Riot Squad reverse-sweep Lazarus to secure MSI MGA spot
Riot Squad have defeated Lazarus in the grand finals of the MSI MGA Closed Qualifier, earning themselves a spot at the $60,000 LAN finals alongside three other teams.
The quarterfinals started off with a bit of a surprise as Joshua "steel" Nissan's nambla mix-team managed to secure a 2-0 win over Envy with confident victories on Mirage and Inferno. Starting off on nambla's map pick of Mirage, Envy won their opening CT pistol and seven out of the next nine rounds to secure an 8-2 lead. nambla kept things competitive by finding four out the last five rounds to trail 6-9 at the half. After switching sides, Envy secured themselves the second pistol round but were unable to add much more to their tally as steel's side closed out the map 16-12.
After conceding the lead on Mirage, the series continued to go poorly for Envy as nambla started the second map off by winning the first four rounds in a row. Envy managed to regain their footing to make the scoreline more competitive, ending the half trailing 6-9 to nambla. However, unlike nambla who capitulated on the same round difference to get back into the previous map, Envy looked lost on their CT-side as nambla won the next seven rounds in a row to close out Inferno 16-6.
Envynambla| Envy |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Jacob 'FugLy' Medina |
41 - 38 | +3 | 80.8 | 84.0% | 1.13 |
| Noah 'Nifty' Francis |
34 - 35 | -1 | 81.8 | 76.0% | 1.09 |
| Sam 's0m' Oh |
35 - 38 | -3 | 82.9 | 62.0% | 1.08 |
 Aran 'Sonic' Groesbeek |
27 - 41 | -14 | 70.1 | 60.0% | 0.89 |
 Bradley 'ANDROID' Fodor |
21 - 34 | -13 | 48.3 | 68.0% | 0.75 |
| nambla |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joshua 'steel' Nissan |
40 - 30 | +10 | 85.2 | 82.0% | 1.29 |
| William 'RUSH' Wierzba |
36 - 29 | +7 | 81.0 | 76.0% | 1.20 |
| Marian 'tyfoon' Lesnic |
35 - 34 | +1 | 79.4 | 68.0% | 1.12 |
 Maxim 'wippie' Shepelev |
39 - 32 | +7 | 76.8 | 72.0% | 1.11 |
| Jake 'kaboose' McDonald |
35 - 35 | +0 | 74.6 | 76.0% | 1.06 |
The next series to conclude did so with little fanfare as Lazarus crushed Peeker's Advantage 2-0 to claim their spot in the semifinals. On Train, Peeker's Advantage were completely outgunned as Lazarus ran away with the map winning their CT-side 14-1 before closing out the map 16-4.
Lazarus kept up the pressure on Dust2 as they started off by finding six rounds in a row on their T-side. Peeker's Advantage managed to regain a modicum of control at the end of the half, sitting just down by a single round as the sides swapped over. Peeker's Advantage finally took the lead for the first time in the series as they claimed their T-side pistol and the following three rounds; however, once Lazarus' economy got going, they overpowered Peeker's Advantage to take eight out of the next nine rounds to close out Dust2 16-11.
