Vancouver surging with Neptune in Stage 2

The Vancouver Surge have found their spark, and much of it can be credited to their newest addition, Travis “Neptune” McCloud. Since joining the roster, Neptune has brought a high-level of aggression and playmaking ability, helping Surge turn their season around with impressive performances. With their recent surge in form, Vancouver is quickly becoming a team to watch in the Call of Duty League heading into the Major. But can they keep this momentum going? Let’s break down their hot streak and how Neptune has impacted their success.

Stage I Struggles

The Surge were a sleeper pick going into the season to compete for a Top 4 spot in the CDL. Instead, they struggled to find success in any of the three modes. Finishing 4-6, while finishing Top 12 in both the Minor & Major, was far below the early season expectations.

Hardpoint was a mode that Vancouver was expected to play well in due to their AR duo and the progress we saw made at the end of last season. This didn’t come to fruition, as every advanced metric screamed that their record should’ve been worse. Here’s how it breaks down:

○ 7-11 Record (11th)
○ 2-6 in Map 4s (11th)
○ -31.1 Avg Margin (11th)
○ 48.0% Rotation Win Percentage (8th)
○ 64.4% Hold Percentage (10th)
○ 24.1% Break Percentage (11th)

Another mode the team struggled in was Search & Destroy. With both Jordan "Abuzah" François & Jovan "O4" Rodriguez on the roster, they had a great foundation to be a good SND team. Instead, they went 6-9 in the mode which ranked 8th in the League. Here’s how they performed overall:

○ 6-9 Record (8th)
○ 47.3% Round Win Percentage (8th)
○ 48.0% Opening Duel Win Percentage (8th)
○ 37-40 Attacking Record, 48.1% win rate (7th)
○ 58.3% Post-Plant Win Percentage (8th)
○ 34-39 Attacking Record, 46.6% win rate (9th)
○ 31.8% Retake Win Percentage (10th)

With the struggles looking overwhelming, change was needed to get the squad back on track for Stage II.

📸 Photo by @SurgeVancouver

King of the Seas rises the Tides

The Surge were the first movers in Free Agency and were rewarded greatly. To make room for Neptune on the starting roster, the team released Charlie "Hicksy" Hicks. The purpose of the move was to upgrade the slaying while providing a huge boost in pacing. While Neptune can be inefficient at times, he plays at a very high-pace of play that helps open up the map for his teammates.

The new look roster instantly clicked in two modes: Hardpoint & SND. Looking first at Hardpoint, the squad went from the 10th best Hardpoint Percentage at 64% to a League-High 83% Hold rate in Stage II. This has led to a resurgence in the mode, as Vancouver is 11-5 with a winning record on 4 different maps in the pool (They auto-veto Skyline). Here is a full breakdown of their Hardpoint play:

○ 11-5 Record (3rd)
○ 6-1 in Map 4s (1st)
○ +27.9 Avg Margin (3rd)
○ 50.3% Rotation Win Percentage (7th)
○ 83.3% Hold Percentage (1st)
○ 25.4% Break Percentage (10th)

Hardpoint wasn’t the only mode that improved greatly with Neptune. Search & Destroy clicked with the new roster, now sitting at an 8-5 record including 4-0 on Protocol and 2-0 on Red Card. They are the #1 ranked team in opening duels, winning 62.4% of their opening fights. Post Plants also stepped up, rising to a 64.9% win rate which helped their attack become the 3rd ranked this split. The full roster is performing elite, from O4 (1.16 K/D, 69% OpD W%) and Nastie (1.07 K/D, 108 ADR).

📸 Photo by @SurgeVancouver

Finishing Stage II Strong

While the Surge has locked in a spot in the Upper Bracket for Major II, there is more work to be done. The next two matches against the Toronto Ultra & Minnesota Rokkr are important for the season standings. Ultra are currently 4th with 140 CDL points, while Rokkr are 7th with 90 points. Wins against these teams are crucial for Vancouver to solidify their spot in the Top 5 teams in the CDL.

The final two matches for the Surge are scheduled on:

Friday, March 14th against Toronto Ultra at 3:00 pm EST

Sunday, March 16th against Minnesota Rokkr at 4:30 pm EST