This article is part of our Call of Duty Recap series.
Day 1 of MLG London was a surprisingly breezy venture compared to the tumultuous beginnings of MLG Las Vegas as the powerhouses of Europe dominated the competition. Splyce, Orbit, Infused, Fnatic, and Epsilon eSports all swept in decisive 3-0 wins, each taking early leads in the open bracket. All five teams are predicted to enter into the playoffs on Saturday.
Group A, consisting of Splyce, FAB Games, Aware, and Bando, was the first to play. Splyce set the tone for the day with the first 3-0 win against Bando. Bando struggled to keep up, but they at least put together a serviceable match in the opening Hardpoint. However a demoralizing 17-2 loss on Game 3 Uplink certainly couldn't have helped their confidence. Aware vs. FAB Games was a far more balanced match, and that's saying something considering FAB was only able to take a round in the best-of-five series. Perhaps indicative of the lopsided matches Thursday, FAB Games would be the only losing team to take a round.
Group B action was more of the same lopsided wins. The Imperial made a commanding first impression against In2ition with a 3-0 win. Like most of the games Thursday, The Imperial grabbed immediate control of the match and never let go. In2ition's second game didn't go much better, this time against the powerhouse Epsilon eSports. Again, In2ition were wiped out in a startlingly fast series that didn't see them win a single round.
Team 3G, Cyclone, Orbit, and Millennium made up Group C. Orbit vs Millennium saw Orbit's Tom "Moose" Handley explode. Scoring an unbelievable 12/3 KD in Round 2 Search & Destroy, Moose seemed unstoppable, using some extraordinarily crispy shots. Team 3G also showcased their skills Thursday, putting together a commanding performance against Cyclone. Who will earn the top spot in Group C will come down to possibly one game between Orbit and Team 3G. Both are very strong and are hungry to prove themselves.
Group D action saw Black Forest Gaming struggle after Fnatic utterly destroyed them. It wasd a disappointing performance considering Black Forest Gaming was expected to be a strong contender in in the tournament. Hadouken, as well, looked sloppy and unpracticed in their match against Infused. So far, both Fnatic and Infused stand atop of Group D.
