Peaking at the right time is something Dallas Empire head coach Ray “Rambo” Lussier wanted all season. Getting to that point was the problem.
After defeating the New York Subliners 3-1 Saturday evening to stay in the Call of Duty League 4th Major, Dallas is closest it’s ever been to that goal.
“By champs time we are going to be right at our peak,” said Empire player Indervir “iLLeY” Dhaliwal. “It’s honestly really good that we are peaking at this time of year, because champs is what matters the most.”
Getting here was a process, and that’s not talking about the Empire’s three matches already this major. First, Dallas had to find the right fourth piece.
The lasting impact of Cuyler “Huke” Garland getting dropped, and the aftermath that hasn’t concluded didn’t set the Empire up for success. It took nearly a month before the Empire picked up Reece “Vivid” Drost to complete the roster, but getting him accustomed to the Empire’s state of mind wasn’t easy.
That’s what makes Drost’s big performance at the first LAN tournament in over a year all the more impressive. He wasn’t part of the Empire’s initial title defense season. And the Empire didn’t want to have the whole season be an uphill battle.
“We are all playing well right now and it’s nice to see,” Drost said. “We’ve been improving fast in scrims and in the time from when I first joined. I’ve been more comfortable every single game.”
Delayed tweet, but GGs to the @Subliners, they played awesome given the circumstances this weekend, don’t wish that stuff to any team. Rematch vs @OpTic tomorrow! Looking to come out hot and make it a long day 🙌🏻 much love for the support fam ❤️
— OpTic Rambo (@ramboray) June 20, 2021
Dallas is playing its best Call of Duty since it won a world title in August 2020, but the hardest part is yet to come.
The Empire have to win three games on Sunday to claim a major title. They’ll have to go through OpTic Chicago at 2 p.m., then Atlanta or Toronto right after that.
And that’s just to make it to the championship. But maybe this is the run the Empire have waited for?
Lussier was vocal about the Major tournament setups since the very first one this season. He felt the losers bracket provides a unique opportunity for a team to go on a furious run. The Empire would be warmed up by the time they made the Major 4 championship match at 5 p.m. Sunday.
“I think having three matches on Sunday is really good for us, because by the time we would be in the grand finals our confidence would be at an all-time high,” Dhaliwal said. “The guns are going to be hot, and we will have been playing all day. I like that for us.”
GG’s NYSL! Sucks we couldn’t play them Asim, but gotta clean up that Miami. We got hard countered.
— NYSL Crimsix (@Crimsix) June 19, 2021
Dallas has to defeat Chicago first, of course, but the Empire’s return to glory was already going to be difficult. Anthony “Shotzzy” Cuevas-Castro had his worst slaying series of the major against New York, with a .88 kill-death ratio.
But the other Empire players backed their superstar SMG player. Ian “Crimsix” Porter led the Empire in K/D against the Subliners, but Vivid and Indervir “iLLeY” Dhaliwal stepped up in a big way too.
Dhaliwal went on an eight-kill tear to earn killstreaks, securing the fourth map and the series for the Empire against the Subliners.
If Dallas is getting big plays out of everyone, then it is closer to mirroring that 2020 team that dominated its way to world title. A rematch with rival OpTic is immediately in the way, and the Empire dominated the first meeting on Friday.
“It’s a Sunday, so I’m guessing they will be bringing more energy,” Drost said. “I’m excited for the rematch.”
The Empire are playing great Call of Duty. Can they do it three more times on a Sunday?
Find more Empire coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.
