Cloud9 and Rise Nation fought for third place, while LG Evil and CLG battled it out for first place and $2,500.
The CyberPowerPC Extreme Series Overwatch Spring $5K Invitational had some of the most shocking upsets of the past few months. With fan-favorite Immortals forced to take a seat in the quarterfinals - knocked out by lowest-seated CLG, who went on to compete in the Grand Finals - the matches thereafter became completely unpredictable; as cliche as it sounds, it truly was anyone's game.
Missed a game or two? Don't worry, we've got you covered in the recap below.
Cloud9 vs LG Evil - LG Evil wins, 2-3
LG Evil played aggressive for the first two sections of Hollywood, brute forcing their way to two points with more than three and a half minutes left to complete the map. It was hlalfway through the third leg of the map that Cloud9 finally stopped LG Evil for the first time, thanks in part to being able to control an on-fire Train and Jake. Once they respawned, though, they were quick to recapture the payload and finish the map with 1:57 left on the clock. With less than a minute on the clock, Surefour needed to be the hero with his Dragon Blade at the start of the second leg of their attack, but a quick Whole Hog headshot from Train dashed any hopes of them advancing, resulting in LG Evil taking the first map, 1-3.
Surefour and Adam locked down Gardens on Oasis for his team, with his Pharah play shutting down the opposite Jake and Rob420 (as well as the rest of the team) to secure their first point. City Center was closer, with both teams going into Overtime, but a triple hitscan composition from LG Evil was the answer to Cloud9's PharMercy, giving LG Evil their first point of the map. Cloud9 was quick to respond, however, taking the map fairly easily, thanks in part to Surefour killing Rob420 just as he had his Ressurection ready.
Their momentum continued onto Eichenwalde: Roolf seemed to be pulling DPS/Support double duty on his Zenyatta, being able to take out Jake twice to keep LG Evil stalled as long as possible as they attacked. A legendary enviromental kills off the bridge from Adam on an ult-ready Reinhardt effectively locked in Evil's fate, only going so far as the middle of the bridge in their Attack phase. Cloud9 was quick to surpass the Yellow Box of Victory, giving them their second map win of the match.
Cloud9 had a strong start to Watchpoint: Gibraltar, but hit into a slight issue moving into the third point, being held a few times and forcing Cloud9 to try to capture the point on Overtime. A desperation Widowmaker out of Surefour turned out to be just what C9 needed to complete the map. LG Evil struggled to complete the first two legs of the map, getting both in Overtime and the last few seconds, respectively. It was an uphill battle from there, with the team having 1:30 to complete the map. The comeback was real, though, with Train's Tracer leading LG Evil into a major comeback to complete the map in Overtime and award both teams a minute of Overtime. Cloud9 managed to get through carwash before they were stopped, but despite a late push from LG Evil, they managed to overrun Cloud9 and take Gibraltar.
The deciding match was Dorado, where Cloud9 very quickly took the first point and team killed Evil to get very close to the second. However, throwing two Support Ultimates into a failing fight turned the tide just as quickly towards Evil, who held C9 to just before map completion. Cloud9 couldn't stabilize despite an ultimate advantage, resulting in LG Evil coming from behind and winning the first semifinal, 2-3.
Rise Nation vs Counter-Logic Gaming - CLG wins, 1-3
Counter-Logic Gaming had a solid push at the start of Hollywood, thanks in part to the Hydration-The combo that constantly pestered Rise Nation. CLG managed to complete the map with 1:53 on the clock, putting the pressue on Rise to complete it themselves. Rise was almost able to get to the second point, but a clutch ressurection from The to bring back Ishiny's Winston and Miso's D.va instantly put the battle back in CLG's favor, allowing them to hold Rise inches before the second point and take Hollywood, 1-3.
Lijang was Rise Nation’s to lose, with the team taking Garden and Night Market in succession. Control Center saw CLG start to really fight back, with Hydration deflecting Spirit’s Death Blossom to help support his team, but ultimately it was Midnight’s Graviton Surge that allowed Rise to cleanly sweep Lijang from CLG, effectively tying up the series. CLG wasn't one to be outdone, though, taking Eichenwalde relatively easily, thanks to Hydration and Waffletastic being able to successfully utilize Pharah and Tracer's ultimates to make them count at almost every instance, resulting in Rise not being able to respond and conceding the map.
Hanamura was next, with Rise on attack first. They were almost full held by CLG, but an ultimate advantage gave them the edge they needed to push onto the second point. They used the momentum to their advantage, pressing the second point to the third tick before CLG was able to recover. That was the only leadway that Rise was able to get, though, with CLG holding them at the 80.7% that they earned with that first push. CLG had an easier time with the first point, Rise was able to successfully stagger onto the second point to prevent the rush that they themselves used in their Attack phase. Despite that, however, CLG had more than enough time to regroup and surpass Rise’s point, giving CLG the map and the match, knocking Rise into the Third Place match with a score of 1-3.
