ImPerium and timbermen to face off for final MDL Season 35 slot
The MDL Season 34 Relegation bracket has reached the final stage, leaving just two teams in contention for the last spot in the league.
ImPerium were the first to ensure they would have a chance at promotion as they took down Thunder Logic in a three-map series, kicking off their effort on Nuke. A stellar showing from Carter "CarterJ" Richardson helped propel ImPerium to an 8-1 lead on the defense before Thunder Logic began to claw back, managing to fight back for five rounds at the break. However, it was ImPerium who came out the better side in a back-and-forth brawl for control at the start of the second half, allowing them to close the map 16-9 in fast fashion.
Train was an entirely one-sided affair as a dominant CT-side performance from Thunder Logic left ImPerium completely out of sorts on their own map pick, garnering just three rounds in the first half. A pistol victory and handful of additional rounds allowed CarterJ and company to close the gap slightly, but it wasn't long before Thunder Logic forced a decider by taking the map 16-8.
There, ImPerium made up for an 0-2 start by posting a stalwart defense, only conceding two additional rounds in the half as they ran up an 11-4 scoreline by the break. Although Thunder Logic gave themselves a brief respite with a pistol round win, three in a row from ImPerium had the team quickly approach match point before they brought an end to the series a handful of rounds later.
ImPeriumThunder Logic| ImPerium |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Reece 'Wilky' Wilkerson |
70 - 49 | +21 | 89.2 | 73.3% | 1.28 |
| Ian 'heretic' Carfora |
56 - 49 | +7 | 86.2 | 74.7% | 1.22 |
| Carter 'CarterJ' Richardson |
54 - 53 | +1 | 70.7 | 66.7% | 1.04 |
| Grant 'Burt^' Burt |
48 - 50 | -2 | 75.1 | 76.0% | 1.01 |
| James 'EllisoN' Ellison |
34 - 55 | -21 | 63.9 | 65.3% | 0.79 |
| Thunder Logic |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bryce 'PureR' Lovell |
50 - 59 | -9 | 84.9 | 78.7% | 1.17 |
| Brandon 'Sharkie' Ly |
56 - 44 | +12 | 74.3 | 78.7% | 1.16 |
 Sean 'Inseaniac' Morrison |
54 - 51 | +3 | 74.9 | 68.0% | 1.07 |
| Brian 'Brian2K' Ladron De Guevara |
48 - 55 | -7 | 72.2 | 68.0% | 0.96 |
| Andy 'Andersin' Collins |
47 - 53 | -6 | 64.7 | 68.0% | 0.84 |
Strong performances from David "sensu" Oliver and Ernie "amen" Yokley allowed Hyper a strong start in their series against timbermen, initially leading 8-7 at the end of the first half of their Inferno map pick. Hyper continued to reign supreme following the side swap, offering timbermen little respite as the map was brought to a 16-12 conclusion.
The two ensuing maps were an entirely different story as Hyper remained on the back foot throughout. timbermen ran rampant over their opposition on Mirage, powered by 2.22 and 1.95 rated performances from Kyle "KEL" Murray and Derek "dare" Brown, respectively, to take the map win 16-4. Overpass unfolded in similar fashion as Shane "shane" Dressler took charge, helping his side concede only two rounds in the first half before bringing the series to an end with a 16-5 map victory.
Hypertimbermen| Hyper |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| David 'sensu' Oliver |
42 - 51 | -9 | 77.0 | 66.7% | 0.93 |
| Ryan 'notorious' Gordon |
42 - 54 | -12 | 68.5 | 66.7% | 0.92 |
| Ernie 'amen' Yokley |
48 - 52 | -4 | 71.3 | 66.7% | 0.90 |
| Hunter 'florgy' Coulson |
40 - 57 | -17 | 68.5 | 65.2% | 0.81 |
| Matt 'Hipposaver' Pollock |
42 - 55 | -13 | 68.0 | 56.5% | 0.80 |
| timbermen |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Derek 'dare' Brown |
68 - 48 | +20 | 95.4 | 84.1% | 1.48 |
| Kyle 'KEL' Murray |
66 - 41 | +25 | 98.1 | 73.9% | 1.47 |
| Shane 'shane' Dressler |
56 - 40 | +16 | 78.7 | 76.8% | 1.28 |
| Wyatt 'snav' Phillippi |
53 - 46 | +7 | 88.4 | 78.3% | 1.24 |
| Riley 'violent' Levenson |
24 - 40 | -16 | 47.1 | 69.6% | 0.78 |
ImPerium and timbermen are set to face off at 9:30 PM EDT tonight for the final spot in ESEA MDL Season 35, with the loser returning to Advanced for another season.
