Shocking developments continued to roll out on Day 3 of the Call of Duty World League Championship as Rise Nation, the champion of this year's CWL Seattle Open and the CWL Anaheim Open, was knocked out of the tournament, finishing in 13th-16th place on Friday at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio.
For Rise, which is owned by Los Angeles Rams offensive guard Rodger Saffold, it's a disappointing ending to what looked like a breakout year for the organization.
Rise Nation was alongside the likes of compLexity Gaming, Lethal Gaming and Team Sween as teams sent packing on Friday.
Giants continue to fall in the championship bracket
After Rise Nation's previous open titles, the team seemed poised to forge a dynasty. But Team Kaliber and a losers-bracket elimination match dashed those dreams in an instant Friday.
Rise Nation's defeat came at the hands of two teams, Team Kaliber and Luminosity Gaming. During Stage 2 of the CWL Pro League, Team Kaliber was able to snatch the title from Rise Nation in the finals, and the teams faced off against each other again in their first match of Day 3. The dramatic fight saw records fall as Thomas "TJHaLy" Haly broke a kill record in Round 1 Hardpoint on London Docks by landing 58 kills -- only for Rise Nation to still lose the series.
Fresh off that defeat, Rise Nation faced Luminosity Gaming, a team that just suffered a humiliating loss to the team's former coach, Micheal "SpaceLy" Schmale of eLevate. However, 2016 Call of Duty World League champions Johnathon "John" Perez and Jordan "JKap" Kaplan led the underdogs to a reverse sweep of Rise Nation in yet another surprising development at this year's tournament.
Elsewhere in the bracket, the recently renewed rivalry between eUnited and Red Reserve played itself out once again during Rise Nation's stunning fall. The former was able to send Red Reserve to the losers bracket.
Small fish feast on open field
With top teams like OpTic Gaming and Rise Nation gone, smaller squads such as Lighting Pandas, eLevate and Ghost Gaming have found a chance to shine as they avoided being slotted in matches against teams like FaZe Clan, Team EnVyUs and Rise Nation. After barely getting into the playoffs over OpTic Gaming, eLevate's outstanding luck continued as SpaceLy blasted Luminosity Gaming 3-0. Both Ghost Gaming and Evil Geniuses, teams that have struggled to break out, found favor as they were able to go up against smaller, but still competitive, teams like Vitality and Team Sween.
With plenty of the bracket still to go, Days 4 and 5 look poised for even more upsets. Luminosity Gaming, Red Reserve and FaZe Clan, all teams that have made long losers-bracket runs in past events, are clumped together and ready to make some noise. The only teams that remain in the winners bracket from Stage 2 of the CWL Pro League are eUnited, Team EnVyUs and Team Kaliber, opening a field of possibilities.
As impossible as it sounds, this means teams such as Lighting Pandas and Evil Geniuses have a genuine chance at making the championship finals.