Season 2 of the College COD League kicked off with a bang as fans saw a huge upset, a rivalry in the making and pure domination. While some teams already began their season earlier in the week, this was the first chance for teams to showcase their talents live on stream in front of hundreds of viewers on Wednesday night. After months of anticipation, the first night of action certainly did not disappoint.
The night started with a Southeastern division showdown between the likes of Ole Miss Red and Concord University’s second team, Concord Gray. Hardpoint on Hackney Yard was the first map on the docket and Ole Miss was clearly on a mission early on. After just the first three hills, AR player Kariz was killing everything in sight, beginning the game at a whopping 17-4. Thanks to him, the Rebels never looked back and went on to take the map by a score of 250-138. Round 4 of Arklov Peak Search and Destroy showed hope for Concord as it came down to a 2v2 which would have tied the game. Unfortunately for them, they fell short and found themselves in a 3-1 hole. Ole Miss continued on to win the map featuring a 4 kill round from Mensa in round 6. Hoping to turn the momentum into a series win, Kariz once again was the man taking charge finishing the first half with a 2.6 K/D ratio and 21 kills. Concord’s failure to obtain map control throughout the Gun Runner Domination proved costly as Ole Miss would win the map and series in dominating fashion.
Next up was a battle of the West. MrJPistachio and the University of Texas at Dallas squad were in line to take on Arizona State University, who were completely dominant in scrims the week prior. Despite being underdogs, UTD were determined they had something to prove, and they did just that. Once again, the series started on Hackney Yard Hardpoint. Great execution and retakes by both sides gave fans a thrilling back and forth game. That is until Fiasco went on a 9 kill streak that led UTD to securing almost all of the time in the final two hardpoints. UTD secured the victory 250-182. With a kill already in the round, Pistachio still found himself all alone against two Sun Devils with the bomb planted. Both ASU players pushed through the top window onto the B bomb site right into the crosshairs of Pistachio who then clutched up for his team in round 1. The play call for UTD in the all important round7, was to get the bomb down as quickly as possible to disrupt the opponents setup. ASU couldn’t handle the aggressiveness and lost the round. The 5-2 deficit was too much to come back from. All of a sudden, the favorites were now down 0-2 in the series with confidence at an all time low. Back and forth action was the story of the first half, but UTD took control and the clock ticked down. Putrid decided to have a little fun, pulling out a sniper when his squad climbed to a 30 point lead late in the game. UTD were the victors in what is easily considered the upset of the night.
The battle of Iowa would be the final match of the night. Northern Iowa squared up against Iowa, a returning team from season season one of the CCL. Both teams battled out Gun Runner Hardpoint like it was the last map they’ll ever play. A huge three piece by z-man shot Iowa’s score up to 246 going into the last hill. However, Northern Iowa answered with a massive 5 man sweep to come back and secure the win in a thrilling map 1. Iowa came out of the gates quick taking the first round of SnD. Things began to fall apart for them as Northern Iowa dismantled the opposition for the remaining six rounds of the map. Iowa needed to win Gun Runner Domination to stay alive in their series. They found themselves with a 23 point lead by the end of the half, even with Dorno going on an 8 kill streak to close the gap for NI. Iowa maintained control of the B flag for over 3 minutes and kept their 23 point lead when the clock hit zero. Iowa still had their backs against the wall. Halfway through the game, the score was at an even 110 a side. Dorno continued to have the series of his life, who sat at 20-8 at that point. Clutch kills out of Iowa’s Lion gave his quad favourable spawns towards the end of the game. The tides quickly turned for N.I similar to the first map. The pure dominance from Dorno proved to be too much for Iowa, losing another close one, 250-229.
The CCL’s first set of matches showcased just how good these teams really are and the potential they show for the rest of the season. The matches this week gave the fans just about everything they have waited for during the grueling off-season. Players have already started making a name for themselves, and it will certainly be interesting to see where these teams will be in a few weeks as the season rolls on. Stay tuned every Tuesday and Thursday for even more exciting action as 72 colleges grind it out to be the best in North America.
