Optic Chicago grabbed a monumental victory on Sunday, taking down top-seeded Atlanta Faze in a nail-biting five-game series. The win moves them to 3-0 in Stage 5 pool play and puts them in the driver’s seat to finish as the top team in the Group.
Game 1 was back and forth through the first rotation before Optic started to build a commanding lead on Moscow. Two noticeable factors were working in Optic’s favor: one, the play of Envoy, and two, their ability to break Atlanta’s setups. Chicago must have been studying tape and working on their map movement as they looked like a cohesive unit that had the answer to any hold by Faze.
Envoy dropped 29 in the game with only 14 deaths and had the most damage and hill time on the way to a 250-177 win.
Faze looked to be on the brink of a 0-2 series deficit in Game 2 on Miami, as Optic stormed ahead 4-2 in round count. However, Faze turned it up a notch and rattled off four straight rounds to even up the series.
Abezy and Simp combined to go 17-12, while Formal and Dashy led the way in damage dealt with almost 2000 apiece.
Game 3 on Raid Control was a back and forth slugfest, with Optic coming out on top 3-2 against the best Control team in the CDL. Scump led the lobby in damage and overall K/D with more than 6200 and 30 kills. Abezy dropped a game-high 33 kills for Faze.
Chicago started Game 4 off hot on Apocalypse, posting an 89-12 score before the first rotations concluded. Faze quickly brought it back to an even match. Soon, Atlanta was running away with the game, and while Chicago attempted to respond late, Faze forced a Game 5 with a 250-172 victory.
Game 5 on Standoff went the distance. Optic went up 4-2 on the back of Envoy before Faze won back-to-back rounds to bring it even. Dashy and Scump won a 2v2 over Simp and Arcitys to bring the match to series point. However, Faze dropped all of Optic in the next round without losing a member of their squad.
In Round 11, Optic was able to shut down Faze mid-plant at A, before a flurry of kills were traded mid-street. Eventually, Abezy was able to get the bomb down in a 1v2, but T2P clutched up to get the kill and the defuse, securing the victory.
Envoy closed out the series the same way he started, on top of the leaderboard with an 11-7 game in addition to leading the game with almost 2800 damage.
Envoy was the key in this matchup. In the preseason of Cold War, Envoy was playing as though he was going to be Optic’s best player. Throughout much of the year though, that role has been fulfilled by Dashy. The Envoy we saw in this match was the one we expected to see all season long. He led the series with a 1.21 K/D. Merk said during the broadcast that Envoy was playing an aggressive playstyle that resembled MVP finalist Abezy. If he can maintain this, perhaps Optic truly can compete for a Major title in Stage 5.
More Than Just a Win
The victory is Optic’s first against Atlanta this season, and the first competitive series in quite a while. Back in Stage 1, in only their second match of the year, Optic lost 3-2 to Faze. Chicago was swept in their next two matchups against Atlanta before Sunday’s result.
Though the victory was by a narrow margin, pushing Atlanta to a Game 5, Round 11 is a gigantic sign of progress for Optic. The fact that they did it by winning both a Control and a Search and Destroy map as well should give them a much-needed confidence boost as the year winds down.
Beyond the Faze victory, Optic’s Stage 5 performances have stood out thus far. They took care of business against Paris Legion, but they also swept Subliners just a few days ago. Envoy led the way in that matchup as well, posting a 1.63 in a dominating display. New York has been considered a top-3 team for most of the year despite their recent struggles. For Chicago to achieve two statement wins in a row at this point in the season, it shows they are right there with Faze, Empire, and Ultra. With Envoy looking more like the Team of the Year player he was last year, Optic might be hitting their stride at the perfect point in the season.
While they haven’t been the top seed going into a Major all year, that might be exactly what they need to get it done in Stage 5 and carry that momentum into Champs.
Still, Optic has the Royal Ravens and Thieves coming up later this week. If they want to get that coveted top seed, they’ll likely need to win both matchups.
London vs. Chicago takes place Thursday, July 22nd at 4:30 pm ET.
Do you think Optic has truly turned the corner? How do you think they’ll perform for the rest of Stage 5? Let me know in the comments!