Playoffs are here, time to look at the West and Midwest!
CCL 2023 Regional Playoffs have arrived. 96 Teams will be competing for a spot at the LAN Grand Finals in June. The #1 team will secure their spot at LAN, while 2, 3 and 4 will compete next weekend for a spot of their own. Finally, we take a look at who could emerge in the West and Midwest Regions.
Texas State, New Mexico State and St. Edward’s all eye a top 2 finish
These three teams have battled it out with each other all year long. Texas State beat both, New Mexico State split and St. Edward’s lost two tight series. All of these teams are likely to finish within the top four, but it is all a matter of where.
The #2 seed has got to be the most crucial spot to be in. It guarantees that they;ll be playing a #3 and #4 seed from different conferences next week. This will give them the best chance of making LAN. Texas State still sits as the current favorite to do so after a tremendous regular season. New Mexico State has struggled recently in Hardpoint, so perhaps leaning on their second, third and fifth maps will be the key to their success this weekend. Finally, you certainly can not discount the Hilltoppers. Led by top amateur player Thresh, this team has been feared for nearly two seasons now. With the support of Eons and company, this team can beat almost anyone on their best day.
CCL 2023 Regional Playoffs West Dark Horse Pick: University of Texas
Longhorn Gaming put themselves in a hole with the way they started the season. However, their second half play proved that they can hang with just about anybody in the 7-12 range. Their match against New Mexico State to close out the year proved that. UT took them all the way to a game 5 in a loss that could have seen Longhorn become the victors several times.
The Crit retirement tour is in full effect. The College COD veteran has made it clear that he wants to end his tenure with a bang, and what better way to do it this weekend. The University of Texas has the fire under them. It will be interesting to see if that can be translated in-game for regional playoffs.
SIUe and Michigan continue their rivalry
It seems that the University of Michigan and Southern Illinois University - Edwardsville have been neck and neck all year long. Michigan got the better of SIUe during the final week of the College COD regular season. On stream, Michigan pulled off three straight maps in what was a dominating win. Just a few weeks later, SIUe got revenge at the GameArena Columbus LAN, reverse sweeping them in the winner's finals.
The key for Michigan is to sharpen up their respawns for regional playoffs. Their Search & Destroy is one of the best, but their Controls have been downright bad at times. The mentality should be to grab one respawn and rely on their SNDs. For SIUe, it is a matter of maintaining a good mentality. They have had some bad losses this year, but have also had some incredible wins. They need to focus on playing their game and not get wrapped up too much in the pressure. At their best, they are top 10 without a doubt.
CCL 2023 Regional Playoffs Midwest Dark Horse Pick: Davenport
Considered a top 5 team heading into the year, Davenport faltered wildly to kick off their regular season. The CCL community was stunned at the performances by this talented team. Starting the season 2-4 meant they had a long road to climb to get into the top 8. Somehow, they found a way.
Now that they are here, Davenport has actually been red hot as of late. Their performances in other leagues has many thinking they could go on a bit of a run. The top 4 is not out of the question for a team that was projected to be here in the first place. The key: team chemistry. Their biggest downfall all year has been the lack of practice together. Recently they have been grinding a bit more and that might be all they need in order to qualify for next weekend’s matches.
Check out the Northeast and Southeast previews here!