Atlanta FaZe Conquer CDL Major I

(Gray News) - On Sunday, Atlanta FaZe emerged as the Call of Duty League’s (CDL) Major I Champions after a suspenseful Grand Finals against the Los Angeles Thieves in Madrid, Spain. FaZe took home $150,000 and 100 CDL points for their first-place finish. The Thieves took home $90,000 and 75 CDL points for second, and the Miami Heretics earned $50,000 and 60 CDL points for third.

After a slow start to the season, FaZe has reclaimed its spot as the most consistent top-performing team in CDL history. FaZe had a 1-3 match record through the first two weeks of Major I qualifying. Modern Warfare III, the newest iteration of Call of Duty, didn’t seem to mesh with them as quickly as previous titles had in previous seasons. But then CDL Minor I arrived, and FaZe flew to the top of the podium with minimal resistance. FaZe didn’t drop another qualifier match and secured themselves a winner’s bracket start at Major I.

FaZe was seeded 6th at Major I and was poised to keep their winning streak going as round one started. Almost effortlessly, FaZe swept Boston Breach 3-0 to move on to the second round of the winner’s bracket. FaZe’s first potential challenge came from the Toronto Ultra, a team that had secured the second seed at Major I. The map one Hardpoint on Vault was a prime example of last-second success. aBeZy jumped on the point with 0.3 seconds remaining in the game to earn the three points needed to overtake Ultra and win the map 237-236. The rest of the match was relatively mundane, thanks to FaZe winning the Search & Destroy (SnD) on Protocol 6-3 and the Control on Hacienda 3-1. FaZe moved on to the winner’s final, where they would face their fiercest competitor.

The Los Angeles Thieves also had a solid run going when they arrived at the winner’s final. The Thieves beat the third-seed Carolina Royal Ravens 3-1 in round one and swept the Miami Heretics in round two. But now the Thieves and FaZe were one win away from securing the Grand Finals. The threat of falling to the loser’s bracket final loomed large, and the Thieves were seemingly immune to the weight of this concept. They opened the series with a decisive 250-107 win in Hardpoint on Redcard, followed by a 6-4 win in SnD on Redcard.

The Thieves looked strong and only needed to win one more game to move on to the Grand Finals. But FaZe didn’t roll over and accept a new path to the Grand Finals through the loser’s bracket. Instead, FaZe pulled out a close 3-2 win in the map three Control on Hacienda to keep the match alive. They again triumphed in a close battle on Hacienda, winning the map four Hardpoint 250-238. It all came down to a map five SnD on Vault, and both teams came out swinging. When the dust settled, the map had gone to a round eleven, and FaZe pulled out the 6-5 win to reverse sweep the Thieves. FaZe moved on to the Grand Finals, while the Thieves would have to survive the loser’s bracket final if they wanted a chance at redemption.

The Thieves faced the Heretics in the loser’s bracket final, and this match was a bit lackluster. The Thieves once again started strong with a 250-169 win in Hardpoint on Skyline, and this time they didn’t give an inch. The Heretics couldn’t find an opening, and the Thieves won the match 3-0.

The Grand Finals were set. FaZe and the Thieves would have to duke it out one last time to decide the Major I champion. The Thieves struck first with a 250-237 win in Hardpoint on Hacienda. FaZe retaliated with a 6-4 win in SnD on Redcard, followed by a close 3-2 in Control on Hacienda. The Thieves stopped the bleeding with a 250-229 Hardpoint win on Redcard, but FaZe pulled ahead again with a dominant 6-1 win in SnD on Vault. Back against the wall, the Thieves stayed calm and took the Control on Protocol 3-1.

Both teams were even at 3-3 in the match, and it all came down to the SnD on Skyline. Through four rounds, FaZe had the edge at 3-1, but the Thieves clawed their way back and tied the map at 3-3 after round six. The Thieves won round seven, FaZe won rounds eight and nine, and the Thieves, on the brink of elimination, brought it back to even at 5-5 after round ten.

In round eleven, HyDra went down first, giving FaZe the edge. Envoy planted the bomb at A, but FaZe read the plant, and Simp quickly took out Envoy seconds after the bomb had gone down. FaZe now had a significant man advantage. Scrappy snuck around to FaZe’s back line, taking out Drazah, bringing the life count to 3-2 in favor of FaZe. Ghosty rushed into the site to try to stop the bomb defuse, but aBeZy quickly stopped the push and took Ghosty out, allowing Simp to finish defusing the bomb and win the round. As the round timer stopped and the map result filled their screens, FaZe rose to face the crowd as the champions of CDL Major I.

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