Grudge match settled in COD2 tourney

In a grudge match held Sunday, February 12, Team Obsidian (Check 6) and Team Eagle (Shockwave), the two finalists in Gamespot's Operation: Winter Invasion tournament, rematched for a $1,000 prize. The two teams were offered a rematch after a dispute in the rules of the tournament's final, held earlier this month, led to Shockwave being awarded the first-place prize.

In the final match, a mishap in server settings allowed Obsidian to take two snipers, when the agreed maximum was one per team. Obsidian proceeded to win on the battlefied but was subsequently disqualified. Shortly after Shockwave was awarded first place, it was decided that a grudge match would take place to settle things fairly.

Only one sniper was allowed this time around, and the results were much the same, as Team Obsidian won decisively, 11 to 4.

Things started well for Team Eagle. They won the "coin toss," which was a pistol-bash-only round, to decide who would play which side. Eagle chose to start playing as the Allies and opened up aggresively, which did not serve them well, as they lost the first two rounds.

As the match continued, Eagle grabbed one game but continued to be taken down by Obsidian, which moved mostly in pairs or groups as opposed to Eagle's scattered lone-wolf tactics. By the fifth game, Eagle's trigger fingers were getting so twitchy they had a casualty due to friendly fire. Execution of strategy proved to be crucial; Eagle's players would either hole up and wait or move in gung-ho fashion, while Obsidian tended to move about the map in careful yet constant passes.

After 10 rounds, with the score 7-3 in favor of Team Obsidian, the two teams swapped sides, with Obsidian taking the Allies and Eagle taking the Axis. Though Eagle attempted to mount a comeback, they simply could not overtake Obsidian’s momentum, and with a final score of 11-4, Team Obsidian was declared the winner.

For more details, check out GameSpot's wrap-up of the tournament.