The League returned for the Major 2 Qualifiers, giving fans some of the best series of the season in the opening weeks. While the top teams are still the ones on top of the standings, they have been pushed to the limit in multiple series so far.
Entering the third week of qualifiers for Major 2, Breaking Point has updated our rankings for the SMG Player of the Year race. Players are ranked based on their performances from this season so far. These rankings will continue to change, as the new patch has spiced up the competition, but this piece serves to give a great insight into how the season has gone so far!
Previous Rankings
Entering Major 2 Qualifiers - Feb 14th
Best Performance of the Qualifiers - Jan 23rd
Opening two-week performance - Jan 9th
Storylines to watch
The match that fans have been waiting for is finally here. On March 3rd at 4:30 pm EST, Atlanta FaZe will rematch against the Toronto Ultra. After going 0-7 in Hardpoint & SND against the Ultra, FaZe is now 0-2 in the series count. They have only been able to beat Toronto in the Controls and are now coming off a 3-2 defeat at the hands of the New York Subliners. Both teams have two of the best SMG duos in the League and will see multiple MVP candidates battle in what will surely be one of the best series of the qualifiers. The following weekend on March 10th, Toronto will take on OpTic Texas. seeing another heavyweight match go down. Undoubtedly, the next iteration of this column will be heavily impacted by the next two weeks of matches.
Honorable mentions: KiSMET (6th), aBeZy (7th), Shotzzy (8th), Lynz (9th), Gwinn (10th)
1) Tobias "CleanX" Juul Jønsson - Toronto Ultra
Team Record: 13-1 Series Record, 40-11 Map Record, 190 CDL Points (1st)
Next Match: Friday, March 1st vs Seattle Surge at 4:30 pm EST
Best Series of the Year - Major 1 Winners’ Round 1 vs Seattle Surge
In the opening match of Major 1, the Toronto Ultra took on the Seattle Surge. It didn’t take long for CleanX & Co to build momentum in the tournament, as they absolutely smashed the Surge 3-0. CleanX finished 50-30 in the series with a 1.67 KD. Tobi set the record for highest single map KD in Hardpoint during Map 1 of the series. He finished 25-6 (4.17 KD) with 3405 damage and 82 seconds of hill time in the 250-106 win on Skidrow.
Advanced Season Stats
Overall
KD: 1.04
Slayer Rating: 80.9
aKD: 1.07
TES: 59.2%
Hardpoint
KD: 1.04
Kills per 10 minutes: 22.1
Hill Time per 10 minutes: 57.9
Damage per 10 minutes: 4113.0
SnD
KD: 1.19
Kills per round: 0.77
ADR: 153.3
Opening Duel Win Percentage: 48.8%
Control
KD: 1.01
Kills per 10 minutes: 19.8
Caps per ATK Round: 1.0
Damage per 10 minutes: 3795.6
2) Chris "Simp" Lehr - Atlanta FaZe
Team Record: 11-3 Series Record, 37-19 Map Record, 155 CDL Points (2nd)
Next Match: Friday, March 1st vs Minnesota Rokkr at 3:00 pm EST
Best Series of the Year - Major 1 Winners’ Round 2 vs OpTic Texas
While he finished with a slightly higher KD against LA Thieves in the qualifiers, his performance against OpTic Texas on LAN was him at his best. In the 3-2 victory, Simp had a 1.32 KD in the series and finished with 100 kills. Simp finished with a 1.31 KD in Hardpoint, a 1.38 SND KD with 1.00 kill per round, and a 1.28 KD in Control with 8 tiers captured. His performance led Atlanta FaZe by OpTic and into the Winners’ Finals.
