Dec 17, 2018
Team Sween set as EU Threat to CWL Pro League Qualifier
With the first CWL event wrapped up and OpTic Gaming taking the first championship, we look at EU team, Team Sween who rose to the semi-finals against Splyce before ending their journey against Luminosity, placing T6.
Team Sween formed back in June 2018, beginning their campaign at the CWL Last Chance Qualifiers. The team was formed with four ex Team Vitality players: Shea “QwikeR” Sweeney, Tom “Moose” Handley, Connor “Weeman” Chilton and Adam “Peatie” Peate. They made their way to round 2 of the winners bracket against Elevate; but with a turnover, they prepared to fight in the losers bracket for their final opportunity to qualify.
They faced EU rivals, Imperial — a roster consisting of Niall “Niall” Sunderland, Nick “Nolson” Nolson, Ewen “Disarray” Harmer and Deleo “Deleo” Devitt. Leading towards the all-important map five, found success for Team Sween, becoming one of sixteen qualified teams to prepare for CWL Championship 2018.
CWL Championship 2018
Team Sween were introduced to pool D for their chance to advance into the bracket. They were to face eUnited, Splyce and EZG Esports. After beating Splyce 3–1, eUnited were left stunned after a 6–4 loss to the EU threat in London Docks SnD, to secure Team Sween’s place in the playoffs. Overall, they won 75% of maps played (9–3) and 100% game win (3–0).
Their first round saw Ghost Gaming take Gibraltar Hardpoint 250–136: a close game to begin with, but the rotation in Castle Road found Team Sween left in denial as Ghost Gaming dominated the remainder of the map. However, Team Sween tied the game 1–1 with a 6–3 win over in London Docks. They ruled the first half of Flak Tower CTF, before Ghost Gaming refused their chances of gaining advantage as Pandur and GodRx secured two flags for their team. Ghost Gaming were not afraid to put their name on London Docks Hardpoint 250–197, ending the winners run for Team Sween.
They fell into losers bracket to face FaZe Clan: A hard-fought game in Valkyrie Hardpoint, where FaZe sealed the final seconds in the ventilation room 250–241. ZooMaa and Priestahh defended their rotation whilst QwikeR and Weeman attempted to push up, in the hope of turning the game towards their supremacy but were unmatched from ZooMaa’s 1v2. Ardennes Forest SnD was a nail-biting episode to tie Team Sween 1–1 with FaZe. After soaring 5–1 in Team Sween’s favour, they began to struggle to find success in one more map, leaving FaZe to take three consecutive maps. In round 10, Preistahh was left to take on Peatie and QwikeR with hopes of contesting towards 5–5, but Peatie denied FaZe’s chances. Another unlucky turn of events found FaZe taking London Docks CTF 5–2 and ending Team Sween’s run at Champs with a 250–137 in Gibraltar.
New Season, New Players…
As for any team, there are always roster changes in the off-season. With the CWL 2019 announcement back in September, certifying the 5v5 competitive format change for Black Ops 4, Team Sween introduced their confirmed roster for CWL Vegas with Dylan “Dylan” Henderson, Nick “Nolson” Nolson and Brian “Braaain” Fairlamb.
Moose joined Imperial, whilst Peatie announced he would be competing alongside what was named “MadCat’s Team” (Dqvee, MadCat, Alexx and Joshh) before representing Lightning Pandas.
CWL Las Vegas 2019
After being just too short from their Call of Duty: WWII Pro Point total, Team Sween were left to fight in the open bracket. They were placed 5th seed whilst the top four Pro Point teams fought for their pool play spot in the play-in tournament.
They were unstoppable throughout the open bracket, taking 12–1 on map count, securing their placement into Pool A alongside eUnited, 100 Thieves, Team Reciprocity and Mindfreak.
Another head-to-head against eUnited (since CWL Championship 2018) fell into eU’s advantage as Team Sween could only find success in the first map (250–233) — unable to pick themselves back up throughout the remaining three maps.
Aside from the loss, Team Sween swept through the group to grab their seed in the winners' championship, winning 3–0 against 100 Thieves, Mindfreak and Team Reciprocity.
In the quarter-finals, they faced EU rivals, Lightning Pandas. They begun their fight for the semi-finals in Frequency hardpoint: Lightning Pandas taking the lead 250–179. Dylan awarded himself, hitting the 40-mark (41–27, 1.51 EKIA/D). Team Sween were left without a single round win in Arsenal SnD, advancing Lightning Pandas 2–0 in the series.
Yet, the reverse sweep was in Team Sween’s hands, taking Gridlock Control 3–2 on remaining lives. Map 4 was back to Gridlock, where Team Sween kept their quarter-final series alive 250–198. It was all down to Frequency SnD to confirm who would be facing Splyce in the semi-finals. Team Sween annihilated Lightning Pandas into the losers bracket, securing a 6–2 win. They succeeded six out of eight first bloods throughout the map.
Splyce was an upset for Team Sween in the semi-finals: a 3–0 sweep saw a knock into losers round 6 against Luminosity. They commenced their campaign in Hacienda Hardpoint, concluding that Splyce were unstoppable against Team Sween, holding 250–150. The NA based roster lengthened their advantage 2–0 in the series, winning 6–1. The third map to secure Splyce’s way into winners finals was Gridlock Control; a successful first round, but Team Sween prepared to fight back — it wasn’t enough to advance to map four as Splyce found their success with a 3–1 win. Their final chance to automatically qualify for the Pro League was in the hands of eliminating Luminosity.
Team Sween were in the victory spotlight after a 250–147 lead in Frequency Hardpoint. Luminosity tied the series 6–2 on Frequency SnD before taking the 2–1 advantage after a successful Control run, leaving Team Sween hopeful to find triumph in Seaside Hardpoint. Yet, they couldn’t find their feet to clutch up against the strong Luminosity roster and fell short 250–140.
They were eliminated out of the bracket and placed T6 in the series; finding their secured seed in the Pro League Qualifier.
How will the Pro League Qualifier Work?
28 teams will be divided into four groups: the top two teams in the group will advance into the Pro League, leaving 3rd-5th in the group to fight through the playoff bracket. As for 6th and 7th place, they will be eliminated from the qualifier.
It is still yet to be announced which group Team Sween will be placed in, alongside their opposition. The Qualifiers will start from January 16th 2019.
Team Sween will continue to show their strong potential as a team throughout the season; offline and online. They have (on average) placed T4 in the MLG 2000 Series, winning the first 2k of the season back in November. I have a lot of faith that these five players will make it to the Pro League and place highly in Stage 1, Stage 2 and the remaining open events throughout the season.
