Recap of CDL Minor I and Week Three of CDL Major I Qualifiers

(Gray News) - The first Minor of the Call of Duty League (CDL) season concluded by crowning Atlanta FaZe champions. FaZe is no stranger to the podium, as they have rarely finished outside the top three in Majors since the start of the CDL. But FaZe has had some struggles in the early stages of this season. Leading up to Minor I, FaZe had a 1-3 match record, only beating the still-winless Vegas Falcons. However, the teams that FaZe lost to in the first two weeks of qualifiers are three of the top four teams in the standings after week three of qualifiers. FaZe was put in the meat grinder early, and their Minor I win showed that they may be battle-tested already despite their poor match record.

In round one of Minor I, FaZe took down the Miami Heretics, who currently rank 6th in the standings. The match ended 3-1 in favor of FaZe thanks to a dominant Search and Destroy (SnD) on Vault in map two and a decisive Hardpoint on Protocol in map four. In round two, FaZe got another 3-1 win over the Los Angeles Thieves, only dropping the map three Control on Protocol. The semifinals was FaZe’s closest match, beating the Minnesota RØKKR 3-2. After winning map one, FaZe lost maps two and three, putting them in a must-win situation. They managed to pull it off with a 250-214 Hardpoint win on Redcard and a strong 6-2 win in SnD on Protocol. In the Minor I Finals, FaZe beat the Carolina Royal Ravens 3-1, a team they were swept by in the second week of qualifiers. FaZe still has some work to do to position themselves comfortably in the winner’s bracket for Major I, but they demonstrated that they should never be counted out when they’re put in tournament play.

Week three of Major I qualifiers finished on Sunday, and only one week of qualifiers remains. So, where do teams sit going into the deciding week of Major I qualifiers? Currently, one team is still undefeated in qualifiers, and four other teams have only one loss. Toronto Ultra is the only team unscathed this season outside Minor I. They only have one sweep under their belt, which came against the Falcons in week two, and seem to be the team to beat, sitting at first in the standings. They have already secured a winners bracket start and only have one match left to play in qualifiers.

OpTic Texas opened the season with a loss to Boston Breach, but since then, they have won every match outside Minor I. They sit second in the standings and have one match left to play in the qualifiers. The Royal Ravens, Thieves, and Breach sit 3rd to 5th in the standings. These three teams currently have a 4-1 record with two matches left in qualifying. The only separating factor between the three is their game-win percentages, which all lie within 7% of each other. The Royal Ravens also made it the furthest in Minor I, losing to FaZe in the Finals. These three teams have already secured a spot in the winner’s bracket, but they will still want a solid final week of qualifiers going into Major I.

The middle of the standings currently has the Heretics, Vancouver Surge, and FaZe in order from 6th to 8th, with 2-3 records. The winner’s bracket cutline is 8th in the standings after the final week of qualifying, so these teams are all on the threshold of slipping to the lower bracket if they don’t perform this coming weekend. They all have two matches remaining. RØKKR sits just under the cutline with a 2-4 record after tough losses to FaZe and Ultra in week three. With only one match left in qualifiers, it has to be a win if the RØKKR want any chance at making the winner’s bracket, but even with that, it will be tough for them to break through.

Finally, there are three teams that have not faired well in Major I qualifiers. The Los Angeles Guerrillas M8 and Cloud9 New York are 1-5 and have essentially run out of runway in their hopes for a winner’s bracket start. They both have one match remaining, and it would take a lot of bad play from multiple teams to give them a chance to sniff the winners' bracket. The final week of qualifiers will likely just be another competitive rep under their belt in preparation for an unlikely loser’s bracket run. The winless Falcons round out the standings in last place. Their inaugural season has been chiefly cannon fodder for other teams, and they have been losing their trial by fire so far in the CDL. Hopefully, they can pick up their first win in week four against the Guerrillas M8, but they are assuredly headed to the losers bracket in Major I.

Gray Television is an investor in OpTic Gaming.