Riot Squad out of MSI MGA Finals after narrow losses to ex-Epsilon and ViCi
Riot Squad have been eliminated from the MSI MGA Finals after twin 16-14 losses to ex-Epsilon and ViCi.
Things started off well for the North Americans against ex-Epsilon as they won their CT-side pistol along with the following three rounds. Following this, ex-Epsilon won their only consecutive rounds in a row, narrowing the score to 4-3 in Riot Squad's favor. From here, Jonathan "Jonji" Carey and Riot Squad took firm control of things, ending the half up 11-4.
The majority Bulgarian side began their comeback in earnest by winning their own CT pistol and the following two rounds. Riot Squad staunched the bleeding with two rounds of their own, but they would only get one more round in the half as ex-Epsilon completely stonewalled them.
Riot Squadex-Epsilon| Riot Squad |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Jonathan 'Jonji' Carey |
29 - 21 | +8 | 87.4 | 73.3% | 1.33 |
 Peter 'ptr' Gurney |
20 - 20 | +0 | 90.1 | 76.7% | 1.17 |
| Mitch 'mitch' Semago |
24 - 18 | +6 | 78.2 | 63.3% | 1.11 |
| Pujan 'FNS' Mehta |
15 - 22 | -7 | 62.6 | 66.7% | 0.84 |
| Austin 'crashies' Roberts |
11 - 20 | -9 | 48.7 | 53.3% | 0.67 |
| ex-Epsilon |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Viktor 'v1c7oR' Dyankov |
22 - 20 | +2 | 89.8 | 70.0% | 1.19 |
| Teodor 'SPELLAN' Nikolov |
22 - 18 | +4 | 67.8 | 73.3% | 1.08 |
| Nikola 'NK4Y' Radushev |
19 - 19 | +0 | 67.2 | 66.7% | 1.01 |
 Joey 'CRUC1AL' Steusel |
20 - 19 | +1 | 63.8 | 70.0% | 0.97 |
 Kia 'Surreal' Man |
18 - 23 | -5 | 66.2 | 66.7% | 0.95 |
The loss to ex-Epsilon sent Riot Squad down to the lower bracket to face ViCi. The Chinese team started off with the upper hand on Inferno, winning the first three rounds as Terrorists. It was here that Peter "ptr" Gurney and Riot Squad got into the game, taking five in a row to seize the lead. The streak was interrupted by a lone ViCi round, followed by two more for Riot Squad. ViCi would go on to win the remaining rounds in the half, netting themselves a narrow 8-7 lead.
The second half would be a back and forth affair which would see three lead changes bring the score to 14-13 in Riot Squad's favor. It was here that the MDL side stumbled at the final hurdle, as they were unable to break through ViCi's defenses, ultimately falling 16-14.
ViCiRiot Squad| ViCi |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 WeiJie 'zhokiNg' Zhong |
25 - 18 | +7 | 90.3 | 76.7% | 1.35 |
 Andrew 'kaze' Khong |
24 - 15 | +9 | 75.9 | 70.0% | 1.26 |
| ZhiHong 'aumaN' Liu |
22 - 15 | +7 | 84.5 | 66.7% | 1.19 |
| Tao 'Franke19' Deng |
22 - 21 | +1 | 89.7 | 76.7% | 1.15 |
| Zhuo 'advent' Liang |
11 - 20 | -9 | 43.5 | 70.0% | 0.79 |
| Riot Squad |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Peter 'ptr' Gurney |
25 - 18 | +7 | 77.6 | 63.3% | 1.18 |
| Pujan 'FNS' Mehta |
22 - 23 | -1 | 83.7 | 63.3% | 1.07 |
| Austin 'crashies' Roberts |
17 - 21 | -4 | 72.0 | 60.0% | 0.94 |
| Jonathan 'Jonji' Carey |
14 - 19 | -5 | 58.3 | 53.3% | 0.79 |
| Mitch 'mitch' Semago |
11 - 23 | -12 | 45.5 | 56.7% | 0.59 |
With the losses, Riot Squad finish the tournament in last place, though $5,000 richer. Next up for the team will be embarking on their MDL Season 32 campaign, in which the team have not yet played any matches.
