This past weekend saw the Toronto ULTRA Academy EU and NA teams take on the Call of Duty League teams at the Call of Duty League Pro-Am Classic. The leadup to the event was eventful with Rafi being added to the Toronto ULTRA Academy EU team, and iLLey rejoining the starting roster for our match against OpTic Texas. Read more about that in our preview found here.
The event began on Friday with four separate streams meaning every match would be streamed through group stages. Toronto ULTA Academy EU faced Minnesota RØKKR, OpTic Texas and Florida Mutineers in Group B whilst Toronto ULTRA Academy NA faced the champions of the Minnesota LAN event, LA Guerrillas, as well as Paris Legion and Boston Breach.
Toronto ULTRA Academy EU faced OpTic Texas in a hard hitting affair which saw statements made by Furious, as well as the academy team taking the Search and Destroy away from OpTic Texas which would see us fall 3-1 in the series. Our second series of the group would tell a very different story, with a much closer result map after map. Taking on RØKKR, we lose the hardpoint 240-250, the search and destroy 5-6 and the control 2-3 which meant we lost the series 0-3 following some very close games that could have gone either way. This result would mean that the Toronto ULTRA Academy EU would not make it out of group stages, despite still having to face Florida Mutineers the day after.
For our other Toronto ULTRA Academy team, representing North America, we found ourselves with only one game on Thursday, as we took on the reigning champs, LA Guerrillas. The series saw us fall to a 2-0 deficit but the heart and determination of our players would shine through, as we refused to give up. A reverse sweep was on the cards, which saw us take the series 3-2, putting us in a very good position heading into Friday with a victory on the cards. The first game on Friday for us was Toronto ULTRA Academy NA taking on Boston Breach. It all came down to a search and destroy. The scoreline was 2-2, and Ultra Academy NA wanted nothing more than to qualify for the single-elimination bracket. We win the series with Mohak clutching the 1v1 to take the Search and Destroy, 6-4.
We thought we had secured bracket play but unfortunately Paris Legion stood in our way. We needed two maps to qualify, and in some very close games, we fell to Paris Legion 3-1. This would mark the end of the road for Toronto ULTRA Academy NA, as it meant that Paris Legion would also finish the group 2-1, and we would lose out due to map count.
Despite being eliminated in the group stage, we are incredibly proud of the teams who stepped up to the occasion and took it to the Call of Duty League teams, and showcasing that the challengers teams are not to be slept on. We now look ahead to the Elite Stage 3 beginning on Wednesday evening, with the Toronto Major coming up towards the end of the month.
“The last time we were able to compete against the best was 3 years ago in Black Ops 4. This weekend we proved that Challengers can hang with the pro teams. I am proud of all players and coaches as they put everything into the event. Unfortunately, we finish disappointed but that is because we have high standards of ourselves. The teams are flying home today, with the Elite series starting tomorrow.”
Curtis Bottomley, Chief Gaming Officer
“This weekend did not go to plan due to various reasons and a late team addition. However, I am proud of how the team adapted and played over the weekend and feel like there were maps and series we should have won. Now we are home, we turn our attention to the Elite Series that starts on Wednesday.”
Joshh, Coach for Toronto ULTRA Academy EU
“Didn’t go the way we wanted just unfortunate circumstances but still proud of the way I played and team with 0 practice and me to come out with 2nd best SND KD.”
Furiious, Call of Duty Player for Toronto ULTRA Academy EU
“Just to like to once again thank SNG and Ultra for giving us the resources and opportunities to show our skills against the best teams in the world, unfortunately due to circumstances out of control the event didn’t go as planned but I think even still we showed promise as a squad.”
Beans, Call of Duty Player for Toronto ULTRA Academy EU
“0-3 is a disappointing result at face value but if you were to really look at all the series we only got out classed on 1 map out of all the maps we played this weekend. A lot of the maps we had good chances to win and didn’t execute, which will always happen at the highest level with little practice/preparation. Overall a good experience and hopefully if there is a next time, it will be with a full squad.”
Vortex, Call of Duty Player for Toronto ULTRA Academy EU
“First of alI, I would like to thank everyone who gave me the opportunity to get here and I am truly grateful that this goated team picked me to play with them. I am sorry to everyone that I disappointed as I didn’t play to my full potential due to a lot of factors but the main reason was the lack of practice we had together as I was a very late pick up.”
Rafi, Call of Duty Player for Toronto ULTRA Academy EU for the Pro-Am Classic
“Obviously the tournament could have gone better and we made some mistakes, but in general this weekend was an incredible experience and the team got to show what they’re really capable of. We are grateful for the opportunity to play professionals on LAN. Lots of lessons and growing moments for each one of us.”
Mystvc, Coach for Toronto ULTRA Academy NA
“We all feel like we could have done so much more.”
Vikul, Call of Duty Player for Toronto ULTRA Academy NA
“Looking back at the weekend, we can be proud of how we performed as a team, able to take down two T3 teams from major 2 and not making it out of groups through head to heads. I think we showed a lot of people we belong in this environment if given the chance.”
Hiicksy, Call of Duty Player for Toronto ULTRA Academy NA
“I am super proud of how our team competed and how we proved everyone wrong. It wasn’t the result we wanted but I’m glad we got to show the whole community that we are a top team.”
Scrappy, Call of Duty Player for Toronto ULTRA Academy NA
“Unfortunate that we could not make it deeper but nonetheless it was still a great experience.”
Mohak, Call of Duty Player for Toronto ULTRA Academy NA
About Team Singularity:
Team Singularity, recently acquired by Rightbridge Ventures, launched in 2016 as a grassroots operation and has grown into a premier esports organization with professional teams competing in Fortnite, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Rocket League, League of Legends, FIFA22, Apex Legends and more.
The company is focused on talent development and is the leading player talent incubator in esports. Team Singularity has the largest path2pro esports academy in the world with over 10,000 active amateur players making their way to become the next pro player in esports.
Team Singularity is home to more than 100 players and staff members from more than 30 different countries.
About GamerTech™:
GamerTech (GT) brings disruptive products, technology-based gamer wearables, and advanced apparel solutions to market, focused explicitly on gamers and esports athletes to boost performance, amplify experience, and enhance their overall wellness. GT is a startup within MAS Innovation, a subsidiary of MAS Holdings - the most prominent apparel tech manufacturer in South Asia, with over 118,000 employees across 17 countries and a turnover of USD 2 billion, strongly focusing on apparel-based innovations. MAS Innovation ranked 18th among the world's best workplaces for innovators, conducted by Fast Company in 2022, and placed in Clarivate's highly prestigious Asian innovators list in 2021 and 2022.
