The Carbon Series went into its second week of competition after most of its teams competed in the February Alienware Monthly Melee over the weekend.
The new Overwatch patch with Bastion changes was applied during the week, as days two and three were played on the new patch. Carbon Series slightly adjusted their overtime rules after a lengthy and heavily scrutinized series between Renegades and compLexity Gaming.
Using the old rules, if two teams were tied at the end of a match then they would play one point on a King of the Hill map to decide the map winner. With the new rule, if two teams are tied then they play out the other maps. If the teams are tied on maps at the end of the series, they will go into the one point KotH map to decide the series winner.
Team Standings (series record followed by map record in parenthesis)
- Hammers Esports 4-0 (12-3)
- Renegades 3-1 (11-5)
- Immortals 2-2 (9-7)
- compLexity Gaming 2-2 (6-8)
- Luminosity Gaming 1-3 (6-11)
- Team Liquid 0-4 (2-12)
Hammers
Hammers are in a great run of form coming off of a week in which they went undefeated in the Carbon Series and came in second behind Rogue at the February Alienware Monthly Melee. They took that great run and continued it this week in the Carbon Series.
In their first series of the week against Luminosity, though the series was a 3-1 win, Hammers struggled. Luminosity fought hard on all of the maps, and it took Jake “JAKE“ Lyon putting in a super star performance for Hammers to win.
In the team’s next series against Immortals, Hammers struggled again. Immortals are a strong team and Hammers had to match the level put out by Immortals. Maps were back and forth, but an incredibly dominant Kings Row performance gave the series 3-1 to Hammers.
Hammers continue to play extremely aggressive both on offense and defense, holding opposing teams back at spawn doors. Sometimes this comes back to haunt the team, but overall it has still been a successful strategy. Rasheeq “train“ Rahman is coming into his own to join Jake as the star players on Hammers. Next week, Hammers will once again take on Immortals, as well as a streaking compLexity.
Renegades
Renegades had a tough February Alienware Monthly Melee, as they struggled to win any games. Though the team is getting more practice as a roster, they have not been improving all that much. Renegades came into the week undefeated, but did not leave it in the same fashion.
Their first series was a close and tight affair against the revitalized compLexity. Renegades were lucky to win the first two maps due to the overtime rules in the tournament, but failed to close out the series and lost 3-2. It was still a close series, but the two map wins by Renegades were not at all convincing.
Renegades bounced back against Luminosity and took them down 3-1. Renegades pulled off an insane map on Hollywood and steadily won the series from there, despite dropping the second map.
Liam “Mangachu“ Campbell continues to be the best player on Renegades, and is the team’s main carry. Mikkel “Sypeh“ Sypeh has been improving and is providing great complementary play to Mangachu. This squad does not always look strong, but when they are on form, they could beat almost any NA team. Renegades will play Team Liquid and Immortals next week. It will be an important week for them to help their position as one of the top teams in the tournament.
Immortals
Immortals had a decent, but questionable, performance at the Februrary Alienware Monthly Melee. Though they did make it far into the tournament with a good start, they fell off due to some personal issues with Athen “Aythen“ Zhu that caused them to use a substitute and switch around roles.
Coming back into the Carbon Series, Immortals had a tough first match against undefeated Hammers. Immortals kept it close, but fell apart on Kings Row as they lost the series 3-1.
Immortals recovered against a weak Team Liquid. Immortals stomped over Team Liquid in three out of four maps, dominating the lower team.
Immortals continue to go as far as Brady “Agilities“ Girardi and Christopher “GrimReality“ Schaefer can carry them. GrimReality has embraced Bastion due to the changes and the DPS duo are the most important members on the team. Their damage and positioning are critical in winning maps for Immortals. Immortals will have an incredibly tough third week of play, as they will have to face the top two teams in Hammers and Renegades.
compLexity Gaming
compLexity had a rough first week in the Carbon series, dropping both of their series and looking like the worst team in the tournament. After a couple of roster changes, compLexity impressed at the February Monthly Melee and look to be a strong team with Aaron “Bischu” Kim and Carlo “Dcop“ Delsol in the roster.
The team’s first series back in the Carbon Series came against Renegades, and it was a marathon. The teams tied the first two maps, but the maps were given to Renegades after a small playoff on one point of a King of the Hill map. Despite going 2-0 down, compLexity came back very strong to win the next three maps for the reverse sweep.
Against fellow bottom squad Team Liquid, compLexity showed their full force to win 3-0. They did have some miracle defenses that gave them close map wins, but they were still able to close. A big difference in this new roster is their ability to close out maps and win close rounds.
Nicolas “NicolasTJO“ Aubin has come to impress on Pharah as his new main DPS threat. Occasionally, with the help of a Mercy, Nicholas can dominate the skies for compLexity. Bischu and Dcop are also playing well on the team, especially considering the fact that they are the two new members of the roster.
Next week, compLexity will take on No. 1 team Hammers in their first series and then play against Luminosity. If compLexity can carry their momentum into next week, there is a chance they go 2-0 and take down the top team.
Luminosity Gaming
Luminosity had a torrid time at the Monthly Melee, where they failed to win a single series in any of the four they played. The team does not have any excuses for that type of performance and they have not looked up to par since their appearance at the Overwatch Winter Premiere Finals.
Their road did not get any easier this week, as they had to play against Hammers in their first series. Luminosity did manage to keep the series close, but could not overpower the top team and fell 3-1 to Hammers.
Their next series was against the No. 2 team Renegades. Again, Luminosity was able to keep it close on some of the maps, but the squad was just not on the same level as Renegades.
Toni “Ube“ Häkli has stepped up his play, but it might not be enough. Although, he did make some highlight clips on Genji that impressed fans and casters alike. Something is missing from this Luminosity team, and they will have to figure out what it is soon if they want to start winning. Luminosity has an easier time next week, when they will take on the winless Team Liquid and a surging compLexity.
Team Liquid
Unlike the rest of the teams in this tournament, Team Liquid did not have the chance to play in the Monthly Melee and gain some more experience against good teams. The team did bring in new player Robert “shadder2k“ Mocanu as a starter on the roster, while also bringing in Greg “Grego” McAllen as a substitute.
Despite the new addition, Team Liquid fell 3-0 in their first series against compLexity. Though they were unlucky not to draw or outright win some maps, Team Liquid still did not show the level of play required to win a series.
They played a bit better against Immortals and dominated on Oasis, but they were bad on the other three maps and lost to Immortals 3-1.
Shadder2k has quickly become arguably the best player on Team Liquid, despite being new to the team. Specifically, his play on Genji has given Team Liquid a new win condition that they did not have before. Though he has impressed, he is still unable to carry the team to a series victory thus far. Next week, Liquid will play two teams near them in Luminosity and compLexity in the hopes of finally taking a series victory.
Can Hammers stay undefeated? Will compLexity continue their momentum? Tweet us your thoughts @GAMURScom.
