This article is part of our Call of Duty series.
Despite a tumultuous Stage 2 regular season in which the team nearly broke up, Millenium managed to claim back-to-back Stage titles on Sunday, defeating Team Infused 4-2 in a series full of swings in momentum. Here's how each team made it to the pivotal battle:
Two Teams, One Title
After earning the No. 2 seed thanks to a 14-4 record during the Stage 2 regular season, Infused needed just one win in order to claim a spot in finals. One problem; they were set to square off against Splyce, one of the best teams in the European scene and a Stage 1 runner-up.
In a series that could only be described as back-and-forth, neither team gained much of an advantage through three rounds, with Splyce rallying back to claim a Round 1 Hardpoint win while Infused secured Round 2 Uplink and Round 3 Search and Destroy.
David "Urban" Marsh and Mark "MarkyB" Bryceland were particularly vital in the two round wins, posting a combined 78/56 KD, with seemingly every kill setting up a play for Infused to capitalize on.
Splyce rallied back however, securing wins in Round 4 Capture the Flag and Round 5 Hardpoint to put Infused in a 3-2 series hole. Despite staring a disappointing series loss square in the eyes, Infused maintained their poise and camaraderie, putting together one of the most dominating Uplink performances ever seen on LAN, finishing the Round 6 win with a score of 20-6.
With a finals appearance on the line, Round 7 Search and Destroy became the epitome of the entire series with Splyce racing out to a 5-2 series advantage, only for Infused to rally back and claim the series win in Game 11. Once again, Urban put together a masterful performance, picking up seven kills over two rounds to finish with a 10/8 KD, while teammate and star player Trei "Zero" Morris finished with an astounding 12/5 KD in his own right.
While Millenium was forced to face two opponents en route to the finals, as a result of their fifth place finish in the EU Stage 2 regular season, they certainly didn't appear to be stifled by the competition, first beating Epsilon eSports 4-2 in the quarterfinals before facing No. 1 seed HyperGames in the semis.
HyperGames tried to keep things close, but after two quick round wins during Hardpoint and Uplink, it became clear that Millenium's slaying power may be too much to overcome. Dylan "MadCat" Daly from Millenium seemed to feel the same way, yelling "Oh my god is this easy!" after an 8-6 Round 2 Uplink win.
Not a particularly boisterous group throughout the regular season, Millenium was energetic after each round win, perhaps sensing their shot at a second straight CWL Stage finals appearance. They closed out the series with narrow victories in Round 3 Search and Destroy, and Round 4 Capture the Flag, but make no mistake; Millenium was in control of the match the entire time. In each of the last two matches, all four members of Millenium posted positive KD marks with Callum "Swanny" Swan (10/6) and MadCat (22/12) going off in Rounds 3 and 4, respectively.
Return to Glory
An early Sunday morning championship match saw Millenium face off against Team Infused for the right to claim the European Stage 2 title.
Huge momentum swings seemed to litter the battleground, with each team securing massive wins over one another throughout the series. Millenium came out swinging first, securing a huge 250-75 Round 1 Hardpoint victory, with the entire team once again posting positive KD marks.
The demoralizing loss in Round 1 only seemed to empower Infused, however, as they came storming back in Round 2 Uplink to take a 13-3 win. Adam "Peatie" Peate led the way, registering a 29/22 KD to go along with two dunks, while acting as the lead blocker for another.
That only seemed to stop Millenium momentarily, as they secured the next two rounds off the heels of another terrific performance by MadCat, who posted a combined 24/18 KD between the two. Swanny (14/8) was also a critical enforcer in Round 4 Capture the Flag, using his Specialist Scythe to wall off the opposition while Jordan "Jerd" Crowley captured the round-winning flag.
After a brutal Round 1 Hardpoint for Infused, it seemed likely Millenium would repeat their performance in a finals-clinching Round 5 Hardpoint, but Infused flipped the script entirely, dominating Millenium to the tune of 250-70. Unlike the first round in which all of Millenium managed to post positive numbers, MadCat was the lone positive KD survivor, as Infused stifled their opponents within the Hardpoint, using good movement within the objective and excellent strategy when left out to bully Millenium. Peatie was brilliant once again, at one point racking up a seven kill streak on his way to a 32/17 KD and a tidy two minutes in the hardpoint.
The series came to a close during a nail-biting Round 6 Uplink battle. Millenium raced out to a 8-1 lead shortly after the start of the second half, but Infused battled back, finding themselves within one point in the final minute of the game. With Millenium just a single score to likely push the game out of reach, Jurd appeared to have a breakout one point play only for Infused's Trei "Zero" Morris to make a miraculous interception and sprint towards the opposition's goal. Before he could secure series-extending dunk, however, Jurd responded in the nick of time, killing him and any hope of Infused forcing a Game 7.
Despite Millenium's success in European Call of Duty, veteran slayer Swanny was ecstatic after the win. "This was significantly the best win of my career and I've been playing for seven years. Particularly due to the nature in which we progressed this season, we were in a really bad spot part way through the year. We were on the verge of relegation a month ago. We were on the verge of splitting up as a team, but we managed to rally through which is a testament to our team."
Millenium will now look onward to the Call of Duty World Championships in September, in which they will be one of the favorites to perform well from Europe.
