After a hard-fought weekend, Splyce managed to fall at the last hurdle in their Global Pro League Group to place second.
The team fought hard all weekend and had only dropped one map – to Australian side Mindfreak – before the final day.
It seemed to follow a similar story to what happened to them at CWL Birmingham come Sunday though, and the team had completely lost composure by the end of the day.
Splyce’s first-place hopes were initially put in jeopardy by Mindfreak, who they narrowly beat 3-2 following some questionable plays and a clear lack of confidence in their own abilities.
This left both Splyce and Team EnVyUs with a 5-0 record before the final match of the weekend, which took place between the two. All Splyce needed to do was win one map in the series to take first seed heading into Stage 1 playoffs.
Unfortunately, they couldn’t do it.
Splyce’s lack of confidence was apparent all day, and when it counted most they failed to capitalise on their opportunities.
All three maps were pretty closely contested though, with Throwback Hardpoint being won by a 20-point margin in favour of EnVy, including Bance dropping a huge 40 bomb and gaining 97 seconds in the hill, following a star performance all weekend.
.@TeamEnVyUs take the HP in a crazy finish to keep their #1 seed dreams alive!
Watch at https://t.co/yg6J8jhg1M #CWLPS4 // #CWLProLeague pic.twitter.com/j6S2hFoR9w
— MLG (@MLG) April 23, 2017
Following this, the Search and Destroy came down to a round 11 on new map Breakout – and Splyce looked lucky to have even gotten it to a round 11.
EnVyUs seemed to only lose rounds through silly mistakes. Naturally, though, the 2016 World Champions managed to pull through to take the final round and go 2-0 up in the series (not without some flashy plays from our side).
.@TreiZer0 clutches a smooth 1v3 with the help from Active Camo!
Watch at https://t.co/yg6J8jhg1M #CWLPS4 // #CWLProLeague pic.twitter.com/9hKvfYMoD6
— MLG (@MLG) April 23, 2017
The Uplink was a little different though, and Splyce didn’t seem to really be in control at any point. This is a stark contrast to the Uplink game we have previously seen from the side, where they usually seem completely comfortable and well-regulated throughout, especially on a map like Precinct.
It is disappointing for Splyce fans almost as much as it is for the players, both of whom would have been expecting a relatively smooth 6-0 sweep over the weekend. But, like last weekend against Epsilon at i60, they failed to pull it out of the bag right when it mattered most, and once again finished as runner-up.
On the bright side, the top two placement guarantees Splyce’s place in Stage 1 Playoffs, Stage 2, and the Call of Duty Championships in August, where they are sure to represent the UK on the highest level possible.
