Mad City Day 2 Wrap-up: Drip or Drown awaits a Finals opponent
With the group stage finishing up earlier today, quarterfinals featured inticing matchups. To start off our night, Etherian was able to snag a win against eRa, as SPERMY predicted that they would be difficult opponents in our dust2.us interview. Leading the frag total was former-eRa player Ben "ben1337" Smith at 46.
It was a race to the finish line in Cyclone's eyes because they ended their game against RivaL with a 16-4 and a 16-8. On the back of Nero's AWP, they were able to make an example out of RivaL.
With steady performances from each player, Mask Off was able to secure their spot in the semifinals with a win over the multi-national Devour. With a strong opponent against them, Devour's Mike 'miKem' McCartan pulled off a strong 28-23 performance on their pick of Inferno, but wasn't able to bring home the W as Mask Off sealed the deal at 16-12. Mask Off's pick of Train went without a hitch as well at 16-7.
The final Bo3 went the distance as Puglife made Drip or Drown sweat. Securing a 2-1 win, Drip or Drown went on to play Mask Off in the Semis, but they didn't get there easily. Puglife's Keanu "DaneJoris" Reyes fragged out and stole Overpass 16-11. Losing a tight 16-12 on Train led into the final map where Drip or Drown had it figured out for a 16-8 finish. Puglife leave 5-8th with glowing reviews.
The final match of the day saw the two star-studded mix pugs, including the "retired" Andrew "ShoT_UP" Orlowski on Drip or Drown, contend for a finals spot against Mask Off. Moving from 3-4th ensures Drip or Drown leaves Chicago with $2,000 while Mask Off leave with $500. The second semi-final match will start at 10am CST between Etherian and Cyclone. Ian "motm" Hardy and Josh "oSee" Ohm look to defend their Mad City title, as they won the previous LAN as Fraggin' For Ike. If they were to beat Cyclone, it'll also mean the rematch between motm and oSee against ShoT_UP and Will "dazzLe" Loafman who played for FakeOut Nation at that event.
The significance of this rivalry cannot be overderstated. Mad City 3 LAN saw Fraggin' For Ike 2-1 FakeOut to boot them to the lower bracket, only for FakeOut to climb to the finals and get 3-0'd in the Bo5. Even under a different banner, the namesake Bryan "ike" Chyczewski, is still rooting for the players who won a whole tournament for him.
