At the end of the summer, the OKLCS heads to playoffs, and at the end of the day, only one team stands victorious over their division. Eleven teams entered the OU Innovation Hub on July 21st, but three walked away as champions. In gold-capped division, team Eyes Low took the crown, marking captain Jimmy “Jambaclout” Tyler’s final appearance in gold-capped division as he turns his sights to platinum-capped next split. Platinum-capped division saw team Oklahoma Gplatinum Rush victorious over their competitors in an unorthodox three-way round robin. Diamond-capped was a long and grueling battle, but team In Your Girl’s DMs came out victorious against Apache Esports. Let’s take a quick look at how the playoffs went.
In the first diamond-capped match of the semifinals, GIRLS took down Gecko Slammer Armageddon in a 2-1 victory, sending the first seed to playoffs. The second semifinal was a close-fought battle between Apache and Spring 2018 champions SKY|Zero, but Apache came out on top. The third-place match saw SKY victorious over GSM, sending the bronze medalists home with their share of the prize money and a win at the end of the day. The final match was a back-and-forth battle, with each team taking a game before moving to the third game, but in a long-running 42-minute game, just when it looked like Apache was turning the tide of the game and the fate of the match, GIRLS closed it out and took home the gold.
Platinum-capped entered the playoffs with a special set of circumstances. With only four teams left at the end of the split, fourth-place finishers United as ONE withdrew from playoffs, leaving three teams to play for first place. In a best of three round robin, OGR won the victory over competitors Gecko Slammer Armageddon Platinum and OU Platinum, giving them the lion’s share of the prize money and the glory.
Gold-capped playoffs were a race for finals. Fourth seed Double Agents defeated Eyes Low in game one of their match, then were regrettably reverse swept in two more close games. In the other semifinal match, perennial third-place finishers Tastes Like Purple sought to finally break their curse and make it to the finals, but team Ghost brought them down and sent them to the third-place match. The third-place match was a grudge match, with Double Agents determined to knock TLP down a peg and TLP stubbornly refusing to go down. The streak continued and TLP finished third yet again. In the finals, Eyes Low defeated Ghost, but not without a hard fight. Another 2-1 victory for ELOW and Jambaclout took home another title with his team.
Every team should have been proud of their performances at playoffs. Each and every match was filled with close games and heart-stopping moments that had spectators on the edge of their seats. There were upsets, heartbreaks, and good-natured competition on all sides. And after the playoff race was over, the top three teams from gold- and platinum-capped divisions turned their sights to the Midwest Summer Classic, where they would go toe-to-toe against their northern compatriots from League KC for regional pride. Congratulations to all who competed in the playoffs and good luck in the coming seasons!
