END: Drip or Drown reverse sweep for the title
St. Charles, Illinois is kicking off it's weekend with a $10K Non-BYOC LAN in the Pheasant Run Resort, with six of it's eight groups trying for playoffs first. Teams will all check-in an hour before their group is to go live, and then the action starts.
In the Mega Center of the Resort, the first six groups feature some heavy hitters like Mask Off, eRa, and Cyclone. Group 1 and 2 should be beginning at 11AM CST (30 minutes from when this post is live) in the group play area, before a chance at the main stage. Groups 3 and 4 will follow at 4PM CST and Groups 5 and 6 will end the night starting at 8PM CST. Tomorrow morning will feature the final bit of the group stage with Groups 7 and 8 leading the charge bright and early at 8AM CST.
All eyes are on eRa today as Adam "juice" Sar replaces now infamous LAN dodger, Wyatt "tw1ggy" Blatt. juice's immediate impact to the team will be the addition of a dedicated AWP to the squad.
Stay tuned to Dust2.us throughout the weekend as Blake "BaltyBaby" Evans will be bringing you updates on the action, photos, and interviews with players and personalities!
Don't forget that you can also see behind-the-scenes content on our Snapchat!
It was real! Drip or Drown win!
After an incredibly hard fought battle on both sides of the map, Drip or Drown come out victorious in Chicago thanks to a reverse sweep. The 3-day event was a fun experience for everyone thanks to the organizers and sponsors involved. For dust2.us, just like the finals, we're all done here in Chicago.
The Reverse Sweep!?
Down 2-0, Drip or Drown have brought it back to a tie series, with Train as the deciding map. It can be found on Mad City's twitch channel, live now!
Etherian vs Drip or Drown! It's Best of 5 time!
With a 2-1 win over Cyclone in the 2nd semi-final, Etherian walk into the storm. With a Best of 5 currently underway, ShoT_UP looks to end this "one-off" event with a win.
No Drowning Here
Drip or Drown take care of the Mask Off pug featuring Moose and Snakes in a shocking 2-0. With a 16-6 on Mirage, Mask Off's pick, and a 16-9 on Cache, the two teams didn't leave much to the imagination. Despite the statement gathered from ShoT_UP saying they weren't prepared at all, they seemed to be able to contain the match quite well. Nevertheless, Cyclone plays Etherian tomorrow morning in the second semi-final. Quite a contrast from two pug teams to two organized teams.
The Quarters End in Exciting Fashion
Puglife kept it close against Drip or Drown, but unfortunately lost 2-1. The rest of the game were unexpectedly quick, wrapping up 2-0 for the remainder. Cyclone was the fastest of the 4 teams as they went on 32-12 round run, the best round differential in the Quarter-finals. The Semis feature Drip or Drown while Etherian and Cyclone will wait in the wings to play tomorrow morning.
Round of 16 closes out
With the final results of the round of 16 coming in, the quarter-finals have some good matchups to showcase just how much skill is here in Chicago. We've finally entered the Best of 3 portion of the tournament.
PUGLIFE will play fellow pug team Drip or Drown in the upper half of the bracket, as well as Devour playing the just as stacked pug team Mask Off.
Cyclone has the test of the PTRIP-less RivaL squad, who now sport Alex "examples" Hartlaub as their fifth. With an impressive performance from Jakub "kuba" Matyskiewyck, RivaL was able to overcome the loss of their teammate.
Finally it'll be Etherian vs eRa, a match-up that was highlighted earlier today as the potential match we'd see in the Quarter-finals. Hoping to defend their Mad City title, Etherian will be looking to get rid of eRa quickly.
eRa or Etherian a lock for finals?
With RivaL losing a player of PTRIP's caliber is a big blow, and now Etherian and eRa will take the reigns as the favorites for the group. The two will potentially meet in the Quarters being on the same side of the bracket.
Late Arrivals Have An Early Exit
The Round of 16 sees it's first casualty in the form of Late Arrivals. Mask Off made short work of them, and now face Devour after their 16-14 win against Illini. At the top of the bracket Drip or Drown were successful over the X1 Mob on Mirage, and Puglife managed to break through Kaleb's Cash Crew. The two will meet in the Quarter-finals Best of 3.
Round of 16 begins
The playoffs have begun in Mad City with all the teams as originally planned. With 4 matches now, and 4 matches later on, the stoppage caused by the sfX/PTRIP incident is being counteracted with fast game times.
sfX and PTRIP gone
Riding off in two different directions from the venue, sfX in a police car and PTRIP in an ambulance, things got a little crazy in Mad City.
4 teams 2-0 to end the group stage early
After 4 games have been played in both groups 7 and 8, 2 teams in each group have 2 victories, meaning it's a final battle of seeding for both. Drip or Drown will be playing RivaL for the top spot in group 7, while Devour will try to do just that against Simplify.