LazarusPeeker's Advantage| Lazarus |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jaccob 'yay' Whiteaker |
45 - 27 | +18 | 88.5 | 70.2% | 1.46 |
| Gage 'Infinite' Green |
39 - 24 | +15 | 91.8 | 85.1% | 1.38 |
| Braxton 'swag' Pierce |
39 - 25 | +14 | 87.4 | 74.5% | 1.35 |
| Jordan 'Zellsis' Montemurro |
36 - 27 | +9 | 68.6 | 70.2% | 1.14 |
| Yassine 'Subroza' Taoufik |
28 - 27 | +1 | 79.0 | 74.5% | 1.05 |
| Peeker's Advantage |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stephen 'reltuC' Cutler |
30 - 36 | -6 | 72.9 | 72.3% | 0.95 |
| Taylor 'Drone' Johnson |
28 - 37 | -9 | 72.8 | 55.3% | 0.87 |
| Chad 'Oderus' Miller |
31 - 38 | -7 | 63.4 | 57.4% | 0.84 |
| Andy 'vSa' Xu |
23 - 37 | -14 | 58.5 | 59.6% | 0.74 |
| Daniel 'roca' Gustaferri |
18 - 40 | -22 | 46.5 | 63.8% | 0.57 |
The third quarterfinal matchup saw ATK and Riot Squad square off in a Mythic Cup 4 finals rematch. Starting on Mirage, Riot Squad seemed like they were going to run away with the map as they claimed the first seven rounds in a row on their T-side. In a strange reversal of fates, ATK managed to win the half as they returned the favor by winning the next eight rounds in a row. With ATK and Riot Squad neck and neck in the second half, the two teams continued to trade rounds to push the map into overtime. After the regulation rounds proved to be hotly contested, overtime proved to be far less so as Riot Squad claimed four rounds in a row to take Mirage 19-15.
Inferno turned out to be a similarly close affair as the two teams once again took turns trading rounds with ATK ending the first half up 8-7. Riot Squad managed to reclaim the lead in the second half as they won the opening pistol round and the following four rounds to climb up to a 12-8 scoreline. ATK still managed to keep the map close, but it was Riot Squad who claimed map point first. The map continued until round 30, where, with another overtime looking likely, Riot Squad managed to squeeze by and take the map 16-14 ending the incredibly close series.
ATKRiot Squad| ATK |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ian 'motm' Hardy |
57 - 44 | +13 | 83.8 | 70.3% | 1.20 |
| Dominic 'Domsterr' Sampaio |
41 - 43 | -2 | 71.8 | 70.3% | 0.99 |
| Roberto 'blackpoisoN' Dall'Occo |
35 - 44 | -9 | 60.0 | 68.8% | 0.96 |
| Rhys 'Fadey' Armstrong |
38 - 48 | -10 | 65.9 | 64.1% | 0.89 |
| Johnny 'JT' Theodosiou |
28 - 51 | -23 | 60.4 | 50.0% | 0.64 |
| Riot Squad |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jonathan 'Jonji' Carey |
60 - 47 | +13 | 100.4 | 75.0% | 1.36 |
| Pujan 'FNS' Mehta |
41 - 36 | +5 | 80.2 | 76.6% | 1.18 |
| Austin 'crashies' Roberts |
48 - 40 | +8 | 72.4 | 73.4% | 1.15 |
| Mitch 'mitch' Semago |
38 - 39 | -1 | 75.2 | 75.0% | 1.10 |
| Peter 'ptr' Gurney |
42 - 37 | +5 | 57.7 | 75.0% | 1.02 |
The final quarterfinal went the distance as New Identity played a close series against the newly formed Kansas City Pioneers roster. The two MDL teams started off on Nuke with New Identity winning their CT-side pistol and the next two rounds. Kansas City Pioneers managed to steadily collect rounds of their own in reply, moving ahead of New Identity to end the half up 9-6. In the second half, although New Identity continued to find rounds, Kansas City Pioneers held onto their lead to close out Nuke 16-13.
Moving onto Overpass, Kansas City Pioneers managed to win their opening CT-side pistol round and the next three rounds. That lead quickly evaporated as New Identity claimed the next six rounds in a row, with the two squads trading rounds at the end of the half for a 9-6 scoreline in New Identity's favor.
Kansas City Pioneers went on the offensive following the side swap, outpacing New Identity to find map point first. A renewed effort by New Identity saw Skyler "Relyks" Weaver and co. fight back to push the map to overtime. There, Kansas City Pioneers attempted to keep up the pressure, but it was New Identity who managed to narrowly force a third map with a 19-17 win.
