MDL Playoffs: eUnited and Swole Patrol through to LAN; to play for EPL spot
The semifinals of the ESEA MDL Season 27 playoffs played out last night, and they probably did not pan out as most people expected.
In the opening match, heavy favorites eUnited breezed past ex-Iceberg. Michael "dapr" Gulino led the way for his squad, dropping fifty kills across the series. Thomas "tconnors" Connors was the lone member of his side to go positive over the set.
eUnitedex-Iceberg| eUnited |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Michael 'dapr' Gulino |
52 - 31 | +21 | 100.4 | 80.8% | 1.49 |
| Will 'dazzLe' Loafman |
46 - 32 | +14 | 98.0 | 75.0% | 1.45 |
 Kaleb 'moose' Jayne |
35 - 27 | +8 | 67.8 | 82.7% | 1.13 |
| Skyler 'Relyks' Weaver |
29 - 32 | -3 | 72.9 | 71.2% | 1.08 |
| Brandon 'Ace' Winn |
32 - 26 | +6 | 64.1 | 73.1% | 0.99 |
| ex-Iceberg |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thomas 'tconnors' Connors |
41 - 37 | +4 | 78.9 | 75.0% | 1.11 |
| Warren 'hades' Rettich |
31 - 35 | -4 | 65.4 | 53.8% | 0.89 |
| Brenden 'stellar' McGrath |
30 - 42 | -12 | 63.7 | 57.7% | 0.88 |
| Nick 'alter' Jackson |
24 - 41 | -17 | 62.0 | 59.6% | 0.75 |
| Jonathan 'djay' Dallal |
20 - 39 | -19 | 54.0 | 50.0% | 0.65 |
The more interesting match of the pair was the one between Swole Patrol and Torqued. The majority of people undoubtedly had Torqued as a favorite not only in this series, but throughout the whole season.
The series unfolded in somewhat bizarre fashion, with neither team securing double-digits on the maps their opponents would win. Despite a stellar performance from Keven "AZK" Lariviere in the quarterfinal match on Tuesday, he did not light up the scoreboard last night.
Swole PatrolTorqued| Swole Patrol |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Austin 'Cooper' Abadir |
49 - 34 | +15 | 76.7 | 75.4% | 1.29 |
| Ryan 'freakazoid' Abadir |
49 - 40 | +9 | 88.0 | 70.5% | 1.23 |
| Jordan 'Zellsis' Montemurro |
42 - 36 | +6 | 72.5 | 82.0% | 1.14 |
| Samuel 'SileNt' Portillo |
43 - 37 | +6 | 78.7 | 77.0% | 1.12 |
| Ryan 'ryann' Welsh |
37 - 46 | -9 | 73.1 | 75.4% | 1.02 |
| Torqued |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kenneth 'koosta' Suen |
44 - 41 | +3 | 70.8 | 75.4% | 1.13 |
| Braxton 'swag' Pierce |
49 - 45 | +4 | 87.4 | 65.6% | 1.12 |
| Joshua 'steel' Nissan |
40 - 42 | -2 | 71.9 | 63.9% | 0.95 |
| Matt 'Pollo' Wilson |
34 - 47 | -13 | 75.6 | 72.1% | 0.90 |
| Keven 'AZK' Lariviere |
26 - 45 | -19 | 47.7 | 65.6% | 0.67 |
eUnited and Swole Patrol have now guaranteed themselves spots at the ESEA MDL Season 27 Global Challenge LAN, and the online portion of the league is now done for them. They will do battle at the event, with the victor earning a spot in the next season of ESL Pro League.
For the majority of the eUnited squad, this is the second time in this position, and they surely will look to avoid what happened the last go round, where they were defeated by the upstart SoaR side.
The crucial third place decider match will be played tonight at 9:30 PM EDT between ex-Iceberg and Torqued. The winner will secure the last North American spot at the ESEA MDL Global Challenge LAN, as well as a place in EPL Relegation. The losers will be the recipients of the league's $2,500 prize.
ex-IcebergTorqued| ex-Iceberg |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brenden 'stellar' McGrath |
31 - 37 | -6 | 73.6 | 59.2% | 0.90 |
| Nick 'alter' Jackson |
30 - 40 | -10 | 66.7 | 71.4% | 0.84 |
| Jonathan 'djay' Dallal |
27 - 41 | -14 | 70.1 | 51.0% | 0.76 |
| Thomas 'tconnors' Connors |
24 - 38 | -14 | 56.3 | 61.2% | 0.72 |
| Warren 'hades' Rettich |
15 - 38 | -23 | 41.3 | 46.9% | 0.52 |
| Torqued |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Braxton 'swag' Pierce |
44 - 22 | +22 | 93.0 | 85.7% | 1.57 |
| Matt 'Pollo' Wilson |
50 - 28 | +22 | 96.3 | 83.7% | 1.56 |
| Kenneth 'koosta' Suen |
47 - 25 | +22 | 93.6 | 81.6% | 1.55 |
| Keven 'AZK' Lariviere |
30 - 24 | +6 | 76.3 | 89.8% | 1.26 |
| Joshua 'steel' Nissan |
23 - 29 | -6 | 63.8 | 81.6% | 1.03 |
It will be a busy day for Josh "steel" Nissan and Torqued, as they are also participating in the IEM Sydney Closed Qualifier. That match against NRG will be getting under way shortly.
