This article is part of our Call of Duty series.
Group Green was full of surprises. While some things remained the same, such as OpTic Gaming taking first seed, everything else turned out to be a shock. For one, Team EnVyUs, the "Boys in Blue", finally performed up to their lofty expectations, looking a lot like their 2016 selves. Epsilon eSports, the "runner-ups" of Europe and the team predicted for second, went 0-6 the whole weekend. The final shock was Cloud9 unable to play spoiler, failing to take a game from Team EnVyUs or OpTic Gaming. So at the end of weekend, OpTic Gaming and Team EnVyUs were the final two teams to enter the CWL Stage 2 Playoffs.
Team EnVyUs made sure to show up early on Day 1 in their first game against Epsilon eSports. It was clear from the start this weekend would see a different Team EnVyUS. Still, the 2016 Champions have a lot to fix in their game. For one, their Search & Destroy desperately needed work as the team spread themselves too thin on every map. On the other end, Epsilon eSports' Joshua-Lee "Joshh" Sheppard had an incredibly tough weekend. The former Splyce player would score an abysmal KD sitting close to a double-negative score.
Meanwhile, OpTic Gaming seemed to be as unbreakable as ever, despite one noticeable shift in gameplay. For once, their Search & Destroy looked very strong while their Hardpoint game weakened, looking similar to FaZe Clan from two weekends ago. The gear change was a result of both Seth "Scump" Abner and Ian "Crimsix" Porter playing unselfishly with their SMGs, diving around corners to pepper shots and to make call-outs. The only team that didn't shock was Cloud9, who had a characteristically slow Day 1.
Epsilon eSports desperately attempted to rebound on Day 2. However, the continued poor performance of Joshh hampered all the team's effort. The one bright light was David "Dqvee" Davies, who had to drag his team through the dirt with his strong slaying. In another twist, Team EnVyUs fixed their exceptionally weak Search & Destroy in a matter of a day. The dramatic change was what allowed them to take games off of Cloud9 and Epsilon eSports, all without sacrificing some of their Hardpoint gameplay, unlike OpTic Gaming.
Day 3, surprisingly, ended on an anticlimactic note. With both OpTic Gaming and Team EnVyUs already firmly placed for second and first, all that was left was the battle for first and second between the two teams. Cloud9 had a chance to play spoiler for OpTic Gaming, a favorite hobby of Patrick "Aches" Price, only to fall breathtakingly short. They couldn't even damper Team EnVyUs' run to the top. Cloud9 lost their Round 1 Hardpoint, an important game for map counts, to Team EnVyUs 250-249.
Epsilon eSports then would lose their last two games, completely unable to fix their problems without the pressure of needing to win games and falling into fourth. And, in the end, it was OpTic Gaming and Team EnVyUs fighting for first and second in the last game of the night. OpTic Gaming would stomp Team EnVyUs 3-0.
The seeds have already been slotted for the upcoming conclusion to a month of blood, sweat and tears from the top Call of Duty teams in the world. Stay up-to-date with EGN for next week's predictions on the Stage 2 Playoff brackets.
