The La Guerrillas pulled off the season’s biggest upset so far by defeating the Atlanta Faze on Friday. FaZe was formerly undefeated and on an 11-game winning streak.
The LA Guerrillas managed to beat the Atlanta FaZe in an intense five-game series. Image via LA Guerrillas.
The Guerrillas have struggled throughout the 2021 Call of Duty League season. The team currently has four wins all season and holds the ninth spot in the rankings. But LA’s performance against the Atlanta FaZe showed they are capable of dethroning the best teams in the league.
Atlanta had yet to lose a series all season and won the first Major of the year. The team’s impeccable performance was unmatched, and many expected the match against the Guerrillas to be a quick sweep. But the Guerrillas surprised the world with an incredible five-match series that went in its favor.
FaZe started the series with a 250-176 Moscow Hardpoint victory. Chris “Simp” Lehr led the team with an impressive 25-16 performance, and Tyler “Abezy” Pharris also helped control the map’s tempo.
But the Guerrillas answered back with a surprising 6-2 victory in Miami Search and Destroy. FaZe is considered one of the best teams in Search and Destroy in the league and previously only dropped two maps in the game mode. However, Bryan “Apathy” Zhelyazkov performed incredibly well and secured ten kills against his opponents.
Atlanta answered back with a 3-2 Checkmate Control win, but it was still a relatively close match. On Apocalypse Hardpoint, a game mode LA has had trouble with all season, but the team surprisingly beat Atlanta in a decisive 250-154 win. This forced the series to map five and gave FaZe one more chance to save its undefeated record.
But the Guerrillas were not ready to let the upset slip through their fingers. The team dominated FaZe on Express Search and Destroy and quickly closed the series out with a 6-0 victory. Every member of the Guerrillas went positive in the final map, while not a single player on FaZe could get over five kills.
This remarkable upset prevented FaZe from securing the first seed in Group A for the second Major. The team can still secure this spot if they defeat the London Royal Ravens in their next match, but the New York Subliners could also steal the first seed.
The LA Guerrillas still have a lot of work to prove themselves as a top team, but this win likely boosted morale and gave hope to fans.
