WESG 2018 Day One: Singularity and MIBR through, Denial denied
The first day of WESG 2018 has concluded, and the first four round robin groups have been played out. In terms of North American representation, Denial, MIBR and Singularity were the three teams based in the region in action early this morning.
First up was the three-team Group A, featuring Singularity, G2 and Revolution. Singularity played first, taking on the Vietnamese Revolution in a best-of-two. The two maps played proved to be a fairly quick game for the American team, with Inferno over at 16-2, with Ian "motm" Hardy hitting 112.3 ADR and a 1.77 rating, and Dust2 ending 16-1 with Ryan "ryann" Welsh taking 131.9 ADR and a 2.10 rating.
RevolutionSingularity| Revolution |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Giang 'Rambutan' Pham |
19 - 33 | -14 | 66.7 | 54.3% | 0.73 |
| Dung 'Fog' Pham |
20 - 35 | -15 | 63.3 | 60.0% | 0.67 |
| Tuan-Anh 'Jaybk' Truong |
13 - 31 | -18 | 53.4 | 51.4% | 0.57 |
| Hiep 'hoag' Do |
16 - 35 | -19 | 58.7 | 48.6% | 0.55 |
| Trieu 'Tee' Pham |
8 - 35 | -27 | 36.5 | 40.0% | 0.26 |
| Singularity |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Ryan 'ryann' Welsh |
41 - 14 | +27 | 117.0 | 91.4% | 1.85 |
| Cameron 'cam' Kern |
31 - 12 | +19 | 97.1 | 91.4% | 1.60 |
| Ricky 'floppy' Kemery |
36 - 16 | +20 | 89.5 | 85.7% | 1.54 |
| Ian 'motm' Hardy |
31 - 20 | +11 | 96.2 | 80.0% | 1.40 |
| Josh 'oSee' Ohm |
28 - 14 | +14 | 85.3 | 91.4% | 1.39 |
Singularity next played G2, and once again it was a fairly quick series, except this time in the favor of the French team. Cache opened with Singularity taking the pistol round, before a second round forcebuy started G2's run and sent them to a 14-1 lead. The second half saw Singularity taking the first two rounds, before G2 secured map point and two traded rounds later it was all over at 16-4.
Overpass came next, and Singularity put a bit more of a fight up here. Once again the American team opened with the pistol round and first anti-eco round before G2 came in with the following two rounds thanks to Richard "shox" Papillon taking a 4k to even the game. Singularity went back ahead with the next two rounds, before G2 showed off their quality and ramped up with a set of five rounds before going in at the half 10-5 ahead. The second half began with G2 taking the pistol round and the following four rounds to take map point. Singularity delayed the win with a round of their own, before the French team wrapped it up 16-6.
G2Singularity| G2 |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Richard 'shox' Papillon |
48 - 25 | +23 | 112.8 | 81.0% | 1.66 |
| Kenny 'kennyS' Schrub |
33 - 17 | +16 | 70.1 | 83.3% | 1.40 |
| Lucas 'Lucky' Chastang |
32 - 18 | +14 | 84.6 | 85.7% | 1.40 |
| Audric 'JACKZ' Jug |
35 - 21 | +14 | 80.4 | 76.2% | 1.38 |
| Alexandre 'bodyy' Pianaro |
31 - 23 | +8 | 86.3 | 83.3% | 1.32 |
| Singularity |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Josh 'oSee' Ohm |
26 - 36 | -10 | 72.9 | 50.0% | 0.81 |
| Ricky 'floppy' Kemery |
23 - 35 | -12 | 62.0 | 57.1% | 0.73 |
| Ian 'motm' Hardy |
25 - 37 | -12 | 65.4 | 57.1% | 0.73 |
| Cameron 'cam' Kern |
14 - 37 | -23 | 46.7 | 59.5% | 0.53 |
| Ryan 'ryann' Welsh |
16 - 34 | -18 | 44.0 | 45.2% | 0.50 |
With G2 later comfortably beating Revolution 2-0, both them and Singularity secured passage to the playoffs. Next up was Group B, which featured the South Africans of Denial. Their first game was against OpTic and started on Overpass, where the South Africans picked up the opening four rounds to get a good start. It wasn't long until OpTic got into the game, with the Danish team taking seven rounds in a row to go into the lead. Aran "Sonic" Groesbeek briefly halted their advance with a 1v2 clutch, before the two teams ping-ponged the final rounds to see OpTic take a narrow 8-7 lead.
