Lazarus overcome New Identity to top WINNERS League Season 2
The final matchups of WINNERS League Season 2 concluded this week, and after three months of action Lazarus have emerged as the winners of the Invite division after claiming a 2-1 victory over New Identity.
Last week, the first semifinals series was played between Singularity and New Identity to determine which team would be the first to qualify to the finals. Starting off on Nuke, New Identity managed to claim nine out of the first eleven rounds to take a substantial lead before Singularity won the last four rounds to reach a more manageable 9-6 deficit. After switching sides, Singularity would win four more rounds throughout the second half, though Skyler "Relyks" Weaver and co. remained in control as they closed out the map 16-10.
On Overpass, New Identity began the opening half in the lead by winning four out the first six rounds. Following this, Singularity answered back with six out of the next seven rounds to eke out an 8-5 lead before New Identity closed the gap by winning the last two rounds of the half. On their T-side New Identity quickly managed to retake the lead as they found the first three rounds in a row although their advantage was short-lived as Singularity claimed the next three rounds to take a one round lead. This would prove to be the last time Singularity were in the lead as New Identity went on to claim a 16-12 victory after finding six out the next seven rounds.
SingularityNew Identity| Singularity |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Cameron 'cam' Kern |
36 - 39 | -3 | 75.3 | 66.7% | 1.00 |
| Josh 'oSee' Ohm |
37 - 38 | -1 | 67.5 | 64.8% | 0.95 |
| Ryan 'ryann' Welsh |
31 - 44 | -13 | 69.3 | 74.1% | 0.93 |
| Alan 'Shakezullah' Hardeman |
31 - 39 | -8 | 65.9 | 59.3% | 0.86 |
| Ricky 'floppy' Kemery |
32 - 44 | -12 | 67.9 | 61.1% | 0.80 |
| New Identity |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Skyler 'Relyks' Weaver |
54 - 28 | +26 | 107.0 | 77.8% | 1.59 |
| Will 'dazzLe' Loafman |
40 - 37 | +3 | 84.4 | 83.3% | 1.22 |
| Collin 'wrath' McSweegan |
41 - 34 | +7 | 73.5 | 70.4% | 1.14 |
| Sebastian 'seb' Bucki |
32 - 31 | +1 | 74.7 | 70.4% | 1.03 |
 Jonathan 'Jonji' Carey |
37 - 37 | +0 | 67.1 | 63.0% | 0.92 |
The second semifinal proved to be less eventful as Lazarus picked up a quick 2-0 victory over ATK, who used former teammate Aran "Sonic" Groesbeek as a stand-in. Starting on Overpass, Lazarus managed to take a slight 9-6 lead over their South African opposition following a strong CT-side performance. However, once they switched over to their T-side Lazarus left ATK in the dust as they claimed seven rounds in a row to promptly close out the map 16-6.
A similar situation unfolded on Mirage as Lazarus started the map off with a 10-5 CT-side. Once again when Lazarus moved onto their T-side they dominated, taking all but one of the rounds in the second half to score another 16-6 victory.
ATKLazarus| ATK |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Aran 'Sonic' Groesbeek |
26 - 38 | -12 | 83.9 | 72.7% | 0.94 |
| Rhys 'Fadey' Armstrong |
30 - 38 | -8 | 66.5 | 63.6% | 0.93 |
| Johnny 'JT' Theodosiou |
27 - 35 | -8 | 69.8 | 59.1% | 0.91 |
| Dominic 'Domsterr' Sampaio |
18 - 36 | -18 | 49.0 | 50.0% | 0.58 |
| Roberto 'blackpoisoN' Dall'Occo |
18 - 39 | -21 | 53.2 | 40.9% | 0.49 |
| Lazarus |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Braxton 'swag' Pierce |
43 - 19 | +24 | 97.8 | 86.4% | 1.57 |
| Jordan 'Zellsis' Montemurro |
42 - 27 | +15 | 102.9 | 81.8% | 1.55 |
| Yassine 'Subroza' Taoufik |
33 - 20 | +13 | 84.0 | 75.0% | 1.26 |
| Gage 'Infinite' Green |
35 - 24 | +11 | 85.2 | 72.7% | 1.21 |
| Jaccob 'yay' Whiteaker |
33 - 29 | +4 | 76.6 | 70.5% | 1.12 |
With the finals set, Lazarus and New Identity squared off on Overpass, Mirage, and Dust2 to see which team would claim the top prize. On Overpass, the two teams were evenly matched, trading nearly identical 8-7 halves to force the game into overtime. Although regulation was hotly contested, overtime proved to be less so as New Identity claimed a 19-16 victory on Overpass.
Moving onto Mirage, Lazarus got off to a strong start as they claimed the opening pistol round and the following three rounds. As the half continued it slowly slipped away from Lazarus as New Identity mounted a strong defense that allowed the MDL side to take a 9-6 lead. On their CT-side Lazarus managed to outpace New Identity as they continued to string together rounds, in the end forcing a third map with a modest 16-13 victory.
In the final map of the whole event, Lazarus began Dust2 on the right foot as Jaccob "yay" Whiteaker and Gage "Infinite" Green helped to power their team to a 10-5 lead at the end of their CT-side. Lazarus managed to immediately climb up to fifteen rounds after the side switch, and while New Identity would attempt to answer back with three more rounds though it was too little too late as Lazarus found the final round they needed to close out Dust2 16-8.
LazarusNew Identity| Lazarus |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jaccob 'yay' Whiteaker |
71 - 52 | +19 | 83.3 | 75.0% | 1.25 |
| Yassine 'Subroza' Taoufik |
74 - 55 | +19 | 85.3 | 73.9% | 1.24 |
| Gage 'Infinite' Green |
67 - 54 | +13 | 86.1 | 78.4% | 1.20 |
| Braxton 'swag' Pierce |
64 - 56 | +8 | 81.8 | 70.5% | 1.12 |
| Jordan 'Zellsis' Montemurro |
45 - 58 | -13 | 60.6 | 63.6% | 0.89 |
| New Identity |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Skyler 'Relyks' Weaver |
64 - 64 | +0 | 79.7 | 67.0% | 1.07 |
| Collin 'wrath' McSweegan |
58 - 63 | -5 | 71.7 | 62.5% | 0.96 |
| Michael 'dapr' Gulino |
54 - 63 | -9 | 61.7 | 65.9% | 0.93 |
| Sebastian 'seb' Bucki |
49 - 64 | -15 | 62.0 | 70.5% | 0.86 |
| Will 'dazzLe' Loafman |
50 - 67 | -17 | 70.8 | 56.8% | 0.83 |
The top 16 for WINNERS League Season 2 is as follows:
1. Lazarus - $7,000
2. New Identity - $3,000
3-4. ATK - $1,500
3-4. Singularity - $1,500
5-8. ex-Zone - $500
5-8. 
INTZ - $500
5-8. oNe - $500
5-8. Riot Squad - $500
9-16. Big Frames
9-16. Dogs of War
9-16. Lowkey
9-16. Mythic
9-16. Party Astronauts
9-16. Bushido Boyz
9-16. Prospects
9-16. The Quest
