CDL Teams Battle in Paris Legion Home Series

Smooth sailing at the top

The Toronto Ultra has dominated every team it has faced throughout Stage Three. It ended Stage Two with an incredible win at the Major and has shown no signs of slowing down.

The Ultra swept the Los Angeles Guerrillas in its first match of the weekend, although the Guerrillas put up an impressive fight. The first Hardpoint match went down to the wire, but Toronto won the map with an incredibly 250-247 final score. Cameron “Cammy” Mckilligan put the team on his back and finished the map with 27 kills.

The Guerrillas almost won the second map and took Express Search and Destroy to round 11. Adam “Assault” Garcia did exceptionally well and ended with 14 kills. Unfortunately, this was not enough to win the map, and Toronto took the series to 2-0. The Ultra maintained its momentum going into map three and closed out the series with a 3-0 Raid Control win.

Toronto’s second match in the home series was against the Minnesota ROKKR. Minnesota has shown signs of greatness in the past, but this was not the case against Toronto. Minnesota did start the series with a 250-203 Raid Hardpoint victory, and Eli “Standy” Bentz did his part for Minnesota with 28 kills.

The second map was a quick 6-1 Checkmate Search and Destroy win for Toronto, and the team narrowly won Garrison Control to take the series 2-1. Minnesota crumbled in the final Hardpoint match and lost the map 250-135. Toronto’s consistent performance has allowed it to break into the top three spots of the league.

The Atlanta FaZe also won both of its matches this weekend, but they were a lot closer than expected. Atlanta’s first match was against the LA Thieves, which went to game five and was a back and forth affair. The Thieves performed well in Express Search and Destroy winning 6-1. The team also won a close Moscow Hardpoint with Zack “Drazah” Jordan leading the team with 26 kills.

But Atlanta finished the series with a 6-3 Checkmate Search and Destroy win where Tyler “Abezy” Pharris dominated the lobby.

Atlanta’s second match was against the London Royal Ravens, which has consistently held the last place spot in the League. This match was expected to be a quick win for Atlanta, but London fought hard and forced the series to game five.

London started with an Apocalypse Hardpoint win, but Atlanta answered back by winning the second map. The Ravens took the series 2-1 by winning the third map, but Atlanta was not willing to lose and won the final two maps of the series. London did not walk away with a win, but it was still an impressive performance against the first place team in the league.

The Dallas Empire also won its match against the Los Angeles Guerrillas, but it was a five-game series. The top teams maintained their positions, but it’s clear that lower teams are improving.

Surprising upsets

The Paris Home Series also featured a few surprising outcomes. The London Royal Ravens started the weekend with a win against the New York Subliners, which was a major accomplishment for London. This was the team’s third win of the regular season and a major accomplishment against the strong New York roster.

The LA Thieves also beat OpTic Chicago, which was not a huge upset, but it was Chicago’s first loss in Stage Three. The series was relatively close in all matches until the Thieves pulled away in map five with a 250-117 Apocalypse Hardpoint win. Kenny Williams put the team on his back with 25 kills to win the series.

CDL Standings

Here are the current CDL Standings:

Atlanta Faze – 245 CDL Points
Dallas Empire – 200 CDL Points
Toronto Ultra– 165 CDL Points
OpTic Chicago – 160 CDL Points
New York Subliners – 160 CDL Points
Los Angeles Thieves – 140 CDL Points
Minnesota ROKKR – 110 CDL Points
Los Angeles Guerrillas– 80 CDL Points
Florida Mutineers– 70 CDL Points
Paris Legion – 60 CDL Points
Seattle Surge – 50 CDL Points
London Royal Ravens – 40 CDL Points