Photo: WBZ NewsRadio / Matt Shearer
BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — The MGM Music Hall at Fenway took on a different kind of sporting event over the weekend, and it involved plenty of hit markers, grenades, and custom loadouts.
Between February Friday and Sunday, eSports team Boston Breach hosted the Call of Duty League Major II Tournament, opening the doors to squads across the nation, including Atlanta FaZe, Los Angeles Guerrillas, and OpTic Texas. WBZ's Matt Shearer was there among the crowd with electric energy.
According to the tournament rules, teams were pitted against each other to compete in three game types: Hardpoint, Search & Destroy, and Control. Each matchup would have the two teams play a best-of-five series on a variety of maps. Each game win earned a team one point and the first to reach three points would win the matchup. Though competitors could choose their own loadouts, certain guns like the FTAC Recon battle rifle and the Bryson 800 shotgun were banned from tournament use.
In the end, Atlanta FaZe came out on top, seizing the crown for the second-annual Major Tournament. In total, there was $500,000 worth of prizes on the line— stakes that had the fanbase of each eSports team ecstatic.
"I just worship these guys— someone's going to win $500,000 today and I'm going to watch that happen and then go work my minimum wage job tomorrow," said OpTic Texas fan Mark, who got his fiancée Kelly to get into eSports.
"It was a little bit tough at first, but I've come around to it," Kelly said.
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Though the home team didn't walk away with a win, there were plenty of emotional moments that fans cherished, including the departure and farewell speech from Methodz, who announced his retirement from professional COD after more than ten years competing in tournaments and events.
Many fans were just glad to be there, especially after the community was looked down upon for so long— they say it was worth the wait to see their heroes play on the main stage.
WBZ's Matt Shearer (@MattWBZ) reports.
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