This article is part of our Call of Duty series.
It wasn't always pretty, but the two teams expected to place highest -- FaZe Clan and Enigma6 -- finished with the two highest seeds in Group Blue of Stage 2 of the CWL Global Pro League. Still, Ghost Gaming nearly came away with a playoff spot of their own, falling just one map win short of qualifying for the Stage 2 Playoffs. By virtue of each of the top three teams finishing with 4-2 records, that left eLevate to wallow in the dust and self-loathing otherwise known as the fourth seed.
Day 1 started out in a surprisingly breezy fashion, at least for Ghost Gaming. To put it lightly, the up-and-comers blasted FaZe Clan and eLevate. This was thanks to their meticulous planning that saw the team endlessly watching VODs of their enemies, with Micheal "SpaceLy" Schmale bringing extensive notes. Their organization and strategies were so intensive that the team was seen consulting notes between rounds on stream. FaZe Clan would also have an excellent start by beating out Enigma6 on Day 1. With both FaZe Clan and Enigma 1-1 in games, it was clear the battle for second place would be wracked with intrigue.
Ghost Gaming's domination would continue into Day 2. Once again, the team beamed down the best of the best. Andres "Lacefield" Lacefield and Chance "Maux" Moncivaez were, to put it bluntly, absolute beasts. Enigma6 and FaZe Clan would continue their battle for second place in Ghost Gaming's shadows. The war would end with Enigma6 dropping to third, but only due to a single map loss. FaZe Clan looked stronger than ever thanks to Pierce "Gunless" Hillman. Contrary to speculation, Gunless didn't restrict FaZe Clan's gameplay. Instead, he improved it. FaZe Clan were back to their fast and furious old selves as the team swapped roles with ease. Gunless and Thomas "ZooMa" Paparatto bounced from assault rifles to SMGs on a whim. The extraordinary flexibility that worked for Ghost Gaming was now working for FaZe Clan. And most surprising of all was that FaZe Clan, finally, looked like a strong Search & Destroy team after years of struggles.
Day 3 would see the entire landscape shift however. Enigma6, ever the dark horse, were able to tear through the day 3-0'ing both Ghost Gaming and eLevate. The swift victories were largely thanks to Nicholas "Proto" Maldonado who finally began to slay after a slow first two days. Meanwhile, eLevate ended their weekend on a devastating note by becoming to the first team in the CWL Global Pro League to have a 0-18 map count failing to win a single map all weekend. However, their struggles would cause chaos in the pool.
FaZe Clan came into their final match against Ghost Gaming hot off of a 3-0 win over eLevate. This would set stakes at an all-time high for both teams, with FaZe Clan needing three map wins while Ghost Gaming would need just two to clinch the top side. Ultimately, Ghost Gaming would crack under the pressure, losing the series 3-1 to FaZe. By virtue of the one map loss, Enigma6 would reap the benefits, securing second place in a group that just a day ago appeared to belong to Ghost Gaming.
Next weekend will see eUnited, Splyce, Rise Nation and Red Reserve battle for top two. If it's anything like this weekend, which it should be, it'll be another exciting weekend for Call of Duty.
