Image via Ubisoft
In the first “do or die” match of the Six Invitational playoffs, Oxygen Esports completed a 2-0 victory over MNM Gaming to secure their lives for a few more hours, at least.
In the upper bracket against FaZe Clan, Oxygen struggled to convert a staggering amount of opening kills into round wins. Against MNM, they mostly lost the entry battle but converted their late rounds. It was the difference between an 0-2 loss and a 2-0 victory.
Against MNM, the hero of the day was Franklyn “VertcL” Cordero. VertcL notched 26 kills over the two maps, with a mere 12 deaths to his name. Statistically, Evan “Yoggah” Nelson showed up to play as well, notching a +10 in kills to deaths differential.
“Comm[unication]s are a lot more cleaner,” Gabriel “LaXInG” Mirelez said of the difference between today and yesterday for Oxygen. “Everyone’s kind of aware of what’s going on, where people are on the map … also, you know, our backs are against the wall at this point.”
“Going into today, we just said to each other ‘there’s no reason to play scared, there’s no reason to have anything, any pressure on you. The pressure’s on them.’ We just gotta play our game,” LaXInG said.
With both teams boxed into a corner, fighting for their tournament lives, Oxygen came out the victor. That doesn’t mean there wasn’t some form of victory for the other side, however.
MNM Gaming came into SI as the EUL Qualifier team – they were not expected to dominate. Three members of this roster had never played on LAN before, according to Leon "neLo" Pesić. The difference between the two rosters is stark – at the last SI, Oxygen were a top six team. Around the time the last SI was played, MNM Gaming had EUL hopes and dreams.
To put it in gambling terms, MNM were playing with house money. They could lose every single map at SI and they would still be standing to benefit, as the experience gained from playing international rosters will assuredly help them in their regional campaigns.
Also, they’re learning how to function in the marathon SI format. “Later in the tournament, you don’t even know who you will play so you cannot prepare,” said neLo. “You have maybe one day or less to prepare. For example, if we won right now, we would be playing at 4 PM against DAMWON. It’s definitely a marathon.”
As for Oxygen, the NA team has higher hopes. They seem to have stabilized after some late-round struggles, but next up for them is one of the best late-round teams in the game: DWG KIA. “It’s do or die at this point,” LaXInG said.