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PlayStation Invitational Day 1 Recap

Missed the first day of Call of Duty action after tending to your nosebleed when The Last of Us II trailer dropped? Don't worry, we may not have the tissues, but we have you covered.

The PlayStation Experience brought more than just its fair share of exciting titles to look forward to, as eight Call of Duty teams duked it out at the event for a share of $20,000.

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The six North American teams and two European squads were split into two groups and played in a double-elimination bracket within their respective groups:

Group A:

  • Evil Geniuses
  • Orbit EU
  • FaZe Clan
  • Renegades

Group B:

  • Elevate EU
  • Rise Nation
  • Luminosity Gaming
  • EUnited

Here’s how the first day of matches went:

Group A – Round 1

Evil Geniuses vs. Orbit EU

Orbit got the sweep in this one, but each of these games were close in their own right.

From a tightly contested hardpoint battle, to Rhys “Rated” Price’s clutch ninja defuse, to a shootout of a uplink battle, this first match set the tone for the rest of the games.

And speaking of setting the tone, that new drone cam is going to be a regular thing on streams. And because of that, we get to see throws like this… yikes.

  • Game 1: Hardpoint – Retaliation
    • Game Final: ORB 250 – 234 EG

Match Score: Orbit 1 – 0 EG

  • Game 2: Search & Destroy – Throwback
    • Game Final: Orbit 6 – 4 EG

Match Score: Orbit 2 – 0 EG

  • Game 3: Uplink – Precinct
    • Game Final: Orbit 10 – 7 EG

Match Final: Orbit 3-0 EG

Group A – Round 1

FaZe Clan vs. Renegades

One thing you need to know: James “Clayster” Eubanks still has that magic.

Despite dropping game three in overtime after a tight Hardpoint and an SnD blowout, FaZe were able to stabilize on Scorch and advance to the Winners Finals in their group.

  • Game 1: Hardpoint – Retaliation
    • Game Final: FaZe 250 – 224 RNG

Match Score: FaZe 1 – 0 RNG

  • Game 2: Search & Destroy – Throwback
    • Game Final: FaZe 6 – 0 RNG

Match Score: FaZe 2 – 0 RNG

  • Game 3: Uplink – Precinct
    • Game Final: RNG 10 – 8 FaZe OT

Match Score: FaZe 2 – 1 RNG

  • Game 4: Hardpoint – Scorch
    • Game Final: FaZe 250 – 214 RNG

Match Final: FaZe 3-1 RNG

Group A – Losers Round 1

Evil Geniuses vs. Renegades

After dropping the first two matches, the Geniuses kept the series alive by the skin of their teeth by hitting a buzzer-beater in Uplink to take game three.

This sparked some momentum that led to a win in their fourth match, but EG was just unable to deliver in the fifth game, as Renegades eliminated the storied organization from the competition.

  • Game 1: Hardpoint – Throwback
    • Game Final: RNG 250 – 161 EG

Match Score: RNG 1 – 0 EG

  • Game 2: Search & Destroy – Scorch
    • Game Final: RNG 6 – 3 EG

Match Score: RNG 2 – 0 EG

  • Game 3: Uplink – Frost
    • Game Final: EG 5 – 4 RNG

Match Score: RNG 2 – 1 EG

  • Game 4: Hardpoint – Breakout
    • Game Final: EG 250 – 174 RNG

Match Score: EG 2 – 2 RNG

  • Game 5: Search & Destroy – Retaliation
    • Game Final: RNG 6 – 3 EG

Match Final: RNG 3-2 EG

Group A – Winners Finals

FaZe Clan vs. Orbit EU

The boys from across the pond took a complete about face against FaZe, dropping this series in three games and being put in the decider match tomorrow.

FaZe had an impressive 2-0 start to their tournament, especially when you consider that Dillon “Attach” Price was unable to do callouts during the final match of the series.

  • Game 1: Hardpoint – Breakout
    • Game Final: FaZe 250 – 160 Orbit

Match Score: FaZe 1 – 0 Orbit

  • Game 2: Search & Destroy – Retaliation
    • Game Final: FaZe 6 – 4 Orbit

Match Score: FaZe 2 – 0 Orbit

  • Game 3: Uplink – Frost
    • Game Final: FaZe 5 – 3 Orbit

Match Final: FaZe 3-0 Orbit

Group B – Round 1

Team eLevate EU vs. Rise Nation

 Jordan “Reedy” Reed is a baaaaaaaaad man…

That pretty much tells the story of how well eLevate did here, taking down Rise handily with the 3-0 sweep.

