Singularity steamroll the competition to top Mythic Cup
Singularity have claimed victory in the Mythic Cup by sweeping through their opposition, not dropping a single map on their way to the top prize. The event also saw the team debut with their newest player, Alan "Shakezullah" Hardman, who recently joined on trial in place of Ian "motm" Hardy.
The quarterfinal round of matches went largely as expected, although one notable upset saw the tournament showrunners, Mythic, sent packing by Royal in a 16-9 loss. The stream team also saw the return of Alexander "LeX" Deily as a stand-in, who took the place of Leonardo "Laski" Arroyo and finished second on the leaderboard for his side despite the loss.
Singularity were the first to draw blood in the best-of-three semifinal round, taking down Party Astronauts in two maps. After dropping the first two rounds of Mirage, Singularity were able to overrun their opposition by taking eight rounds in a row. Party Astronauts finally halted Singularity's aggression to claim four rounds of their own, but still trailed 6-9 at the half with Singularity in control. Once on their CT side, Singularity left little room for a comeback as they won seven rounds straight to close out the map 16-6.
Singularity's domination continued onto Nuke, where a strong CT-side performance allowed for them to power their way to an 11-4 lead at the end of the first half. Singularity further extended their lead with a win in their T-side pistol, and the series looked to be quickly approaching its conclusion.
Party Astronauts weren't quite ready to concede however, and managed to convert a force-buy into a six-round streak that allowed them to narrow the deficit to 10-12. Once Singularity were finally able to rebuild their economy, they took the remaining rounds in stride to close out the series with a 16-12 victory to advance to the finals.
On the other side of the bracket, Chris and the boys took on Royal, with both teams looking to impress with their updated rosters. On Chris and the boys' map pick of Inferno, the team easily overcame Royal's CT defense, ending their T-half up 11-4. A shutout in the second half allowed for Christopher "Swahn" Swahn's side to swiftly close out the map 16-4, moving the series to its second map.
Attempting to recover from their loss on Inferno, Royal answered back by winning their CT side on Train and converting the ensuing round for a 2-0 lead. Chris and the boys fought back for three of their own, setting the stage for the half as both teams took turns trading runs of rounds with neither side appearing to be in a dominant position. At the end of the half, Royal held a three round lead with a 9-6 scoreline.
Once Chris and the boys switched to their CT-side, they quickly reversed the round deficit by claiming five rounds in a row to take the lead 11-9. Royal managed to tie things up with two rounds of their own, but in the end Chris and the Boys took five straight rounds to put the series on map point before narrowly scraping by with a 16-14 victory to meet Singularity in the finals.
Singularity started the grand finals with a dominant performance on their map pick of Mirage, bowling over Chris and the boys' defense to end the half 11-4. Singularity racked up their second perfect Mirage CT-side in the event to decisively end map one 16-4.
The exact same scenario played out again on Train as Singularity's T-side netted a second 11-4 lead at the half. Although Chris and the boys avoided another CT-side lockout by Singularity, they only managed two additional rounds on their T-side before Singularity took the map, the series, and the event with a 16-6 finish.
The final standings for the Mythic Cup are:
1. Singularity - $1,000
2. Chris and the boys - $500
3-4. Party Astronauts
3-4. Royal
5-8. LiViD
5-8. Old Guys Club
5-8. Polar Ace
5-8. Mythic