The Update: Feb. 4

By: Zachary Lange

Here is TheUpdate for the week of Feb. 4.

Samsora places third at Genesis 6

It was a near flawless run for Ezra “Samsora” Morris at Genesis 6, and in the end he was able to finish in third place in front of thousands at the Paramount Theater in Oakland, Calif.

Samsora began the weekend as one of over 2,000 entrants. After a flawless run in his initial pool, he marched through the second and third rounds without dropping a single set.

A matchup versus Panda Global’s Cosmos was the first true test for the Peach main. In a qualifying matchup for the top-8 finale on Sunday, Samsora won a clutch Game 5, claiming the series 3-2.

In the championship bracket, Samsora claimed victory over MKLeo of Echo Fox, winning 3-2 in the best-of-five matchup to qualify him for the Smash Ultimate Summit that will be held next month in Los Angeles.

It was a rematch, however, that saw MKLeo getting the best of Samsora, eliminating him from the tournament after a winners bracket semifinal loss to VoiD of Counter Logic Gaming.

Samsora’s next event is Frostbite 2019 in Detroit on Feb. 22-24.

 

PUBG struggles on opening weekend

It wasn’t the start to Phase 1 of the NPL that eUnited PUBG wanted, but the team still has over 30 games to right the ship on the season.

eUnited finds themselves in last place after the first eight games in the NPL. A fifth place finish on Saturday was the highest placement for the squad.

Many teams employed the same aggressive strategy that the team uses to push opponents for kills. Taylor “TaylorJay” Johnson said that they will go back to the drawing board for next week.

“We’re gonna adjust our play style a little by scouting into the zone more, rotating quicker and making less individual mistakes,” TaylorJay said. “Keeping four alive longer is something we have to work on.”

The second week of the five week phase starts on Friday at 5 p.m. Pacific time.

Counter Strike qualifies for IEM Sydney Closed Qualifier

It was a successful week for eUnited’s Counter Strike team, winning three straight games to qualify for the next step to make IEM Sydney.

eUnited defeated Hysteria and Cyclone in a best-of-one series and Singularity, 2-1, in a best-of-three series.

Next is an eight-team playoff on Feb. 6-8 for one spot into the $250,000 premier tournament that will begin on April 30.