LiViD beat Big Frames to qualify for MDL Season 32
LiViD are the champions of ESEA Advanced Season 31 following a 2-0 victory over Big Frames in the grand finals. Additionally, Just Swing and Dogs of War secured wins over Front and Good Game PR, respectively, to secure places in the fifth place decider match, with the winner of the matchup grabbing the final spot in MDL Relegation.
A solid start for Big Frames on their own pick of Mirage saw the team take a 5-1 lead on the T-side, but their momentum began to falter towards the latter stages of the half with only three additional rounds going their way for an 8-7 scoreline in their favor. LiViD quickly got back on the board to even the score in the second half, with the Canadian side only giving up one round as they pushed their way to a 16-9 map victory.
The second map seemed set for a similar scoreline as LiViD put up a solid offense, mustering nine rounds on the T-side to take a three round lead at the half. Not to be shut out, Big Frames rallied back after the side swap by winning eight of the next ten rounds, putting themselves in touching distance of map point at 14-11.
LiViD managed to fight back for three rounds and were on the brink of attaining match point, but four kills from Jimmy "Nurfed" McFadden in a 2vs5 saw Big Frames attain the scoreline first, with LiViD winning the ensuing round to force overtime. There, the Canadians took control, giving up just one round on the road to a 19-16 victory to secure their spot in the upcoming MDL season.
LiViDBig Frames| LiViD |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Abdo 'c4Lypso' Agha |
49 - 37 | +12 | 82.0 | 68.3% | 1.22 |
| Danny 'huynh' Huynh |
42 - 41 | +1 | 79.2 | 78.3% | 1.18 |
| Cedric 'Melio' Perrault |
41 - 32 | +9 | 78.7 | 81.7% | 1.17 |
| Mathieu 'INCRED' Bergeron |
45 - 34 | +11 | 66.4 | 75.0% | 1.12 |
| Michael 'MkaeL' De Luca |
33 - 39 | -6 | 79.0 | 65.0% | 1.02 |
| Big Frames |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Jacob 'L0NER' Webster |
38 - 42 | -4 | 67.0 | 70.0% | 1.02 |
| Jimmy 'Nurfed' McFadden |
45 - 44 | +1 | 79.3 | 68.3% | 1.02 |
| Ryan 'Church' Church |
37 - 40 | -3 | 69.2 | 61.7% | 0.98 |
| Andy 'devastation' Parr |
36 - 41 | -5 | 65.5 | 68.3% | 0.91 |
| Liam 'Welshy' Newhouse |
27 - 44 | -17 | 66.5 | 65.0% | 0.81 |
A stellar performance by Sean "Inseaniac" Morrison helped to secure Dogs of War a spot in the fifth place decider matchup, although things didn't initially look so cheery for his side. A seven-round CT-side half on Nuke saw the team trailing at the half as they swapped to the more difficult side, but they made it look the opposite as, after withstanding an initial slew of rounds by Good Game PR, Dogs of War swiftly claimed a map victory by winning nine T rounds for a 16-12 win.
Dogs of War seemed to maintain momentum as they won five of the first six rounds on Inferno, but they quickly found themselves pushed back as Good Game PR had a resurgence to win the half 9-6. Following the side swap, Dogs of War seemed to regain their composure, with the two teams battling into overtime before a 3-0 sweep allowed for Inseaniac and co. to secure a 19-16 victory to close out the series.
Dogs of WarGGPR| Dogs of War |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sean 'Inseaniac' Morrison |
61 - 44 | +17 | 100.4 | 79.0% | 1.42 |
| Bryce 'PureR' Lovell |
55 - 41 | +14 | 103.3 | 80.6% | 1.42 |
| Danny 'cxzi' Strzelczyk |
49 - 47 | +2 | 84.9 | 67.7% | 1.11 |
| Nathan 'rabbit' Beale |
38 - 37 | +1 | 63.3 | 75.8% | 1.04 |
| Sean 'Zevro' Hartnett |
28 - 45 | -17 | 48.4 | 71.0% | 0.77 |
| GGPR |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jake 'eXotic' Vaupell |
51 - 49 | +2 | 88.7 | 77.4% | 1.19 |
| Michael 'niche' Marvin |
41 - 44 | -3 | 78.8 | 67.7% | 1.07 |
| Amine 'dopamine' Hamzic |
44 - 47 | -3 | 75.8 | 69.4% | 1.05 |
| Jack 'micro' Ryan |
39 - 45 | -6 | 69.7 | 71.0% | 0.97 |
| Chase 'lowrider' Releford |
39 - 49 | -10 | 71.9 | 61.3% | 0.83 |
The only series to go to all three maps was the showdown between Front and Just Swing, with both teams fighting to earn a spot in the fifth place decider match for a shot at MDL Relegation. A dominant 10-5 CT-side half on Dust2 by Just Swing, powered by an incredible showing from Ryan "Winsum" Johns, gave the team a solid foothold on the first map. Despite their considerable lead, they scraped a 16-14 victory in the end, with Winsum ending the 30-round game with 42 frags while averaging 153 damage per round.
Having had time to warmup, Front managed to reply in kind on the T-side of their own map pick, Nuke, taking a 10-5 lead at the half. Their foot remained on the gas following the side swap to secure a relatively easy 16-7 win, moving the series to a deciding map of Overpass.
Front seemed to remain in control as they took a 6-2 lead on the T-side on the final map, but a renewed effort by Winsum and co. saw Just Swing narrowly take control 8-7 at the half. Although a pistol round victory helped Front regain the lead, they only held on to it for a brief moment before Just Swing won six rounds in a row to push up to a 14-9 scoreline. A last ditch effort saw Front add another two to their tally, but Winsum proved too powerful as he dropped another 36 kills to take the map for his side 16-13.
FrontJust Swing| Front |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thomas 'ExToSee' Johnson |
68 - 56 | +12 | 87.6 | 69.5% | 1.26 |
| Stephen 'SGM' Mechan |
60 - 52 | +8 | 80.8 | 67.1% | 1.15 |
| Ethan 'reck' Serrano |
62 - 59 | +3 | 80.4 | 75.6% | 1.13 |
| Aleksandar 'ALEKSANDAR' Hinojosa |
58 - 61 | -3 | 69.3 | 74.4% | 0.99 |
| Calvin 'becker' Becker |
47 - 60 | -13 | 67.9 | 80.5% | 0.97 |
| Just Swing |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ryan 'Winsum' Johns |
89 - 60 | +29 | 117.4 | 76.8% | 1.64 |
| Joel 'jcrueL' Cruel |
56 - 60 | -4 | 76.0 | 67.1% | 1.03 |
| Chris 'Slash' Petersen |
49 - 58 | -9 | 69.8 | 70.7% | 0.94 |
| Jake 'Dolzy' Amendola |
54 - 58 | -4 | 63.0 | 67.1% | 0.91 |
| Tommy 'Axed' Ryan |
40 - 59 | -19 | 54.2 | 64.6% | 0.77 |
With today's results, LiViD have secured themselves promotion to MDL Season 32. Big Frames still have a chance to move up should they manage to prove themselves in MDL Relegation, with one final spot in the event going to the winner of the matchup between Dogs of War and Just Swing.
