The Carolina Royal Ravens, Cloud9, Boston Breach and 100 Thieves all lost one match before winning the next on Friday to advance to the quarterfinals of the Call of Duty Modern Warfare III event at the Esports World Cup in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
All four fell in winners-bracket matches in their groups, then bounced back to prevail in decider matches and claim the final four quarterfinal berths.
OpTic Gaming topped Carolina 3-1 to win Group A, the Vancouver Surge downed Cloud9 3-1 to prevail in Group B, the Toronto Ultra got past Boston in Group C, and the Atlanta FaZe swept 100 Thieves 3-0 to finish atop Group D.
In the decider matches, the Royal Ravens bested the Vegas Legion 3-1, Cloud9 ousted Gentle Mates 3-1, the Breach eliminated Stallions 3-0 and 100 Thieves thrashed Lore Gaming 3-0.
The $1.8 million tournament began with 16 teams divided into four groups for double-elimination action involving best-of-five matches. The top two teams in each group advance to the single-elimination playoffs, which will feature best-of-five matches until the best-of-seven final on Sunday.
The winning side will earn $600,000 and 1,000 Esports World Cup club points. The runner-up will receive $320,000 and 600 points.
OpTic Gaming, whose players captured the Call of Duty League Championship last month as OpTic Texas, jumped on top of Carolina with a 250-155 win on 6 Star Hardpoint. The Royal Ravens leveled the match by eking out a 6-5 victory on Highrise Search and Destroy, but OpTic rallied to seal the match with a 3-0 win on Karachi Control and a 250-145 victory on Sub Base Hardpoint.
The Saturday quarterfinal schedule:
–OpTic Gaming vs. Cloud9
–Atlanta FaZe vs. Boston Breach
–Toronto Ultra vs. 100 Thieves
–Vancouver Surge vs. Carolina Royal Ravens
Call of Duty Modern Warfare III event at the Esports World Cup final group standings
Group A
1. OpTic Gaming, 2-0
2. Carolina Royal Ravens, 2-1
3. Vegas Legion, 1-2
4. OMiT Brooklyn, 0-2
Group B
1. Vancouver Surge, 2-0
2. Cloud9, 2-1
3. Gentle Mates, 1-2
4. G2 Esports, 0-2
Group C
1. Toronto Ultra, 2-0
2. Boston Breach, 2-1
3. Stallions, 1-2
4. Team Heretics, 0-2
Group D
1. Atlanta FaZe, 2-0
2. 100 Thieves, 2-1
3. Lore Gaming, 1-2
4. Team Falcons, 0-2
Call of Duty Modern Warfare III event at the Esports World Cup prize pool, with money and Esports World Cup club points
1. $600,000, 1,000 points
2. $320,000, 600 points
3-4. $160,000, 275 points
5-8. $80,000, 60 points
9-12. $40,000, no points — Vegas Legion, Gentle Mates, Stallions, Lore Gaming
13-16. $20,000, no points — OMiT Brooklyn, G2 Esports, Team Heretics, Team Falcons
–Field Level Media