Day 2 begins! ◴9:01 AM
The final stretch of group play is upon us on Saturday. Highlighing the day will be RivaL and Drip or Drown as they will eventually have to play each other. Group 8 is a battle of uncertainty, but that's what makes local LANs fun!
12 teams have been decided
After going through all the groups, 12 teams have made it past their first test: The Group Stage. For two more groups, they still face the horrors of not knowing if they are playoff bound.
The X1 Mob Near Certain of Taking the First Seed in Group 6
After a dominating 16-0 against Electric Pistols, The X1 Mob sits at a +26 round differential, with conqueR holding the 2nd highest at 7. Nothing short of a miracle will be required if conqueR want that 1st seed.
Over in the 5th group, Etherian continues it's rampage on their opponents. They follow their 16-6 victory on Nuke, to a 16-3 victory over ESEA Clout Tokens. Their final match will be against Fam143, the victims of Bogdan's abandonment.
Etherian does Whatever It Takes to Win ◴10:11pm
In a 16-6 Nuke smashing, Etherian was playing as well as loud as Ian "motm" Hardy was yelling. The rest of the groups are finishing their matches in similar conqueR started the second half with a 12-3 lead and a 2nd pistol to boot. The X1 Mob is harassing Illini 10-3, while Fam143 is taking some status from the ESEA Clout Tokens 8-2.
Mad City is still live!
Group 3 and 4 Wrap Up
Cyclone winded their competition in rapid fashion as they swept their way to a 3-0 finish. Despite the unfortunate loss in their last game of the round robin, Late Arrivals secured their spot in the round of 16 with a 2-1 group stage finish.
To no surprise it was the MDL level teams that managed to bully their way through to the Round of 16. Mask Off beating eRa was a highlight of the group, and it also featured the highest round total of the group at 25.
Next up, Groups 5 and 6 are due to play with Witmer introducing a new version of The X1 Mob, and Etherian get to battle the Bogdan-less Fam143.
Better Late Than Never
Late Arrivals may not have been registered for very long, but their games haven't been going on very long as well. A quick 16-11 against Resolve was followed by a 16-5 against Uninspired. With their 2 wins assured, and their final opponent being Cyclone, who is also 2-0, it's all up to seeding now. Welcome to the Round of 16.
Malice didn't have much of it in a 16-5 loss to eRa
Losing countless rounds to clutches, namely Phantomm's and Crashies' 1v3 efforts, Malice was on full tilt going into the closing rounds of the game. Securing the 2nd half pistol ensured a few anti-eco wins, but the loss was envitable.
Now, eRa is going on to play Mask Off in what is considered to be the match of the day.
Group 3 and 4 are underway!
After a slight delay, Group 3 commenced earlier than Group 4 due to an issue that took longer than anticipated. However, these matches are going fast. Mask Off pulled the weeds against Scrub Garden and Uninspired played just like their name says with a 16-4 loss to Cyclone.
It's all memes guys!
Group 1 and 2 have come to a close
With the first two groups ending, we have a set 4 teams making it through the Round of 16. From Group 1, Puglife ran the gauntlet going 3-0 with, including the 16-0 over Tendi, as well as Power Puff Boys escaping the group from round differential after a 15-15 tie on Cobblestone.
Group 2 was much different than the first, as the competition was much steadier. Alex Jones 2020 walked away with a 3-0 to top the group, but what followed was a lot of math. Round differential was the solution once again, with Kaleb's Cash Crew escaping with a +1.
Group 3 and 4 are due to start soon!
Group 2 gets the Stream loving
It's the battle of the undefeated. Alex Jones 2020 (2-0) battles Kaleb's Cash Crew (2-0 on Mirage. With their fellow Group 2 teams sitting at 0-2 a piece, this will be a duel for seeding.
Tendi's struggles are an understatement
The team finishes the event at 0-3, however, a 1-48 round run is not the way you want to go about a LAN event.
SPERMY has officially arrived ◴2:38pm
PUGLIFE goes 2-0 after Danejoris steals the show ◴2:33pm
In the 22nd round, PUGLIFE had a sizeable lead at 15-5. In shocking fashion, Danejoris lit up the final round with an ace, but an intense 1v4 to secure it.
PUGLIFE having a good start! ◴2:23pm
Puglife, having won their first game 16-4, they continue their dominance on Mirage against Power Puff Boys with an 11-4 half!
Tendi gets 16-0'd by Power Puff Boys
Off stream, Tendi was quickly dealt with in a 16-0 on Cobblestone. Great way to start the tournament! Power Puff Boys is almost assisting with the delays with quick games like that!
Matches are finally live! Don't Make Me Toxic vs Puglife!
Delays don't 'meme' we can't have fun! ◴11:53am
