“There’s nothing in life more powerful than a honeymoon period in Call of Duty” were the wise words of Sam “Octane” Larew prior to the Seattle Surge making a roster change in Stage 3. The team added Jacob “Decemate” Cato just a week and a half ago but the power of the honeymoon period wasn’t enough to earn Seattle a win.
The LA Guerrillas were able to defeat the Surge handily in the first round of the loser bracket of the Stage 3 Major. Nearly every member of Seattle had a horrible performance on a map, leading to the roster to bow out of the Major early. This means that the Surge have failed to win a single match in Stage 3, a rare sight in the Call of Duty League.
LA Guerrillas take care of hapless Seattle Surge
While many Seattle fans thought the subtraction of Danny “Loony” Loza would turn things around, but that wasn’t the case against Los Angeles. The roster looked hopeless in three out of the four maps against the Guerrillas and needed a miracle ninja defuse from Preston “Prestinni” Sanderson to win their only map.
No one on the roster was clicking on the first map except for Decemate, who finished with 32 kills. There was a 30-minute delay that seemed to do some good for Seattle after the first Hardpoint, though. They managed to win the Search and Destroy thanks to Prestinni’s great play to tie the series 1-1.
Ninja defuse from @Prestinni gives @SeattleSurge the momentum to complete the S&D comeback.
TIED 1-1 series with @LAGuerrillas: https://t.co/wmB1gxuPFf#DrownThemOut | #CDL2021 pic.twitter.com/WLgcS9VxRh
— Call of Duty League (@CODLeague) May 13, 2021
It was all downhill after that play. Map three Control saw Decemate pick up only 11 kills and map four Hardpoint had Octane finishing with a mere seven kills. Not a single member of the roster is to blame for the loss, but it doesn’t look like Seattle is any closer to a win than they were coming into the Major. Perhaps Octane’s tweet about the COD honeymoon period is to blame.
“I think I cursed us with the honeymoon tweet,” he wrote. “I repent cod gods.”
The Los Angeles Guerrillas Stage 3 Win
On the winning side, the LA Guerrillas looked great with the exception of some misplays in Search and Destroy. Martin “Cheen” Chino returned to his dominant WWII form, posting a 1.38 series KD. After the match concluded, Cheen stated that LA began to play more as a team, which led to their victory.
“I think we realized that we have to slow down a bit and make sure we’re playing together better,” he said. “Just actually closing out these maps to win a series.”
LA will need to ensure they keep playing together when they take on OpTic Chicago in loser’s round two tomorrow. That match takes place at 4:30 Eastern Time on May 14. Seattle, on the other hand, won’t play again until Stage 4.
