Minnesota Røkkr vs London Royal Ravens

Minnesota Røkkr pulled off a brutal reverse sweep against London Royal Ravens in their second series of the CDL Major II Qualifiers. Multiple Minnesota Røkkr players were ill at the time, making this loss all the more painful for London Royal Ravens.

Faced some adversity but we clutched up pic.twitter.com/Y4dahlhg1D

— Minnesota RØKKR (@ROKKR) January 15, 2023

Game 1
Map: Fortress
Mode: Hardpoint

Minnesota Røkkr came out swinging in the opening hardpoint, with Attach picking up a handful of kills that allowed Røkkr to claim early hill time on P1. London managed to execute a successful P2 to P3 chain, taking a solid lead in the process. Røkkr had an explosive break and evened up the score before the two teams began fighting towards the final hill of the first set of rotations.

@ROKKR #PlayAsOne WOKKR pic.twitter.com/OqzE5bme2b

— Parksy (@Doctor_Parksy) January 14, 2023

A clinical hold from Minnesota Røkkr on P5 gave them a 116-94 lead as the second P1 spawned. As the second hardpoint rotation unfolded, London Royal Ravens and Minnesota Røkkr exchanged the lead multiple times, but Røkkr won the transitional gunfights for P5 and appeared ready to close out the game with a solid hold at the end of the second rotation—Bance found five clean kills that allowed Røkkr to maintain hill control.

Step by step @rokkr!

— Vowel_ (@itsjonnyhausen) January 14, 2023

However, London Royal Ravens battled back on the final P1, tying the game at 241-241 as P2 spawned. After a chaotic series of gunfights on the hill to decide the outcome of the game, the only player left standing when the dust settled was from London Royal Ravens. Minnesota Røkkr’s opponents secured the Game 1 win, and the final score was 250-246 in favor of London Royal Ravens.

Go Next. pic.twitter.com/oTnuiuu0Cr

— Minnesota RØKKR (@ROKKR) January 14, 2023

Game 2
Map: Mercado
Mode: Search & Destroy

The opening round narrowly went in favor of the Ravens on defense. After London took the second round, Røkkr answered back on offense, putting their first round on the board and bringing the score to 1-2 in favor of London. The Ravens earned a series of close round wins and found themselves on map point. However, Røkkr refused to go down without a fight. Three kills from Attach and a double kill from Bance helped Minnesota secure two more rounds.Rokkr rallied with a 3-piece from Attach followed by a double kill from Bance to secure two more rounds. A third consecutive round went in favor of Minnesota, and with the score now at 5-4 in favor of London, Røkkr was just one more round away from tying the match.

In the following round, London’s offense successfully planted the bomb and although Røkkr found the necessary kills during their retake attempt, there was not enough time to defuse. London Royal Ravens took a 6-4 victory in Game 2, bringing the series score to 2-0 in their favor.

Game 3
Map: Fortress
Mode: Control

Starting on defense, Røkkr quickly established a spawn trap. Five heroic kills from Bance were almost enough for Minnesota to quickly and brutally win the first round, but a single Ravens player was able to escape the spawn trap and secure the A point—however, Minnesota continued to apply pressure, bleeding out the remainder of London’s lives and winning the first round. Now on attack, Røkkr was briefly able to escape London’s spawn trap and take the first segment at A. However, London quickly reestablished the spawn trap and drained the remaining time from the clock to tie the score at 1-1. In the third round, Afro delivered an explosive performance, laying waste to London’s roster and denying their attempts to make progress at either point.

afros control performance 🤯 ldn had to feel claustrophobic as rokkr strangled them in maps #CDL2023

— The LastSTAND (@laststand_cdl) January 14, 2023

Røkkr’s flawless defense in this third round brought the score to 2-1 in MInnesota’s favor. Back on offense, Røkkr were able to tie up the number of segments captured—combined with Minnesota’s kill lead, this meant Røkkr had secured the favored defensive side in the upcoming Round 5 tiebreaker. One dominant, final defense secured a 3-2 victory in Game 3 for Minnesota Røkkr.

ON THE BOARD HERE WE GO#PlayAsOne

— MN Esports (@esports_mn) January 14, 2023

Game 4
Map: Hotel
Mode: Hardpoint

Røkkr started strong in Game 4, gaining early time on the opening hill before flipping the spawns and immediately breaking London’s setup at P2. Røkkr continued their lead with a flawless hold at P3 and a clean setup for P4. Attach found five crisp kills that gave Minnesota Røkkr a 152-31 lead as both teams rotated to the fifth hill. London fought back with a P5-P6 chain, but Minnesota was ready for the second set of rotations. Cammy led the charge, decimating the Ravens and locking down P1 for Røkkr.

CAM THE MAN pic.twitter.com/3DxMv0LPvw

— Minnesota RØKKR (@ROKKR) January 14, 2023

In the hills that followed, Afro claimed the spotlight, finding eight kills without dying to let Røkkr close out Game 4 with an absolutely brutal scoreline of 250-131.

Game 5
Map: Fortress
Mode: Search & Destroy

After going down 0-2, Røkkr rallied with a flawless offense and an equally dominant defense to tie the score at 2-2. Minnesota’s SMGs were a force to be reckoned with, shredding the Ravens and securing a cruise missile in the process. Afro clutched a 1v1 in Round 7 to put Røkkr up 4-3. Attach followed this up with a decisive play of his own, obliterating London’s offense with a sniper rifle. With this round win in their pocket, Røkkr were now on map and series point. London Royal Ravens were desperate to prevent the reverse sweep, but Røkkr’s defense remained flawless—Minnesota won the final match 6-4 to claim a 3-2 reverse sweep series win against London Royal Ravens.

POV: You just watched your team get reverse swept pic.twitter.com/eZbkkB8Bbf

— Minnesota RØKKR (@ROKKR) January 15, 2023