The Second Weekend of Qualifiers for CDL Major I start Friday Afternoon

(Gray News) - The 2024-25 season of the Call of Duty League (CDL) is fully underway, and the slate of matches for the second week of Major I qualifying looks promising. The standings currently are split into three different sections of four teams. Teams who are at the bottom, searching for their first match win—teams who have tasted victory and defeat and unscathed teams.

Unsurprisingly, the teams that made significant organizational changes during the offseason are at the bottom, as it usually takes time to adjust and get into the league’s rhythm. Surprisingly, though, Atlanta FaZe is among them. Although FaZe is winless in the 2025 season, I don’t think that will be the case come Monday if their past CDL history has anything to say about it.

Teams in the middle of the pack include OpTic Texas. OpTic suffered a tough loss to Boston Breach last Friday but stabilized by sweeping Cloud9 on Sunday. The Carolina Royal Ravens, who have only lost two maps so far, are currently leading the standings.

So, what is the slate of matches fans can expect to watch this weekend?

Matches on Friday, December 13th:

• Los Angeles Thieves v. Los Angeles Guerrillas M8 - 3 PM EST / 2 PM CST / 12 PM PST
• Cloud9 New York v. Minnesota RØKKR - 4:30 PM EST / 3:30 PM CST / 1:30 PM PST
• Miami Heretics v. Boston Breach - 6 PM EST / 5 PM CST / 3 PM PST
• OpTic Texas v. Vancouver Surge - 7:30 PM EST / 6:30 PM CST / 4:30 PM PST

Friday starts with two matchups between an undefeated team and a winless team. The Thieves and RØKKR will look to keep their win streaks going, while Cloud9 and Guerrillas M8 will hope to get their first CDL points of the season. The two matchups that end the day include every team sitting 1-1 in the standings. So, those results will create more variety in the CDL points ladder. These are the matches to watch on Friday as the teams will be neck and neck, leading to down-to-the-wire wins and losses.

Matches on Saturday, December 14th:

• Toronto Ultra v. Vegas Falcons - 3 PM EST / 2 PM CST / 12 PM PST
• OpTic Texas v. Los Angeles Guerrillas M8 - 4:30 PM EST / 3:30 PM CST / 1:30 PM PST
• Carolina Royal Ravens v. Atlanta FaZe - 6 PM EST / 5 PM CST / 3 PM PST
• Boston Breach v. Vancouver Surge - 7:30 PM EST / 6:30 PM CST / 4:30 PM PST

Saturday’s slate of matches is quite similar to Friday’s, with Ultra and the Royal Ravens trying to hold onto their winning ways. In match two, OpTic will get their chance to pick on a struggling team but could get bit if they aren’t careful. Finally, Breach and Surge will close out the day with a battle that matters in the hunt for the winners' bracket. The match to watch is Royal Ravens v. FaZe, as it will show if the Royal Ravens deserve to be at the top or if FaZe just needed an extra week to wake up from vacation.

Matches on Sunday, December 15th:

• Toronto Ultra v. Miami Heretics - 3 PM EST / 2 PM CST / 12 PM PST
• Atlanta FaZe v. Vegas Falcons - 4:30 PM EST / 3:30 PM CST / 1:30 PM PST
• Carolina Royal Ravens v. Cloud9 New York - 6 PM EST / 5 PM CST / 3 PM PST
• Los Angeles Thieves v. Minnesota RØKKR - 7:30 PM EST / 6:30 PM CST / 4:30 PM PST

Sunday promises the most even bouts in terms of where teams currently stand. The Falcons and FaZe have a match to separate themselves from the bottom, while the Thieves and RØKKR will look to take down the other to increase their lead at the top. The Royal Ravens will have another match against a winless team, and Ultra will have more of a challenge in the Heretics. The game to watch here is the Heretics v. Ultra.

The season is just starting, and standings will rapidly change as teams get their feet under them. Teams with a hot hand will begin to cool off, and those who look ice-cold will find a spark. As fans get their second look at what their teams can do this weekend, anything can happen. So don’t miss all the excitement.

All of the CDL action will be streamed live on the official CDL YouTube channel starting every day this weekend at 3 PM EST / 2 PM CST / 12 PM PST.

Gray Television is an investor in OpTic Gaming.