After two controversial Al Bagra matches at CDL Major 3, pro players and community members have seen enough of the controversial map.
CDL Major 3 is finally upon us, and the tournament’s first day raised a few question marks. MW2 fans have blasted the multiplayer map Al Bagra for “rigged” spawns since November, and the issue reared its ugly head on the biggest stage.
Al Braga features a garden area with only three exits that are easy to guard. The attacking team in Control respawns in the troubled location every time, making it easy for the enemy team to “spawn trap” them. As a result, the defensive side typically wins most rounds, often making it an unpleasant viewing experience.
It just so happens that the map and mode combo is included in the CDL playlist, and Major 3 proved to be the final straw for several community members and pro players.
CDL Pros slam Al Bagra control
In Control, both teams have 30 lives. A team wins a round by capturing or defending six segments divided between two flags or depleting the other teams’ lives.
A team wins by securing three rounds. If the match is tied 2-2, the team with the most segments captured is on defense for the deciding round. However, if both teams captured the same amount of segments, it comes down to which team got more kills.
During the Los Angeles Guerillas and Seattle Surge match at CDL Major 3, Los Angeles made the executive decision to sit and spawn and avoid dying, so they could have more kills and earn the advantageous defensive side for the final round.
The match came to a screeching halt, and fans in the audience chanted, “this is boring!”
CoD Legend OpTic Scump sounded off, claiming, “Al Bagra Control gotta go.”
In a post-game press conference with Dexerto, Seattle Surge’s Makenzie ‘Mack’ Kelley said, “I thought we played a little sloppy, but at the same time, it is Al Bagra fortress control, so that’s not really a Mickey Mouse map, but it’s pretty easy to be put into a spawn trap, regardless of how good you are.”
He spoke about the stalemate round and argued, “It is kind of frustrating to play in as a player just sitting there doing nothing for minutes. It is kind of wack, but it is what it is.”
All the stars aligned, and the same scenario played out during the Boston Breach and OpTic Texas match. Boston found itself up nine lives, so the Breach decided to sit in spawn and avoid dying to secure defense for the final round.
In the post-game press conference, we asked Boston’s Dylan ‘Nero’ Koch if fixing Al Bagra Control is possible. He responded, “No, sadly.” Ben ‘Beans’ McMellonBeans suggested removing smoke grenades from the banned list so offensive teams could use them to escape the Garden area safely.
It will be interesting to see how other CDL teams approach Al Bagra for the remainder of Major 3 and beyond as strategies evolve and teams learn new ways to deal with difficult odds.
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