The Major 1 Qualifiers have returned after the holiday break and the first Minor tournament of the year. Fans got a mix of everything, a game 5 series and a surprising sweep all in one evening.
In this article, we’ll spotlight the Players of the Day, highlighting their impact, key moments, and the plays that made them the stars of Friday night.
Priestahh had a bounce-back series, leading the Guerrillas to their first series win of the season. After starting the season 0-5, the team was desperate for a win to kick-start their year. With a sweep over New York, they earned their first 10 CDL points while taking over a rival on the CDL points table.
Stats
○ 1.24 Series KD (Lobby-High)
○ 32-22 (1.45 KD) in the Map 1 Hardpoint
○ 8-6 (1.33 KD), 2-0 in Opening Duels in Search & Destroy
Cuyler had his best series of the season for OpTic Texas in the 3-1 victory over the Falcons. The star SMG had a 1.58 KD in the series, including an amazing 1.97 KD in the Hardpoints. With plenty of slaying on the roster and Huke clicking in this form, OpTic will be a scary team to face throughout the rest of the stage.
Stats
○ 1.58 Series KD (Highest KD of the Day)
○ 65-33 (1.97 KD) over the two Hardpoints
○ 24-20 (1.20 KD) in the Map 3 Control with 2.33 Attacking KD
📸 Photo by @Viragophotos
The only player on this list to lose their series, Estreal still deserved to be recognized for his strong performance against Toronto. He led the lobby in multiple categories including series kills (108), series KD (1.23), Slayer Rating (102.8), and Control KD (1.60). Justice wasn't just a force in respawns, he was great in the SNDs as well, ending with a 1.60 KD in the mode.
Stats
○ 108-88 (1.23 KD) in the series loss
○ 16-10 (1.60 KD) over the two SNDs
○ Finished the Map 3 Control 33-22 (1.50 KD) with 2.11 Defending KD
While it wasn't clean, the Ultra were led to a 3-2 series victory by CleanX. The entry SMG led the team with 100 series kills and a 93.9 Slayer Rating. He was the crucial piece to ending the series, finishing 10-3 in the Game 5, as Ultra won 6-0 to complete the series win.
Stats
○ Led Toronto with 100 Kills in the Series (1.11 KD)
○ 10-3 (3.33 KD) with 1021 damage & 2-0 in opening duels in the Game 5 6-0 Victory
○ Ended with a 1.38 KD (36-26) in the Control with a 2.60 Defending KD
While Huke grabbed the headlines, Shotzzy had a terrific series against the Vegas Falcons as well. Ant ended the series 91-70 for a 1.30 series KD. Hardpoint is where he did the most damage, going 60-40 with a 1.50 KD. With both Shotzzy & Huke in this form, they'll be a tough team to take down in Hardpoint on match days.
Stats
○ 91-70, 1.30 KD over the 4-Map series
○ 60-40 (1.50 KD) in the two Hardpoint victories
○ Highest SMG Damage in the Series (10,804)
Check out the full slate of Box Scores from today's matches here!