This article is part of our Call of Duty Recap series.
The biggest Call of Duty event of the season is off to the races, with 30 games having taken place during Day 1. While upsets normally reign supreme during the initial days of a respective tournament, the real headline from the first day of competition was the utter dominance by the upper echelon of the competitive scene, as a whopping nine teams ended the day at 2-0.
The most surprising of those teams may have been compLexity Gaming. While compLexity was expected to place well in Group H, few expected the team to contend with odds-on favorite OpTic Gaming in the group stage. But thanks to some timely plays by stars Chris "Parasite" Duarte and Colt "Havok" McLendon, compLexity Gaming was able to walk away with a critical 3-2 win against OpTic.
While that win put compLexity on track to earn a 2-0 record during Day 1, it more importantly put the pressure on OpTic, as the Green Wall will most likely need to win both games on Day 2 in order to qualify for the double-elimination bracket. Lose a game against either PNDA or Team LDLC, who each had their moments during Day 1, and aspirations toward the $800,000 first-place prize likely go up in smoke.
The newly rebranded Renegades understand that heartbreak. After entering Group D as one of the favorites to advance through the double-elimination bracket, its tournament is effectively over, losing two hard-fought matches to Epsilon Esports (3-1) and Allegiance (3-2). Arguably one of the most difficult groups in the tournament, the Stage 2 runner-ups needed to play well in order to move on, and in nearly every match, at least one member of Renegades did. Whether it was Adam "Killa" Sloss with a brilliant 1-vs-3 play in Search and Destroy against Epsilon Esports, or a fury-charged Steven "Diabolic" Rivero and Martin "Chino" Chino against Allegiance, at least one member of Renegades had a "moment" throughout the respective series. Unfortunately, the team couldn't cobble together a consistent four-man performance, which wound up being its downfall. It will be interesting to see what roster moves follow the disappointing exit, as Killa has suggested this may be his last Call of Duty competitive season.
Finally, a pair of dominant performances by Splyce and FaZe Clan has seemingly quieted any doubters after the first day of competition. While each team resides in different regions, Splyce in Europe and FaZe in North America, both teams entered Call of Duty XP in similar situations. Despite the team's immense popularity and success last season, FaZe Clan has struggled to make much of a dent in the competitive scene during Black Ops III. Splyce, on the other hand, has had immense success during the season on the European level, but hasn't seen that success transfer to the international level. Each entered with question marks regarding the caliber of its play. If Day 1 was any indication, however, Splyce and FaZe Clan could be the favorites to win the whole tournament, as the two teams went 3-0 or 3-1 in every series they played. Day 1 doesn't make champions, but there weren't many other teams that looked better than Splyce and FaZe Clan.
