Video Credit: MLGCOD
On Sunday, Team Kaliber won their first WWII championship in over six months, beating out Rise Nation, who were considered by many to be the best team in the world. The epic grand finals clash between these two teams lasted not one but two best of five series, with Rise Nation taking the first but Team Kaliber proving their resiliency in the second. Here’s a closer look at all the matches and maps played.
The first best of five was an incredibly close one. Map one, London Docks Hardpoint, was rather one-sided, with Rise Nation dominating in a 250-101 win. Rise player Peirce “GUNLESS” Hillman went absolutely off, finishing at a crazy 39-20. To add onto that, three of Rise Nation’s players had over a minute in hill time, as opposed to TK’s one.
Next in the first BO5 was Ardennes Forest Search and Destroy. Though the game started back and forth (score tied 2-2 after 4 rounds), Team Kaliber soon began to dominate, as Lamar “Accuracy” Abedi and Maurice “Fero” Henriquez led Team Kaliber with their sheer ability to out-gun Rise. As a result, TK won four straight rounds to take the match 6-2.
Game 3 was Ardennes Forest Capture The Flag, and it’s fair to say it was a complete slaughter. Rise player Austin “SlasheR” Liddicoat got off to a ridiculous start, reaching a ridiculous 20-5 by the middle of the game. The rest of Rise Nation played around SlasheR’s slaying ability, getting flag after flag to win the game at a dominating 4-0.
The fourth game, Ardennes Forest Hardpoint, was on the closest maps of the entire CWL Pro League Stage 2 Playoffs. Throughout the entirety of the game, TK and Rise continued to go back and forth, and with only 3 seconds left, TK was up 202-195. With a massive effort by TK, they were able to keep Rise out of the hill, leading the match to end with TK winning 202-197.
Game 5 — Valkyrie Search and Destroy — was again another incredibly close game. Rise Nation rushed out to a 3-0 lead, which TK then responded to by winning 3 consecutive rounds. Towards the end, the teams were tied 5-5, with a final round 11 to decide the entire series. Fortunately for Rise, they were able to clutch the round out, forcing a second BO5 in thrilling fashion.
This time around, TK was ready to play on the opening Hardpoint game, dominating in a win by a score of 250-131. Every single member of TK went positive, and fero led his team at an impressive 31-19. However, Rise Nation fought back, winning Valkyrie Search by a staggering 6-1 score to even up the series.
But TK remain unfazed. They only got one flag capture, but that’s all it took, and they held onto their 1-0 lead to win Ardennes Forest Capture the Flag, taking the lead in the series 2-1. Last was London Docks Hardpoint, a map Rise had dominated in previous games. But again, TK surprised everyone with an amazing performance, winning 250-190 and securing themselves $200,000 and the CWL Pro League Stage 2 Championship.
While the win itself is great, its importance really lies in the momentum it gives TK, as the ultimate $1.5 million CWL Championship is coming up in less than three weeks.