint, 6-2. At the end of the night, Soniqs walked away with the win at 7-2 and a shot at the Team USA title‒proving that sometimes pre-stream surveys have merit.
The battle for the crown of Team USA continues Saturday, April 20, according to the official schedule. Fans looking to tune in can catch the broadcast here.
