This article is part of our Call of Duty Recap series.
Intensity was at an all time high during Group Yellow of the CWL Global Pro League, as Epsilon eSports and Luminosity Gaming battled for a second place finish. Luminosity Gaming ultimately secured second place in their last game of the weekend where they forced eUnited's first and only series loss. eUnited, meanwhile, took first place in decisive fashion by melting their competition. Millenium unsurprisingly finished in last place.
Both Luminosity Gaming and Epsilon eSports became the rivals of the weekend as early as Day 1. Epsilon eSports, in their first match, played a very tight series against Luminosity Gaming even as they seemed overwhelmed by Luminosity Gaming's fast-paced meta, one in stark contrast to the slower European style. But Epsilon eSports adapted and kept their cool thanks to Joshua-Lee "Joshh" Shepard. Joshh was able to lead his team against the cream of the crop by pushing his team to take fights. But their third place finish came down to a single map win. Both Luminosity Gaming and Epsilon eSports teams were tied for series wins, but Luminosity Gaming's final win against eUnited what pushed Epsilon eSports out of the Stage 2 Playoffs.
The other European team, Millenium, had a heartbreaking and disappointing weekend, one not so different than Fnatic last weekend. Except this time, Millenium didn't have the excuse of poor practice time, as they flew to North America a week earlier for the CWL Pro League. There, for a whole week, Millenium scrimmed against every possible team to finely hone their skills. But in the end, Millenium couldn't win a single series this weekend and fell into fourth place. Tom "Moose" Handley couldn't play any better, as he carried his team game after game, only for his team to choke every lead they were given due to poor shooting. However, Millenium did find some great plays in their Uplink play when other players, like Mark "MarkyB" Bryceland, were finally able to show up.
Luminosity Gaming, meanwhile, came in like a hurricane. Nicholas "Classic" DiCostanzo and Sam "Octane" Larew were monstrous the whole weekend, with Josiah "Slacked" Berry and Renato "Saints" Forza showing up for clutch plays on Day 3. All four players had great plays and made sure to slay out when needed. But, small mistakes made in panic cost them certain series, especially against the likes of eUnited on Day 2. Instead of stacking all four top-tier slayers, Luminosity Gaming would occasionally try to cut spawns which usually ended in being picked. Teams likes eUnited and Epsilon eSports thrive on finding just a handful of picks to turn around the game. In the end, Luminosity Gaming clutched up to get their second place seed.
Then resting at the very top are the titans eUnited, the team that beat OpTic Gaming at MLG Atlanta. eUnited continue to play their own unique blend, playing more for spawns, flanks and picks than teamfights. Or as Alec "Arcitys" Sanderson summed it up on Day 2 in a post-game interview, "My teammates do everything perfect and all I have to do is get rotations." The heavily defensive style favored them on maps like Crusher and Retaliation but found some weaknesses in Uplink maps like Precinct. This is because eUnited sometimes struggle in teamfights if they aren't pinching. Or at least that was the case on Day 3. eUnited nearly made the record-breaking 6-0 run only to lose their last game to Luminosity Gaming, the team that thrives the most in teamfights.
The final group, Group Green, plays next week beginning on May 12 at 4:00 pm EST on MLG's website and in-game in Call of Duty: Infinite Warefare. It'll be an explosive group with OpTic Gaming, Enigma6, Red Reserve and eLevate fighting for those final placement seeds.
