The Los Angeles Guerrillas Home Series was the final event before the second major of the 2021 Call of Duty League season. Each team had a final chance to improve their standing before the tournament to receive a better seeding.
The LA Guerrillas pulled off an impressive win against FaZe during its home series. Image via LA Guerrillas.
Some teams like the Guerrillas managed to pull off surprising upsets while others like OpTic Chicago bounced back. Other teams went home without a victory and will have a lot of work ahead of them if they want to make it through the losers bracket at the second Major.
LA Guerrillas defend their home turf
The LA Guerrillas entered its home series 0-3, but the team was prepared to redeem itself before the second Major. The Guerillas faced the Atlanta FaZe in its first match of the weekend. Many thought it would be a quick win for FaZe. But the Guerrillas surprised the world with a 3-2 victory over the best team in the league.
Atlanta was previously undefeated and won the first Major of the 2021 season. FaZe started the series in usual fashion with a 250-176 Moscow Hardpoint victory led by Chris “Simp” Lehr, who dominated the map.
Many expected FaZe to take the second map, Miami Search and Destroy, as it is one of the team’s strongest game modes. But LA managed to defeat FaZe at its own game and won the map 6-2.
Atlanta took the third map of the series with a close 3-2 Checkmate Control win. The Guerrillas needed to win Apocalypse Hardpoint to stay alive, which was no easy task as Hardpoint has been one of their weakest game modes this season. But they beat FaZe 250-154 in a surprisingly one-sided performance.
With momentum on its side, the Los Angeles Guerrillas closed the series with a 6-0 Express Search and Destroy victory that delivered FaZe’s first defeat of the season. All members of the LA roster performed well in the final map while no one on FaZe could get over five kills.
While this impressive performance was enough for LA fans to be happy, the Guerrillas finished the weekend with a win against its hometown rival: the LA Thieves. The LA Thieves struggled in group play during stage two and only won one match against the Toronto Ultra. The team ended group play on a low note with a crushing 3-0 defeat delivered by the Guerillas.
The Guerrillas dominated in Raid Hardpoint on the first map. Justin “Silly” Fargo-Palmer performed exceptionally well and finished the map 30-12. The LA Thieves managed to take Miami Search and Destroy to round 11. But it could not close out against the Guerrillas. Silly put on another all-star performance and finished the map 11-3.
The LA Thieves attempted to take the series to map four, but the Guerrillas closed it out with a 3-2 Raid Control win. This time Reece “Vivid” Drost led his team to victory, but Silly and Adam “Assault” Garcia also performed well.
The LA Guerrillas performed well throughout its home series event. But this was not enough to save the team from the second major’s losers bracket. However, its win over FaZe did prevent it from securing the first seed in the upcoming major. If the Guerrillas can maintain its stellar performance and make it through the losers bracket, it could be a contender for the Major II crown.
OpTic bounces back
OpTic Chicago had a rough time during week two as it failed to beat the Minnesota ROKKR and the Florida Mutineers. But the team bounced back during the LA Guerrillas home series by defeating the Seattle Surge and Dallas Empire.
Chicago defeating Seattle was not a huge surprise considering Seattle’s record so far this season. The team is currently 3-8, although it did win two matches in stage two group play.
Chicago started the series with a 250-226 Raid Hardpoint victory, although Seatle players Sam “Octane” Larew and Preston “Prestinni” Sanderson put up an incredible fight. However, Chicago did dominate Seattle in Checkmate Search and destroy with a 6-2 win. Matthew “FormaL” Piper had a fantastic game and finished the map 12-4.
The final map of the series, Raid Control, went in favor of Chicago, but Seattle kept the map close. Brandon “Dashy” Otell led his team to victory and finished the map with 31 kills.
OpTic’s last match of the weekend was against the Dallas Empire, which currently sits two spots ahead of Chicago on the leaderboard. Dallas started the series with a 250-244 Moscow Hardpoint win, although Chicago made the teamwork for the victory.
OpTic answered back with a 6-2 Raid Search and Destroy win. The entire OpTic roster went positive and helped prevent Dallas from taking a significant lead. But Dallas beat Chicago in Checkmate Control, which is one of OpTic’s strongest game modes.
Chicago forced the series to map five with a Checkmate Hardpoint win with another impressive performance from the entire team. OpTic closed the series with a 6-1 Search and Destroy victory. Seth “Scump” Abner finished with nine kills and finished the previous map with 27 kills, establishing he is still one of the league’s best players.
Major II is here
The second Major of the 2021 season is finally here. Each team’s performance during group play has determined their placements during the tournament. Some teams have a lot of work ahead.
OpTic Chicago will face the Toronto Ultra, and the New York Subliners will face the Dallas Empire in round one of the winners’ bracket. Atlanta FaZe will face the winner of Chicago and Toronto, and Minnesota will face the winner of New York and Dallas.
The Los Angeles Guerrillas will play the Florida Mutineers, and the Paris Legion will play the LA Thieves in the first round of the losers bracket. Seattle will face the winner of the Guerrillas and Florida, and the London Royal Ravens will face the winner between Paris and LA.
Here are the current Call of Duty League team standings:
Atlanta Faze – 165 CDL Points
Dallas Empire – 130 CDL Points
New York Subliners – 120 CDL Points
OpTic Chicago – 110 CDL Points
Los Angeles Thieves – 80 CDL Points
Minnesota ROKKR – 70 CDL Points
Los Angeles Guerrillas – 70 CDL Points
Florida Mutineers– 50 CDL Points
Toronto Ultra– 50 CDL Points
Paris Legion – 50 CDL Points
Seattle Surge – 30 CDL Points
London Royal Ravens – 20 CDL Points