Advanced Season Stats
Overall
KD: 1.14
Slayer Rating: 82.8
aKD: 1.12
TES: 59.9%
Hardpoint
KD: 1.22
Kills per 10 minutes: 23.5
Hill Time per 10 minutes: 64.8
Damage per 10 minutes: 4221.0
SnD
KD: 1.08
Kills per round: 0.78
ADR: 152.4
Opening Duel Win Percentage: 55.2%
Control
KD: 1.06
Kills per 10 minutes: 18.6
Caps per ATK Round: 2.2
Damage per 10 minutes: 3865.8
3) Dylan "Envoy" Hannon - Toronto Ultra
Team Record: 13-1 Series Record, 40-11 Map Record, 190 CDL Points (1st)
Next Match: Friday, March 1st vs Seattle Surge at 4:30 pm EST
Best Series of the Year - Major 2 Qualifiers vs Minnesota Rokkr
The Toronto Ultra picked up right where they left off, going 3-0 in the opening two weeks on Major 2 Qualifiers. They have been pushed to the limit however, have close maps in all three series. Against the Minnesota Rokkr, Envoy went takeover mode to help the Ultra win in a game 5 thriller. Dylan finished the series with a 1.26 overall KD with 91 total kills. Over the series he had a 1.16 KD in Hardpoint, 1.90 KD in SND with 1.12 kills per round, and 1.16 KD in Control.
Advanced Season Stats
Overall
KD: 1.04
Slayer Rating: 77.8
aKD: 1.05
TES: 58.9%
Hardpoint
KD: 1.02
Kills per 10 minutes: 21.4
Hill Time per 10 minutes: 80.1
Damage per 10 minutes: 3848.2
SnD
KD: 1.07
Kills per round: 0.69
ADR: 144.9
Opening Duel Win Percentage: 52.9%
Control
KD: 1.06
Kills per 10 minutes: 19.7
Caps per ATK Round: 2.0
Damage per 10 minutes: 3678.4
4) Paco "HyDra" Rusiewiez - New York Subliners
Team Record: 10-3 Series Record, 31-21 Map Record, 100 CDL Points (4th)
Next Match: Sunday, March 3rd vs Miami Heretics at 3:00 pm EST
Best Series of the Year - Major 1 Qualifiers vs Las Vegas Legion
The New York Subliners went 6-1 in the Major 1 Qualifiers, securing the 3rd seed heading into Boston. They were able to take down Las Vegas in their League Match in ultra-quick fashion. Behind Paco’s 1.68 KD, the Subliners 3-0’d the Legion. HyDra ended the series with a 1.53 in HP, 2.00 KD in SND with 1.20 kills per round, and 1.57 KD in Control with a 1.80 attacking KD. It was business as usual for the reigning MVP.
Advanced Season Stats
Overall
KD: 1.10
Slayer Rating: 83.0
aKD: 1.11
TES: 58.6%
Hardpoint
KD: 1.11
Kills per 10 minutes: 22.6
Hill Time per 10 minutes: 45.1
Damage per 10 minutes: 4032.8
SnD
KD: 1.15
Kills per round: 0.76
ADR: 144.2
Opening Duel Win Percentage: 40.4%
Control
KD: 1.07
Kills per 10 minutes: 21.1
Caps per ATK Round: 0.6
Damage per 10 minutes: 3724.1
5) Amer "Pred" Zulbeari - OpTic Texas
Team Record: 10-5 Series Record, 35-24 Map Record, 130 CDL Points (3rd)
Next Match: Saturday, March 2nd vs Carolina Royal Ravens at 4:30 pm EST
Best Series of the Year - Major 1 Elimination Round 4 vs Minnesota Rokkr
With their backs against the wall, Pred stepped up to the plate to help OpTic take down the Rokkr in the Elimination Round 4 of Major 1. The Aussie ended the series with a 1.37 KD and 81 kills over the four-map series. Pred had a 1.36 KD in Hardpoint over two maps, 4.00 SND KD, and 1.17 Control KD with 5 tiers captured and 1.50 attacking KD. This performance led OpTic to third place in the tournament.
Overall
KD: 1.12
Slayer Rating: 81.3
aKD: 1.12
TES: 58.9%
Hardpoint
KD: 1.09
Kills per 10 minutes: 22.6
Hill Time per 10 minutes: 47.2
Damage per 10 minutes: 4113.6
SND
KD: 1.09
Kills per round: 0.75
ADR: 142.5
Opening Duel Win Percentage: 55.6%
Control
KD: 1.18
Kills per 10 minutes: 19.7
Caps per ATK Round: 1.4
Damage per 10 minutes: 3557.6