The second half was purely in OpTic's ballpark, as they won the first six rounds in a row before Denial even pulled one back, but it wouldn't be enough. The Danes would take the next two rounds comfortably and take the first map 16-8.
Inferno followed next, and it was Danes who controlled from the off. Taking the first five rounds unopposed, Denial manage to have a small period of opposition in the first half. But after Rhys "Fadey" Armstrong managed a grenade 3k OpTic went back ahead and closed the first half 11-4. The second half may have started with Denial taking the pistol round, but the next five rounds were all OpTic's as they won 16-5.
DenialOpTic| Denial |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Aran 'Sonic' Groesbeek |
30 - 28 | +2 | 78.9 | 68.9% | 1.00 |
| Rhys 'Fadey' Armstrong |
31 - 38 | -7 | 68.6 | 51.1% | 0.88 |
| Dominic 'Domsterr' Sampaio |
23 - 35 | -12 | 67.5 | 62.2% | 0.75 |
| Johnny 'JT' Theodosiou |
18 - 35 | -17 | 59.1 | 55.6% | 0.64 |
| Roberto 'blackpoisoN' Dall'Occo |
18 - 36 | -18 | 40.2 | 53.3% | 0.49 |
| OpTic |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Ismail 'refrezh' Ali |
36 - 20 | +16 | 79.0 | 80.0% | 1.41 |
| Jakob 'JUGi' Hansen |
34 - 20 | +14 | 75.2 | 77.8% | 1.35 |
| Kristian 'k0nfig' Wienecke |
37 - 27 | +10 | 93.5 | 82.2% | 1.35 |
| Marco 'Snappi' Pfeiffer |
35 - 27 | +8 | 82.9 | 73.3% | 1.29 |
| René 'cajunb' Borg |
30 - 26 | +4 | 75.2 | 75.6% | 1.16 |
Denial next played Valiance, and were dispatched quickly against the Serbian team. Valiance opened Nuke with the pistol and following two anti-eco rounds before Denial took the first buy-round on their T-side. But that would be it from them in the first half, as Valiance won the next eleven rounds for a 14-1 lead at the break. The second half was slightly better, with the South Africans taking the pistol and first anti-eco, but it wasn't too long before Valiance won the map with a 16-4 score.
Inferno followed, and it was a similar story. This time, Valiance opened the CT-side with the first five rounds before Denial were able to respond, but it would just be a single round. The next time Denial won a round was after Valiance won four of their own, and their final round win was right at the end of the first half. The second half saw all four rounds played won by Valiance, as they claimed a 16-3 win.
ValianceDenial| Valiance |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Nestor 'LETN1' Tanić |
40 - 17 | +23 | 113.8 | 84.6% | 1.71 |
 Nemanja 'huNter-' Kovač |
38 - 21 | +17 | 111.0 | 87.2% | 1.67 |
| Luka 'emi' Vuković |
31 - 14 | +17 | 70.6 | 97.4% | 1.47 |
| Aleksa 'Impulse' Stankić |
33 - 14 | +19 | 85.9 | 79.5% | 1.43 |
| Nemanja 'nexa' Isaković |
34 - 13 | +21 | 78.8 | 87.2% | 1.40 |
| Denial |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rhys 'Fadey' Armstrong |
19 - 34 | -15 | 55.5 | 51.3% | 0.68 |
| Dominic 'Domsterr' Sampaio |
20 - 36 | -16 | 60.3 | 48.7% | 0.59 |
| Aran 'Sonic' Groesbeek |
15 - 36 | -21 | 55.6 | 43.6% | 0.55 |
| Roberto 'blackpoisoN' Dall'Occo |
12 - 35 | -23 | 37.2 | 48.7% | 0.44 |
| Johnny 'JT' Theodosiou |
13 - 35 | -22 | 45.5 | 38.5% | 0.38 |
Denial's final game came against the Emerati team NASR. This would be their first, and only, win of the tournament. Taking the first four rounds on the Train CT-side, Denial managed to take a sizable lead before NASR were able to respond, with three of their own. From there it was Denial's half, only dropping three rounds at the end of the first half for a 9-6 lead at the break. The second half was a T-side masterclass for Denial, as they won all seven rounds played for a 16-6 win. Dominic "Domsterr" Sampaio proved vital for Denial, taking 134.0 in ADR and a 1.17 rating after taking 29 kills in the map.
