CLG Red and Detonate SparX clinch playoffs; byte are out of contention
Another week full of 2-0 results saw CLG Red and Detonate SparX claiming two of four playoff spots with just two weeks to go in the group stage.
While Group A already has CLG Red qualified for playoffs and byte out of contention, Group B second place is wide open with EG Gold having a 2-2 record, followed closely by Factor Ruby and Starfish, who have 1-3 records, but both teams will still play against Detonate SparX.
During the fourth week, Group A saw CLG Red destroy Saints 16-2 on their own map pick of Vertigo and then 16-11 on CLG's Mirage, as Vivienne "BiBiAhn" Quach shot lights out with a total of 52 kills across the two maps.
Shimmer and byte faced each other in a rather quick series, as Shimmer won the match in just two swift maps, with a 16-4 Ancient and a 16-5 Overpass. Lucy "empathy" Verkaik was the MVP of the series, with frags and a 2.01 rating.
Over in Group B, things were a bit closer, as Factor Ruby and Starfish needed overtime to close map one of their series. Anubis, picked by Factor Ruby went to extra rounds as both teams posted 10 rounds on the T-side. Ultimately, Starfish faltered and lost the map 19-17, and lost momentum for the next map, Overpass, meaning they would lose the series 2-0. Amanda "Reef" Ruiz managed to get more kills than BiBiAhn and empathy, with 58 frags.
To close the week, Detonate SparX and EG Gold produced one of the most competitive series of the North American division so far, despite the 2-0 result. Overpass saw both teams benefitting more on the T-side, but SparX managed to one-up the Evil Geniuses squad. The map ended 16-13, and that translated into a poor start for EG on Ancient. In spite of the bad start, EG Gold tried to come back on the T-side but it was a little too late, as Detonate SparX had an 11-4 lead going into the CT-side. The map ended 16-10.
This week's games are:
Group A
CLG Red vs. Shimmer Wednesday
Saints vs. byte Thursday
Group B
Detonate SparX vs. Starfish Wednesday
EG Gold vs. Factor Ruby Thursday