#cpmduel Leauge Midseason Report
The inaugural season of #cpmduel Leauge kicked off in November, and with three of the five weeks of games completed, we'll take a brief look at what's happened in the different divisions. Before we start, a big thank you to the players for working with the admins to schedule, play and report their matches in a timely fashion.
Invite Division
The invite division has seen the best players available in the game go toe-to-toe for the past three weeks, and even though there a group of front-runners who are expected to win the games, there have been a couple of upsets.
Main Division The main division hosts the largest skill discrepancy between players, and as a result we've had a couple of blow-outs, but generally there have been lots of tight games. That being said the players have demonstrated great skill, with a couple of guys maybe knocking on the door of the Invite Division players.
Beginner Division The beginner division has been the most volatile as the wide range of skill, and different levels of engagement, made it difficult to predict before the season started. Three weeks in, and a group of players have separated themselves from the rest.
Invite Division
The invite division has seen the best players available in the game go toe-to-toe for the past three weeks, and even though there a group of front-runners who are expected to win the games, there have been a couple of upsets.
- Starting at the very top, the real flying Dutchman, Terifire, was shocked by Leshaka in the second week of play as the Russian player squashed any doubters with respect to his position in the Invite Division. The pair cleanly split the match 1-1, with Leshaka winning evolution 16-4, and Terifire battling to secure a victory on a very tight cpm3a game. Both maps featured game-changing telefrags which shifted momentum from one player to the other, testing each players patience (and sanity). Great games on both accounts and certainly worth watching. [ Match Page ]
- The perennially second best Canadian promoder, Kwong-Lo, almost took out Finnish heavyweight gaiia 2-0 in their Week 2 game. With Kwong-Lo taking the first map on a North American server, gaiia was forced into a must-win situation to avoid defeat. After picking cpm3a, the pair had a very close match with Fin squeaking out a win by a score of 20-15. [ Match Page ]
- Promode aint slowmode, yet the game between fellow Scandanvians LuGia and rokky, proved to be one of the lowest scoring sets so far. Both players managed eek out victories by small margins as LuGia kicked things off by taking cpm3a by a score of 5-3, and then rokky returning the favor on cpm22 12-10. Both were nail biters coming down to the very last second. [ Match Page ]
- When veliars met LunokHod-2 not many people expected that we would get the tightest game of the season. The two Russians battled out close games on cpm15, and cpm1a, with Lunokhod-2 taking the series 2-0. However, the game on cpm1a ended up in overtime as veliars battled a sizable deficit and forced the game to continue. Lunokhod-2 was able regain control in the extra time and secure the win, but it took some strong play to turn the tides back in his favour. [ Match Page ]
- The biggest shock so far has to be how well eThaD has played. The long-time Promode veteran has managed to beat out fellow old-timer gellehsak 2-0 during Week 1, and then did the same thing to Leshaka Week 3. I don't think there was any doubt about eThaD's skill, however it wasn't just how his form would be. So far, he's exceeded any expectations as he looks to cement his playoff in the upcoming weeks. [ Match Page ]
Main Division The main division hosts the largest skill discrepancy between players, and as a result we've had a couple of blow-outs, but generally there have been lots of tight games. That being said the players have demonstrated great skill, with a couple of guys maybe knocking on the door of the Invite Division players.
- Cholli, napalot, and neverGreen have maintained perfect records in their respective groups so far and have yet to drop a map. The three players have a combined record of 11-0 (22-0 in maps). That's not to say that have not been tested, as all three players have come close to dropping maps, but they continue to play with an extra inch which has all but guaranteed all three players berths into the Main Division playoffs.
- There are a couple of dark horses in this division as chrononaut is still lurking in the background with an artificially low point total as he is lagging behind a game. Another Finnish player, LKO frustrated his opponent in Week 3, and now has wins in consecutive weeks with his forming appearing to improve week after week. Recluse and TroX both have received a bruised eye so far, but they've also managed to rack up three wins-a-piece.
- In Group D, the Americas Division, we've seen quite a few ties which has left the playoff race wide open. With veteran Promoder deth ("d3th") making his return home, a couple of transplants in the form of erad, and Sharqosity, as well as the Spanish sensation, kumo, all improving their play, it remains to be see if xero (me) or pan1c can rest on our laurels.
Beginner Division The beginner division has been the most volatile as the wide range of skill, and different levels of engagement, made it difficult to predict before the season started. Three weeks in, and a group of players have separated themselves from the rest.
- With b5k, kane, forem, ofigen going undefeated it's not quite clear if they'll be in this division next season. The four players have been an execellent job so far of getting the full three points from every game, displaying skill above the rest of the class.
- Shockingly, unlike the two other division, the Beginner Division has so far voted cpm22 13 times, making it the most popular pick, with evolution trailing behind by one for
a total of 12 matches played on it so far. - One smart person (I won't say who) in this division has also realized that grinding a new map will get you at least half-way to victory, and instead of ignoring it, picking it against unsuspecting opponents leads to lethal results.
Links: #cpmduel League Discord Server, CPMA Discord Server