Inferno followed, and it was another comfortable map for Denial. This time they had to come back from NASR winning the pistol round, but it was a forcebuy victory going the way of the South Africans, as they limited their opponents to just single round wins as they raced to the end of the first half with a 11-4 lead. The second half was another clean-up job, only dropping one of the six rounds played to secure the 16-5 win.
DenialNASR| Denial |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dominic 'Domsterr' Sampaio |
46 - 17 | +29 | 109.0 | 86.0% | 1.78 |
| Rhys 'Fadey' Armstrong |
38 - 26 | +12 | 89.3 | 81.4% | 1.41 |
| Aran 'Sonic' Groesbeek |
30 - 18 | +12 | 80.4 | 95.3% | 1.36 |
| Roberto 'blackpoisoN' Dall'Occo |
36 - 24 | +12 | 86.7 | 76.7% | 1.31 |
| Johnny 'JT' Theodosiou |
34 - 25 | +9 | 82.3 | 81.4% | 1.15 |
| NASR |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Abdulaziz 'Nami' Al-Hammadi |
24 - 35 | -11 | 63.7 | 53.5% | 0.78 |
| Mohammed 'k1tkat' Al-Nuaimi |
23 - 41 | -18 | 72.4 | 58.1% | 0.76 |
| Khalid 'KarriBob' Al-Junaibi |
21 - 33 | -12 | 62.0 | 55.8% | 0.76 |
| Obaid 'breAker' Al-Muhairi |
24 - 38 | -14 | 63.1 | 55.8% | 0.70 |
| Khalid 'Pogba' Mohammed |
17 - 37 | -20 | 54.7 | 53.5% | 0.59 |
Unfortunately for Denial, this result wasn't enough for them to get to the playoffs, as they finished third in their group. Next up was MIBR in Group C, who only played one game in what was merely a formality for them.
They played AGO in the best-of-two, and started on Nuke after overturning a pistol round win from their Polish opponents. The Brazilians restricted AGO to just single round wins, with Gabriel "FalleN" Toledo effectively showing off at points. Having had the best of the game, they were 12-3 up at the break, and cleaned the second half up fairly easily, taking the required rounds as expected. João "felps" Vasconcellos was in his element in the game, taking 130.8 in ADR with a 2.10 rating after 28 kills in the limited rounds played.
Train was next, and it was a much closer map between the two teams. AGO narrowly had the stronger first half, with strong displays at the start and end acting as some sort of sandwich between a strong MIBR middle, seeing the Polish team going in at the break with an 8-7 lead. The second half was vastly different, but only after AGO picked up the pistol and first anti-eco. MIBR picked up five rounds in a row to go ahead, and after AGO picked up two rounds to even the game again, they were pushed aside by FalleN and co. in the final four rounds for a 16-12 win.
MIBRAGO| MIBR |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Gabriel 'FalleN' Toledo |
43 - 23 | +20 | 85.6 | 79.6% | 1.44 |
| João 'felps' Vasconcellos |
44 - 32 | +12 | 98.4 | 79.6% | 1.40 |
| Fernando 'fer' Alvarenga |
39 - 27 | +12 | 90.4 | 79.6% | 1.38 |
| Epitacio 'TACO' de Melo |
39 - 25 | +14 | 82.4 | 81.6% | 1.34 |
| Marcelo 'coldzera' David |
36 - 26 | +10 | 70.7 | 77.6% | 1.18 |
| AGO |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Dominik 'GruBy' Swiderski |
36 - 39 | -3 | 87.5 | 65.3% | 1.01 |
| Tomasz 'phr' Wójcik |
35 - 36 | -1 | 75.6 | 65.3% | 0.93 |
| Damian 'Furlan' Kislowski |
30 - 41 | -11 | 65.0 | 57.1% | 0.80 |
| Grzegorz 'SZPERO' Dziamałek |
20 - 41 | -21 | 48.4 | 51.0% | 0.50 |
| Kacper 'kaper' Słoma |
12 - 44 | -32 | 43.3 | 59.2% | 0.46 |
This result saw MIBR finish top of their group, and secure a place in the playoff. In terms of South American teams, Argentinians Furious finished second in Group D, after a 2-0 win over Malaysian FrostFire (19-16 Inferno, 16-5 Dust2) and a 2-0 loss to Japanese team Absolute (20-22 Cache, 8-16 Dust2).
Tomorrow, Canada's WARDELL & Friends and Mexico's Altima are set to play in the groups as they look to secure a spot in the playoffs. Brazilians Imperial are also in action tomorrow, playing off in the same group as WARDELL & Friends.