After two very close maps, Train proved to be much less so. Although Kansas City Pioneers still put up a fight, a stellar performance all-around allowed for New Identity to close out the series with a 16-10 victory.
New IdentityKansas City Pioneers| New Identity |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Will 'dazzLe' Loafman |
82 - 68 | +14 | 98.9 | 79.1% | 1.35 |
| Michael 'dapr' Gulino |
72 - 64 | +8 | 83.8 | 74.7% | 1.17 |
| Collin 'wrath' McSweegan |
66 - 62 | +4 | 79.1 | 71.4% | 1.09 |
| Skyler 'Relyks' Weaver |
60 - 62 | -2 | 66.1 | 70.3% | 1.02 |
| Sebastian 'seb' Bucki |
41 - 65 | -24 | 56.5 | 73.6% | 0.79 |
| Kansas City Pioneers |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Erik 'penny' Penny |
75 - 61 | +14 | 76.2 | 71.4% | 1.17 |
| Alexander 'zanz' Diaz |
70 - 68 | +2 | 88.2 | 74.7% | 1.14 |
| David 'cynic' Polster |
66 - 63 | +3 | 85.5 | 71.4% | 1.08 |
| Jarod 'Douglas' Onorato |
59 - 68 | -9 | 71.0 | 67.0% | 0.99 |
| Joshua 'Hunter' Madore |
51 - 61 | -10 | 66.2 | 69.2% | 0.92 |
After a hotly contested set of quarterfinals, the semifinal round started off with a one-sided series as Riot Squad crushed nambla 2-0 to book their spot in the finals. Of the two maps played, Overpass was the most lopsided as Riot Squad battered nambla to take an 11-4 T-side before putting up a perfect defense to close out the map 16-4.
Moving onto Inferno, nambla found little respite as Riot Squad started their CT-side off by finding eight out of the first nine rounds. Following this, nambla managed to only find five rounds over the course of the half, allowing Riot Squad to comfortably end the half up 10-5. On their T-side, Riot Squad managed to immediately find map and series point before nambla claimed three rounds. These rounds mattered little though as Riot Squad closed out the map and the series with a 16-8 win.
namblaRiot Squad| nambla |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joshua 'steel' Nissan |
24 - 33 | -9 | 52.7 | 56.8% | 0.75 |
| Jake 'kaboose' McDonald |
27 - 39 | -12 | 61.8 | 56.8% | 0.72 |
| Marian 'tyfoon' Lesnic |
22 - 36 | -14 | 55.4 | 63.6% | 0.70 |
| Maxim 'wippie' Shepelev |
17 - 35 | -18 | 63.9 | 56.8% | 0.66 |
| William 'RUSH' Wierzba |
20 - 36 | -16 | 58.6 | 59.1% | 0.65 |
| Riot Squad |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Austin 'crashies' Roberts |
46 - 23 | +23 | 110.4 | 90.9% | 1.72 |
| Peter 'ptr' Gurney |
41 - 19 | +22 | 85.4 | 88.6% | 1.56 |
| Mitch 'mitch' Semago |
33 - 22 | +11 | 81.5 | 88.6% | 1.41 |
| Jonathan 'Jonji' Carey |
36 - 23 | +13 | 70.7 | 81.8% | 1.33 |
| Pujan 'FNS' Mehta |
23 - 23 | +0 | 67.4 | 79.5% | 1.07 |
On the other side of the bracket, Lazarus faced off against New Identity on Inferno and Dust2. Lazarus started off the opening half of Inferno with a strong CT-side performance that outpaced New Identity to claim a 10-5 lead. After switching sides, New Identity managed to find three more rounds before Lazarus claimed Inferno 16-8.
On Dust2, New Identity seemingly recovered their composure as they claimed the first five rounds of the half in a row. Their lead was short-lived however as Lazarus rebounded to take nine out of the next ten rounds. Lazarus built upon this momentum to nearly find map point, winning the next five rounds to take the score to 14-6. New Identity kept the map competitive as they strung together seven more rounds, but in the end Lazarus made their way to the finals after closing out Dust2 16-13.
