eUnited Makes Playoffs Push In CoD, Visits New Orleans In GoW
Alec "ShocK" Collins gets vocal on the mic during competition at the Gears Pro Circuit New Orleans Open. (Credit: Gears Esports)
By: Zachary Lange
In a busy week for eUnited’s console based teams, Call of Duty continued to make a push towards playoffs while Gears of War visited The Crescent City for the Gears Pro Circuit New Orleans Open, finishing top-6, respectively.
CoD stays strong during “hell week”
Facing off against the top challenges in Division B during Stage 2 of the CWL Global Pro League, eUnited went 2-1 on the week with victories against UNILAD Esports and Rise Nation.
The only defeat came against OpTic Gaming by a narrow margin of 2-3 in a best-of-five series.
Despite the loss, eUnited still holds a two game advantage over 5th place compLexity Gaming with only four matches left before Stage 2 playoffs. The margin should be comfortable enough for the squad, as only the bottom four teams are left to play a second time through before the team’s attention turns towards another deep playoff run with an additional $500,000 on the line.
GoW starts strong, falls late
Heading into the $250,000 event in New Orleans, eUnited continued to refine their starting lineup with the addition of former OpTic Gaming substitute Mahmoud “PeL” Khalil.
Immediately, the roster move paid dividends. eUnited cruised through a tough Pool B consisting of Ghost Gaming, Fable Esports and Lucent Esports by going undefeated in series (3-0) and map count (6-0). Against Ghost in the team’s pool play matchup, PeL led the team in kills with 45 during Game 2 to set up a winners bracket matchup against EU’s Finest.
Ultimately, however, it was EU’s Finest who proved that their second place finish earlier in the year at the Las Vegas Open was not a fluke. While eUnited fought to the bitter end, a last round defeat in Game 3 of a best-of-three series forced the team’s backs against the wall by a final of 1-2. (4-7, 7-3, 6-7)
With a losers bracket run now in the cards, eUnited advanced two rounds with victories over Nimbus Esports and Gosu Crew to force a rematch against Ghost, their toughest pool play competition.
This time around, eUnited was not as fortunate as before. Despite a convincing Game 1 victory (7-2), the squad dropped their final two games and exited the tournament with a top-6 placement. While the team was eager to continue their losers bracket run, this event marks an improvement from the last tournament, where the team finished top-8.
What’s next?
For the Call of Duty team, eUnited will continue play in the final week pro league before a hopeful return to the MLG Studios in Columbus, Ohio for the Stage 2 playoffs. With only one month to go before the world championships, the playoffs will serve as a final tune up before the biggest event of the year.
In the Gears of War division, eUnited will head home to practice and regroup for the next tournament taking place in San Diego, California in late September.