Photo via Ubisoft/Eric Ananmalay
DarkZero and overtime matches, name a more compatible pair.
For what seems like forever, DarkZero has had an addiction to not dying during regulation -- or not finishing the job in regulation. They've been to a number of overtime games during 2022 already, and so far, the Charlotte Major has been no exception.
Their opening match against European super-team G2 came down to the wire. Paul "Hyper" Kontopanagiotis led the way statistically with 17 kills, and closed out the game with a huge 3k to defend the plant. The match opened the Major, and was nail-bitingly close -- and could perhaps be a herald of things to come.
The second match was played under unfortunate circumstances. W7m, their opponents, could not secure visas for the United States, and are playing from Mexico. Despite assurances that the ping would be as close to normal as possible, it certainly appears like the Brazilians are playing on 80 ping -- and DarkZero was playing on no ping at all. Hyper and Troy "Canadian" Jaroslawski affirmed that the Brazilian team was at a disadvantage, but don't really know a way to remedy the situation.
All the same, DarkZero and w7m battled to a 8-6 scoreline -- this one wasn't going in the Americans' favor. Nick "njr" Rapier's stellar performance couldn't save DarkZero from a blisteringly fast w7m playstle -- a playstyle that has some analysts pegging w7m as a Major title favorite.
"I think we're pretty used to playing overtime barnburners on this team," Hyper said. "...I think both of those games should've ended in regulation in our favor."
"I think maybe some jitters to start out," chipped in Canadian. "...Probably some rounds we should be able to close, but we didn't."
Still -- it has to feel nice to get some points. DarkZero started the Sweden Major with two regulation losses, the first day of SI 2022 with an 0-2 loss to Elevate. They continually start regional seasons slowly, this is a stark break from how DarkZero have performed on the first day of Majors, historically. "In our time as a team, overall, we've only ever picked up speed," said Canadian in reference to a question about DarkZero's historically slow starts.
Heroic is the final team that DarkZero hasn't played in their group. A pair of rematches, and two with Heroic, will decide whether they go through to the playoffs stage, or not. Three points is nice, and a good start, but it's only a good start if there's a good finish. If DarkZero play how they did today -- they could be out by Wednesday, with how dominant G2 and w7m are looking. If they continue to improve their play, though, look out, this is a team that can punch above their weight.