LazarusNew Identity| Lazarus |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jaccob 'yay' Whiteaker |
54 - 25 | +29 | 96.6 | 75.5% | 1.65 |
| Gage 'Infinite' Green |
39 - 33 | +6 | 84.2 | 75.5% | 1.18 |
| Yassine 'Subroza' Taoufik |
38 - 31 | +7 | 82.0 | 77.4% | 1.17 |
| Braxton 'swag' Pierce |
34 - 28 | +6 | 71.0 | 81.1% | 1.11 |
| Jordan 'Zellsis' Montemurro |
29 - 34 | -5 | 60.8 | 79.2% | 0.96 |
| New Identity |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Will 'dazzLe' Loafman |
40 - 41 | -1 | 86.8 | 60.4% | 1.06 |
| Skyler 'Relyks' Weaver |
33 - 39 | -6 | 65.3 | 66.0% | 0.92 |
| Sebastian 'seb' Bucki |
30 - 39 | -9 | 60.5 | 66.0% | 0.86 |
| Michael 'dapr' Gulino |
23 - 36 | -13 | 62.2 | 58.5% | 0.71 |
| Collin 'wrath' McSweegan |
21 - 39 | -18 | 41.3 | 64.2% | 0.66 |
The final series between Lazarus and Riot Squad started off relatively one-sided as Lazarus started off Overpass in dominant fashion, mounting an impregnable CT-side that saw the team end the half up 11-4. Following this, Riot Squad managed to cling on for a bit longer with five CT rounds of their own before Lazarus claimed Overpass 16-9.
A similar scenario seemed set to be on the cards as a 9-6 half on Lazarus' pick of Vertigo put Jordan "Zellsis" Montemurro's side in control, but the side swap bore little fruit for Lazarus as they mustered just three rounds to the ten of Riot Squad. A 16-12 scoreline ensued, seeing the series advance to a decider of Inferno.
A 3-0 lead at the start of the final map put Lazarus in control, but a reversal of fates saw Zellsis and co. garner just three additional rounds as Riot Squad pushed up to a 9-6 scoreline at the half. A string of six rounds following the side swap quickly put Riot Squad on match point, with Lazarus managing to forstall their own execution for five rounds before Austin "crashies" Roberts helped his side close out the series with a 16-11 victory.
Riot SquadLazarus| Riot Squad |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Austin 'crashies' Roberts |
74 - 52 | +22 | 90.9 | 73.8% | 1.35 |
| Jonathan 'Jonji' Carey |
60 - 56 | +4 | 87.1 | 70.0% | 1.14 |
| Peter 'ptr' Gurney |
64 - 55 | +9 | 72.7 | 65.0% | 1.09 |
| Mitch 'mitch' Semago |
53 - 53 | +0 | 83.5 | 68.8% | 1.08 |
| Pujan 'FNS' Mehta |
35 - 50 | -15 | 56.2 | 71.2% | 0.85 |
| Lazarus |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gage 'Infinite' Green |
60 - 57 | +3 | 83.6 | 68.8% | 1.12 |
| Jordan 'Zellsis' Montemurro |
59 - 60 | -1 | 86.3 | 63.7% | 1.09 |
| Jaccob 'yay' Whiteaker |
61 - 57 | +4 | 73.3 | 58.8% | 1.02 |
| Yassine 'Subroza' Taoufik |
44 - 59 | -15 | 60.8 | 62.5% | 0.85 |
| Braxton 'swag' Pierce |
42 - 54 | -12 | 64.1 | 67.5% | 0.84 |
That means the complete team list for MSI MGA 2019 is:
| Riot Squad |
 ex-Epsilon |
| Gambit Youngsters |
 ViCi |
MSI MGA 2019 Finals will play out from September 29th - 30th alongside ESL One New York 2019.