Definitely something of note: Both European teams won a match today, which is already  showing how interesting the CoD LAN League will be later in 2017 with how the competition is equalizing across countries. 

  • Game 1: Hardpoint – Retaliation
    • Game Final: eLv 250 – 171 Rise

Match Score: eLv 1 – 0 Rise

  • Game 2: Search & Destroy – Throwback
    • Game Final: eLv 6 – 3 Rise

Match Score: eLv 2 – 0 Rise

  • Game 3: Uplink – Precinct
    • Game Final: eLv 7 – 6 Rise

Match Score: eLv 3-0 Rise

Group B – Round 1

Luminosity Gaming vs. eUnited

EUnited fought hard and got the first game of the series, but their slaying power was just no match for the stellar objective play of Luminosity.

LG were able to fend off a commendable effort, putting the final nail in the eUnited coffin with a 100+ point beat down in the second hardpoint match.

Oh, and by the way, if you are a pro wanting to make a montage of your plays and in need of a standard, they now have to be as good as Jonathan “Pacman” Tucker’s ridiculous triple with the sniper.

  • Game 1: Hardpoint – Retaliation
    • Game Final: eU 250 – 223 LG

Match Score: eU 1 – 0 LG

  • Game 2: Search & Destroy – Throwback
    • Game Final: LG  6 – 3 eU

Match Score: LG 1 – 1 eU

  • Game 3: Uplink – Precinct
    • Game Final: LG 10 – 6 eU

Match Score: LG 2 – 1 eU

  • Game 4: Hardpoint – Scorch
    • Game Final: LG 250 – 134 eU

Match Final: LG 3-1 eU

Group B – Losers Round 1

EUnited vs. Rise Nation

Daniel “Loony” Loza is a national treasure. Why?

Exhibit A:

Exhibit B:

Anyway, even though Loony handed eUnited a game on a silver platter with that latter highlight, Rise were able to clutch up in game five with this fantastic 2v3 clutch from Ulysses “Aqua” Silva and Loony.

  • Game 1: Hardpoint – Throwback
    • Game Final: eU 250 – 225 Rise

Match Score: eU 1 – 0 Rise

  • Game 2: Search & Destroy – Scorch
    • Game Final: Rise 6 – 2 eU

Match Score: Rise 1 – 1 eU

  • Game 3: Uplink – Frost
    • Game Final: Rise 6 – 2 eU

Match Score: Rise 2 – 1 eU

  • Game 4: Hardpoint – Breakout
    • Game Final: eU 250 – 236 Rise

Match Score: eU 2 – 2 Rise

  • Game 5: Search & Destroy – Retaliation
    • Game Final: Rise 6 – 5 eU

Match Final: Rise 3-2 eU

Group B – Winners Finals

Luminosity Gaming vs. Team eLevate EU

Stop me if you heard this one before:

A European team, who was not expected to be in the winner’s finals, gets swept back down to earth by a strong North American side.

LG are heading to tomorrow’s semifinals for sure, and the final spot will either be held by Rise or an eLevate side looking to bounce back.

  • Game 1: Hardpoint – Breakout
    • Game Final: LG 250 – 230 eLv

Match Score: LG 1 – 0 eLv

  • Game 2: Search & Destroy – Retaliation
    • Game Final: LG 6 – 5 eLv

Match Score: LG 2 – 0 eLv

  • Game 3: Uplink – Throwback
    • Game Final: LG 5 – 0 eLv

Match Final: LG 3-0 eLv

Tomorrow, Orbit and Renegades face off in Group A to advance to bracket play alongside FaZe. In Group B, eLevate and Rise fight for the same right to join Luminosity. Then, bracket play commences and four teams are whittled down to one.

For all your Call of Duty and general esports news and updates, make sure you are following us on Twitter, @GAMURScom.

James Mattone is a journalist for GAMURS and can be contacted on Twitter –@TheJamesMattone.

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James Mattone