CDL Major I Day Two Recap and Day Three Outlook

(Gray News) - The 2025 Call of Duty League (CDL) season is well underway, and the first Major is close to finishing its second day of play. Twelve teams compete for large swaths of CDL points and significant portions of a prize pool at each Major. Toronto Ultra is the host of Major I, which is currently taking place in Madrid, Spain. Each Major is set up as a double elimination bracket, with eight teams starting in the winner’s bracket and the remaining four beginning in the loser’s bracket.

The tournament’s first day was Thursday, and the four opening matches were in the winner’s bracket. Four teams moved on to the second round of the winner’s bracket on Saturday, February 1st. The other four teams fell to the first round of the loser’s bracket, which is taking place today. Today’s matches hold weight, as the loser of each series is knocked out of the tournament entirely. So, who survived another day, and which teams had to pack their bags and head home?

Yesterday, Boston Breach was the first team eliminated from the winner’s bracket. Today, they had to face Cloud9 New York to keep their Major I hopes alive. The Breach started the series against Cloud9 by narrowly winning the map one Hardpoint on Protocol 250-244. However, Cloud9 came alive and won the Search & Destroy (SnD) on Skyline 6-3 and the Control on Protocol 3-0. However, the Breach weren’t done and pushed the series to a map five with a 250-184 win in Hardpoint on Skyline. The Breach’s final push was short-lived, as Cloud9 won the map five SnD on Protocol 6-3. Cloud9 moves on to Saturday, while the Breach will head home after the disappointing loss.

The Vancouver Surge was the second team eliminated from the first round of the winner’s bracket. Minnesota RØKKR was the team waiting for them in today’s second loser’s bracket match. These teams had faced each other only once in 2025, and Surge emerged victorious in that meeting. Today was a different story. The Surge came out strong in the opening Hardpoint on Hacienda, taking the map 250-187, but they didn’t win another map in the series. RØKKR won the SnD on Redcard 6-3, the Control on Protocol 3-2, and the Hardpoint on Skyline 250-159 to win the series 3-1. RØKKR moves on to Saturday’s first match in the loser’s bracket, while the Surge have to head home.

The Carolina Royal Ravens were the third team eliminated yesterday from the winner’s bracket. They opened today’s loser’s bracket matches with a series against the Vegas Falcons. The Vegas Falcons had not won a series this season going into today’s matchup, and unfortunately, nothing changed. The Royal Ravens swept the Falcons 3-0, but that doesn’t mean the Falcons didn’t put up a valiant effort. The Hardpoint wasn’t much to discuss, but the Falcons took the Royal Ravens to a game 11 in the SnD on Vault and a game 5 in the Control also on Vault. The Falcons can hold their head high, knowing they didn’t completely roll over in their first-ever CDL Major, but they still are leaving the tournament earlier than they might have hoped. The Royal Ravens moved on to today’s final match against OpTic Texas.

OpTic Texas was the final team eliminated from the winner’s bracket yesterday, and they had to face the Los Angeles Guerrillas M8 in today’s third series. OpTic came into Major I as the first seed, and their rabid fan base likely thought Major I wouldn’t hold a lot of stress. Unfortunately for them, that has proved to be the opposite of the reality they are now in. OpTic lost yesterday’s match 2-3, and today, they again took their series to a map five, but luckily for them, they came out victorious this time. Yesterday, OpTic didn’t win a single Hardpoint. Today was no different. OpTic is 0-4 at Major I in Hardpoint. However, OpTic’s strong suit seems to be Control, as they have won both their Controls 3-0. The problem is Control is only played once in each series, so it doesn’t hold as much weight as Hardpoint and SnD. OpTic won both the SnDs in their match against the Guerrillas M8, allowing them to move into today’s final series, but they will need to fix the Hardpoint woes if they want to continue toward the Grand Finals.

OpTic Texas will face the Carolina Royal Ravens in today’s final match. The winner will advance to the third round of the loser’s bracket and face the Heretics and Thieves series loser. OpTic lost to the Royal Ravens in the semifinals of Minor I. OpTic will be looking for revenge and to keep their Major I hopes alive. The series starts today at 3 PM EST / 2 PM CST / 12 PM PST. Tune in to the official CDL YouTube Channel to watch the match live.

The second day of matches has nearly finished, and the meat of the Major I weekend starts tomorrow. So, what does Saturday’s slate of matches have in store?

Matches scheduled for Saturday, February 1st:

• Minnesota RØKKR vs. TBD - 8:30 AM EST / 7:30 AM CST / 5:30 AM PST
• Miami Heretics vs. Los Angeles Thieves - 10 AM EST / 9 AM CST / 7 AM PST
• Toronto Ultra vs. Atlanta FaZe - 11:30 AM EST / 10:30 AM CST / 8:30 AM PST
• Winner of RØKKR vs. Cloud9 vs. Loser of Ultra vs. FaZe - 1 PM EST / 12 PM CST / 10 AM PST
• Winner of OpTic vs. Royal Ravens vs. Loser of Heretics vs. Thieves - 2:30 PM EST / 1:30 PM CST / 11:30 AM PST

Saturday’s first match is between the Minnesota RØKKR and Cloud9 New York. These two teams faced each other in qualifiers, and Cloud9 emerged victorious after that series. Both teams struggled through qualifiers but defeated the opponents that fell to them from the winner’s bracket. Cloud9 and RØKKR have proven they want to finish their Major I journeys on a high note, but this match will determine which one will get that chance.

The second round of the winner’s bracket kicks off with the Miami Heretics taking on the Los Angeles Thieves. These teams have yet to play each other in the 2025 season. The Thieves rank 4th in the standings, while the Heretics made it into the winner’s bracket on the cutline in 8th place. The series should favor the Thieves, but after the Heretics took down the number one-seeded OpTic, this series doesn’t look as cut and dry. Look for a close match with the winner’s finals on the line.

Toronto Ultra takes on Atlanta FaZe in Saturday’s third match. This match will decide the second team to make the winner’s final. These teams faced each other in the first week of Major I qualifiers, and Ultra walked away with the win. However, FaZe has become a much stronger team since then. FaZe won the Minor I tournament in the middle of the qualifiers and haven’t lost a match since then. The winner’s bracket final is on the line in this one, so look for a close matchup with gutsy plays.

The final two matches of Saturday are yet to be fully set. The final series on Saturday will see the winner of OpTic vs the Royal Ravens play the loser of the Heretics and Thieves matchup, but it’s hard to judge who that will be. To see who makes it to Saturday and gets to fight their way to the Grand Finals on Sunday, tune in to the official CDL YouTube Channel. Coverage starts 30 minutes before the start of each day’s matches.

Gray Television is an investor in OpTic Gaming.