The amateur Open Bracket Tournament at CWL Fort Worth came to a close on March 17, with FaZe Clan Black taking home the first place prize.
FC Black defeated Australian squad Mindfreak 3-2 in the Grand Final, completing a reverse sweep after going down 0-2 in the early goings.
Thanks to their nearly flawless run through the Winners Bracket of the competition, FC Black only needed to win the one series in the Grand Final, while Mindfreak would have still needed to win another best-of-five if they had been able to take the first.
The series started off well in the Australians’ favor, after a 250-193 win on Arsenal Hardpoint and 6-3 victory on Gridlock Search and Destroy had them comfortably up 2-0.
However, using their fully stacked roster to its fullest potential, FC Black came roaring back with a 3-1 win on Arsenal Control and tied up the series with a 2-2 victory on Frequency Hardpoint.
#Game5Alert: @FaZeClan.Black get it to the last S&D vs @Mindfreak, they have a chance to win the Open Bracket Grand Final right now!https://t.co/NKHQShcI4R#CWLPS4 | #CWLFortWorth pic.twitter.com/gtnfFUvCxv
— Call of Duty World League (@CODWorldLeague) March 17, 2019
With all to play for in the fifth and final game of the first series, FC Black took total advantage of their momentum and cruised to a 6-3 win on Arsenal S&D, securing the tournament victory and $15,000 first place prize.
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Mindfreak’s second place finish earned them a $12,500 prize, and the top four was rounded off by Cyclone and Nation of Power. You can check out the top 16 money placings by visiting our CWL Fort Worth final placements hub.
| Placement | Cash Prize | Pro Points | Team | Roster |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $15,000 | 5,000 | FaZe Clan Black | Asim, Phantomz, GRVTY, Simp, Cellium |
| 2 | $12,500 | 3,000 | Mindfreak | Shockz, Fighta, Louqa, Swift, Setzyy |
| 3 | $10,000 | 2,200 | Cyclone | GloFrosty, Pandur, Spoof, Super, Zaptius |
| 4 | $8,000 | 1,800 | Nation of Power | Archivs, Infamous Slaya, Pawns, Jimbolah, Zyyral |
FC Black’s Open Bracket Tournament victory comes as a surprise or shock to virtually no one, as the team was one of the clear-cut favorites to win the event.
Featuring FaZe Clan’s McArthur ‘Cellium’ Jovel and eUnited’s Chris ‘Simp’ Lehr, many projected that the squad would have a relatively easy time winning the tournament, and they pretty much did.
Their one and only hiccup, if it can be called that, came in the Winners Bracket semifinal, when they needed to go to a fifth map to defeat third-place team Cyclone.
Other than that, the team did not drop a single map throughout the entire event, not even during the rounds that were played best-of-five.