Cloud9 vs Rise Nation - Cloud9 wins, 3-0
Iiols kicked off the third place match in style, with Cloud9 quickly taking control of the point and starting their push. Despite some heroics from Spirit, it was Surefour and Xepher that cleared out the Well of any Rise Nation players to capture the first round in a perfect 100-0 round. Surefour's Widowmaker came out to play - and make a huge impact in keeping Xretzi under control - but it was Cloud9's prioritizing of Desro and Locke that made the biggest impact on Ruins, with the round once again ending with Cloud9 going perfect, 100-0, to take the round. The third match started with Rise Nation finally getting some charge on a point, but suddenly Roolf and Gods came out to play on their Zenyatta and Winston, clearing the point themselves - including a triple kill from Roolf - that allowed Cloud9 their first push on Lighthouse. The point went back and forth a few times before both teams were in Overtime, but it was Midnight's Self-Destruct that cleared the point long enough for Rise to take their first point of the map. In the end, though, Cloud9 was able to seal the deal on the second runthrough of Well, taking the first map of the match.
Eichenwalde wasn't nearly as one-sided, with Rise being able to control the payload around a minute into play. With the payload on the move, it was a struggle for the team to continue into the round, but a triple kill Self-Destruct from Spirit was the exact push Rise needed to complete the map with 1:07 left. Cloud9 needed to complete the map in regulation time in order to have a second attack, which they did quickly, resulting in 2:34 left in the time bank. From there, it was all Cloud9, who grabbed the map win after a clutch Resurrection from Adam that allowed C9 the opening they eneded to complete the map, 5-4.
Cloud9 was quick to take the first two rounds of Nepal, with the team simply being able to overpower Rise when it counted to earn them those rounds. Cloud9 almost had another perfect round, but Rise was able to catch up with C9 almost last minute to take the point for the first time when C9 had it charged to 96%. It would be short-lived: once Phaz popped his Sound Barrier, Cloud9 waited for the effects to mostly wear off before swarming into the point, throwing everything they had to capture Village and clean sweep Rise Nation on both the map and the match, 3-0. Cloud9 is the third place winner and receives $750 in prize money.
CLG vs LG Evil - LG Evil wins, 1-3
Numbani kicked off the first map of the final match of the tournament. Super was quick to gain the critical kills needed to help block CLG's earlier push, but eventually had to concede the point thanks to some great Pharah play from Hydration. Waffletastic's Tracer came in on support to help clear out stragglers on the second point, but in the end it was LG Evil that had the last laugh, simply able to overpower and completely wipe out CLG to block them from completing the map. LG Evil, on the other hand, speedran their push, easily capturing the third point and the map win with well over four minutes left in the Time Bank.
Lijang was all about the DPS and wether or not CLG's Hydration and Waffletastic could out-manuver Evil's Jake and Train to out-attack the other team and clear the way for a victory. Garden went CLG's way convincingly, though LG Evil had something to say about it on Control Tower, fighting CLG tooth and nail to keep themselves in the game until the very last minute, thanks to CLG team killing Evil to take the second point in a 100-98 win. Though LG Evil once again showed some life on Night Market, getting their first point of the map, the second playthrough of Control Tower was convincingly CLG's, who took the round - and the map - with a 99-18 score.
Despite the loss, Eichinwalde went LG Evil's way, with CLG not starting off too well with only a single point on the board at the end of their push, getting just before the front gate of Echinwalde Castle before falling to the might of Jake and LG Evil. LG Evil ended the map as quickly as they started it, with Avast's Lucio booping an ability-drained Waffletastic's Tracer to clear the way for LG Evil to take Eichenwalde with more than two minutes left on the clock.
Volskaya was next, turning out to be one of the most exciting maps of the entire tournament. CLG was able to overpower LG Evil during their first (yes, first) Attack phase, bullying their way to completing the map. LG Evil wasn't done, though, quickly answering back with a two-cap of their own. CLG once again overpowered LG Evil to go perfect in their Attack phase, but LG Evil struggled to respond with two of their own, barely able to stay on the second point in Overtime. Against all odds, however, was also able to capture the second point for the second time in Overtime during the overtime round, resulting in Volskaya ending in the rare draw to block CLG from claiming a second map point.
Dorado started off with LG Evil steadily pushing to their first point. It was that slow yet steady pace that brought them to complete the map, with Super and Voll leading the chage. CLG had a harder time during their push thanks to Super, who pressured the Hydration-The PharMercy combo enough that they eventually had to abandon it. Waffletastic and Hydration's ultimates - Deadeye and Whole Hog, respectively - held the kills CLG needed to advance to the third leg of Dorado, but it wouldn't be enough. In the end, a too-late Sound Barrier from Mikado was the nail in the coffin for CLG, who fell to LG Evil after a very tough series, 1-3.
And with that, Cloud9 takes third place, CLG takes second and LG Evil takes first to finish up the CyberPowerPC 2017 Extreme Series Spring Invitational. Cloud9 takes home $750, CLG is awarded $1,750 and LG Evil grabs the grand prize of $2,500.
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