With over 120 matches across both conferences, there’s no shortage of content to find in the CCA Summer Series Tower of Doom. The double elimination bracket mixed together the Division 1 and 2 teams, as well as the top 8 from the Open Circuit for each conference. Each team had dreams of making the top 4 for each conference, and the CCA Summer Series Finals. While there were plenty of dreams, the further down the ladder each team was, the harder a trip it would be, with open bracket teams needing to win 8 games to make the finals, while the top Div 1 teams only needed 3. Through this article we’ll take a look at some of the upsets and stories from the Tower of Doom, as well as a recap of the Finals and who took home a share of the $20,000 prize pool.
Only one of two open bracket teams to make it all the way to Winners Round 4 in the Tower of Doom, Syracuse University showed some real talent. Although Syracuse finished 6th in the East Open Circuit, and never finished an open tournament above 8th, they were able to make a run only Rowan could match. They started the run with a 3-0 win over Kentucky, and then followed that up with a 3-1 win over Pitt to make it into Round 3. They followed those already impressive victories with a win over the Division 2 team that everyone thought would make it the furthest – RPI. Not only did they take them down, Syracuse destroyed them winning 3-0 and outsourcing RPI 8-3. After that they had the tough task of facing a Div 1 team in RIT Black, and fell to them 1-3, ending their upper bracket run. They would drop into the losers bracket and lose to Florida Poly 0-3 to end their playoffs, but it was still a great run to watch as they proved how deep the East talent is.
One of the most exciting Div 2 teams to watch from the West Conference has been UMN. With Phat, Mom, and Bismo leading the charge, this team was a favourite in Div 2 since the start of the season. While they started hot they ran into some trouble down the line and some started to think that they might not have much of a playoff run in them. Instead they came out of the gates firing, and took down Washington, Texas A&M, and Kansas to make it into Winners 4 and match up against CSU from Div 1. They managed to topple Colorado and score 16 goals across 4 games to take the series 3-1 and move on in the upper bracket. Their winning would end there however as they fell 1-3 to Texas Tech, and then 2-3 to LBSU in the losers bracket. These guys proved they have skill though, and will be ones to watch heading into the Fall CRL season.
In the Eastern Conference all 4 of the top seeded Div 1 teams moved on to the Championship, showing just how tough it is for teams to break through the Tower of Doom, but in the West one team did manage to do that and break into that top 4. UT Arlington came into the Tower of Doom as the 5th seed in the West, and after a close 3-2 win over Mizzou, had to face Louisiana State Gold for a spot in the Semi Finals. Although LSU Gold took UTA down 3-0 in the regular season, UTA did the exact opposite when it counted, sweeping LSU Gold and moving on to face LSU Purple. Although they weren’t able to defeat Purple, UTA dropped into the losers bracket for a rematch with Mizzou. This one proved just as difficult as another 3-2 win was needed to push UTA into a Championship spot. They weren’t done there however as they took down Arizona, and then LSU Purple again as they pushed all the way back to the Grand Finals to secure a top 2 seed. A 3-0 sweep over LSU Purple gave them a date with UNT for the #1 seed and a better Championship matchup, but UTA would have to settle for 2nd after a 4-1 defeat.
The top 4 in each conference came together to fight against each other for the title of CCA Summer Series Champion, a share of the $20,000 prize pool, and bragging rights as the top Collegiate team in all of North America. The first round was set with the #1 seed in each conference playing the #4 seed in the opposite conference, and the #2 seed in each playing the #3 from the opposite. The Eastern Conference quickly showed their dominance winning 3 of the 4 series. Northwood was the #1 seed in the East heading in and showed why, easily taking Arizona down 4-0. Akron followed that up with a series we’ve been used to seeing in the Grand Finals, but instead we see in the Top 8, as they took down LSU Purple 4-3. UCF managed to upset the #1 West seed with a hard fought 4-3 victory over UNT, pushing them on to face Akron. The lone West team to win was UTA, who took out a favoured Ottawa squad 4-1. Unfortunately for Arlington, they would go no further then Semifinals, as Northwood pushed through them 4-1. Akron would do the same to the other underdogs in UCF, and set up yet another rematch between the two Eastern Conference giants for the Grand Final. Northwood had previously beaten Akron in the regular season on route to their undefeated season, while Akron defeated them in the Winners Finals of the Tower of Doom. Northwood would come back through the losers bracket and ended up defeating Akron again in the Grand Finals. These two teams kept going back and forth and we knew we were in for a treat in the Grand Finals. In front of an average of 6,000 viewers on Twitch, Northwood jumped out to an early 2 game lead, seeming to have the series in the bag, but Akron said otherwise. They roared back to life taking the next 4 games straight, outsourcing Northwood 10-5 and winning the series 4-2. They took home the $7,500 Grand Prize, and head into the Fall as the reigning champs.
Overall the Summer Series was an exciting trip for everyone to watch, with loads of upsets, stories, events, and exciting outcomes all the way through. From the original qualifiers which placed the top 24 teams into 2 divisions, to the regular season where teams battled for seeding into the Tower of Doom, and all the way through playoffs and the Championship, it was a joy to watch. Big thanks to everyone at CCA who made the event happen, and the folks at Psyonix who sponsored the event and made it shine, as well as all the players, coaches, fans, and Twitch chatters spamming for drops. It was a great season, and I for sure know that CRL will pick up the action right where we leave it off.
