Saturday's Stars: O4, KiSMET highlight thrilling match day

EasyMac

January 26, 2025 3:45 AM

With the conclusion of today’s matches, there is only one final day of the Major 1 Qualifiers. This weekend promises to deliver plenty of thrilling matches for everyone to enjoy. While yesterday featured multiple teams fighting for the 1st seed, today showcased squads battling to start in the Upper Bracket.

In today’s article, we’ll spotlight the best players from today’s matches. Check out the key stats and highlights of their impact, key moments, and the plays that made them the stars of Saturday night.


Jovan "04" Rodriguez - Vancouver Surge

3-2 Win vs Minnesota Rokkr

Mark it up, that is back-to-back great series out of O4. After leading the team to victory last night, he did so yet again today. The star SMG was electric again in SND, dropping 20 kills in the two SND maps after having 21 yesterday. Not only was he amazing in SND, but he set the record for most kills in a series with 138. Watch out for Surge at the Major, they're catching fire.

Broke the series kill record with 138 kills
Went 20-13 (1.54 KD) with 8 Opening Duel Wins in the two SNDs
Game 5: 101-6 (1.83 KD) with 1,395 damage and 4 opening duel wins


Estreal, Gio, Nero - Minnesota RØKKR

2-3 Loss vs Vancouver Surge

While the Rokkr fell short in the series against the Surge, the team put up a historic performance in slaying. The squad now holds three of the top four records for most kills in a single series. While they were dominating in the respawns, the Rokkr fell short in the Game 5, falling 2-3 to the Surge. With the loss, their hopes of making the Upper Bracket at Major 1 seem to be lost.

Estreal: 129 Kills (2nd most in a series), 1.23 K/D, highest damage in the lobby (15,626)
Gio: 121 Kills (3rd most in a series), 1.23 K/D, and 1.39 Hardpoint K/D
Nero: 120 Kills (4th most in a series), set record for most engagements in a series in BO6 (296)


Matthew "KiSMET" Tinsley - LA Guerrillas M8

3-0 Win vs Vegas Falcons

The Guerrillas needed to be perfect today in order to stay in the hunt to qualify for the upper bracket at Major 1. KiSMET made sure that the squad wouldn’t take the Falcons lightly, leading the way with a 1.36 series K/D in the 3-0 victory. He was exceptional in SND, ending 14-5 (2.80 KD) with an amazing 1.56 kills per round. In the end, the Guerrillas wouldn’t make the upper bracket but gained hope that the team was turning their form around.

Went 14-5 (2.80 KD) with 1,241 damage in the Game 2 6-3 victory
1.75 Attacking K/D in the Control, helping M8s go 1-1 in Attacking rounds
Led the lobby with a 107.6 Slayer Rating


Thomas "TJHaly" Haly - Carolina Royal Ravens

3-2 Win vs Miami Heretics

TJHaly made sure everyone in the lobby felt his gigantic impact on the map today. Behind his 1.35 series KD and 109 kills, the Royal Ravens made a reverse sweep over the Heretics. He was stellar in all three modes, finishing with a 1.21 K/D or higher in every mode. With the series on the line, TJ went 12-7 (1.71 KD) in map 5 to help the Royal Ravens complete the sweep.

Lobby-High 1.35 K/D over the series with 109 Kills (13 more than the next player)
1.21 K/D or higher in each game mode
32-19 (1.68 K/D) in the Control with 3,383 damage and 23 attacking kills


Check out the full slate of Box Scores from today's matches here!