Stage III of the Call of Duty League 2021 season is almost done. Teams have fought through three home series and will all compete at the third Major of the season on May 13th. The Dallas Home Series was the final regular event of Stage III, and teams fought tooth and nail to secure better placings in the upcoming Major Tournament.
Teams will compete in the third major tournament of the season next week. Image via Call of Duty League.
New York and Atlanta’s dominant run
The New York Subliners and Atlanta FaZe both played two matches during the home series and went undefeated. Both teams will start in the upper bracket during Major III.
New York’s first match was against OpTic Chicago. The Subliners dominated in the first two maps of the series, but Chicago stayed alive with a Checkmate Control victory. But New York finished the series with a 250-230 Moscow Hardpoint win.
New York’s second match was against the Los Angeles Thieves and was a slightly more competitive series. The Subliners started its second series of the weekend in a similar fashion with two map wins. LA did force Miami Search and Destroy to round 11 but could not close it out.
The Thieves won an intense Raid Control to take the series to game four and performed relatively well in the final Hardpoint of the series. But New York won the game 250-219, and Paco “Hydra” Rusiewiez led his team with 26 kills.
Atlanta’s first match was against the Seattle Surge, which is currently in last place with a 4-14 record. But Seattle did take the first Hardpoint map of the series thanks to an impressive performance by Preston “Prestinni” Sanderson and Jacob “Decemate” Cato. But Atlanta immediately answered back with three straight map wins to close the series.
FaZe’s second match was against OpTic Chicago and was surprisingly a less eventful affair than the Seattle series. Atlanta quickly swept Chicago and ensured the team will start in the elimination bracket in Major III.
It is also worth mentioning the Toronto Ultra as the team also won its one match of the weekend against the Paris Legion. But Toronto has been unstoppable for weeks and is capable of winning its second Major of the season. The Dallas Empire did lose one match against Florida over the weekend, but it beat the Minnesota ROKKR and maintained its second-place spot in the league.
Chicago will start in the elimination bracket
While New York and Atlanta dominated during the Dallas Home Series, Chicago failed to win a match. It was on the losing end against both of the previously mentioned teams and only won one map all weekend.
This poor performance ensured OpTic Chicago’s spot in the second round of the lower bracket at Major III. The team will face the winner of the Los Angeles Guerrillas and Seattle Surge match and will need to win five straight matches to make it to the grand final. The London Royal Ravens, Paris Legion, and Minnesota ROKKR will also start Major III in the lower bracket. These teams are more than capable of putting up a fight against Chicago, and the team will also need to make it through other teams that drop down from the upper bracket.
OpTic is more than capable of fighting its way out of the losers bracket, but it will have to perform a lot better than it did during the Dallas Home Series.
Call of Duy League Standings
Here are the current Call of Duty League Standings:
Atlanta Faze – 265 CDL Points
Dallas Empire – 2120 CDL Points
New York Subliners– 180 CDL Points
Toronto Ultra – 175 CDL Points
OpTic Chicago – 160 CDL Points
Los Angeles Thieves – 140 CDL Points
Minnesota ROKKR – 120 CDL Points
Florida Mutineers– 90 CDL Points
Los Angeles Guerrillas– 80 CDL Points
Paris Legion – 60 CDL Points
London Royal Ravens – 50 CDL Points
Seattle Surge – 50 CDL Points
