The Call of Duty League Opening Weekend has ended, and fans have gotten their first taste of the competition of the 2021 season. Three teams finished the weekend undefeated, and four teams failed to win a series.
The LA Thieves were one of two teams to go 2-0 during the Opening Weekend (Image via LA Thieves)
But the season is just beginning, and every team will have plenty of other chances to prove themselves.
Atlanta and LA Thieves dominate the weekend
The Atlanta FaZe finished in second place during the inaugural CDL season and established itself as a competitive powerhouse. The team defeated the Los Angeles Guerrillas in a 3-0 victory and faced OpTic Chicago in the final match of the weekend.
The weekend ended with an intense five-map series, but Atlanta dominated OpTic in both Search and Destroy matches. Both teams were evenly matched in Hardpoint contests, but Atlanta’s Search and Destroy strength secured the team’s second win of the weekend.
The Los Angeles Thieves also finished the weekend undefeated and slightly redeemed themselves for their performance at the Kickoff Classic. The LA Thieves weekend with a 3-1 series win against the Minnesota ROKKR. Minnesota put up a decent fight in the first three maps, but LA finished the series with a commanding 250-60 Moscow Hardpoint victory.
Both teams finished the weekend with a 2-0 record and currently lead the league in CDL Points.
Unexpected victories
The last day of the Opening Weekend featured two underdogs defeating the favored winners.
The Seattle Surge started the day with a 3-2 victory against the London Royal Ravens. London recently signed Christopher “Parasite” Duarte to its roster to temporarily replace Trei “Zer0” Morris. Zer0’s absence and the mediocre performance last season led many to rank the Royal Ravens relatively low. But they were still expected to beat the Seattle Surge.
Seattle defeated London in an intense five-game series. Every match was relatively close, although London dominated Seattle in the third and fourth map. However, Seattle regrouped and defeated London 6-2 in Raid Search and Destroy to secure the series.
Minnesota also pulled off a surprising victory against the reigning champion Dallas Empire. The first map of the series was a one-sided affair for Dallas, but Minnesota experienced severe connection issues. The team replayed the match, but Dallas still dominated in Checkmate Hardpoint.
However, Minnesota was not willing to throw away the series. The team regrouped and won the next to maps. Dallas managed to force the series to map five, but Minnesota defeated Dallas in Garrison Search and Destroy 6-2.
A Tough Opening Weekend
Not every team started the season off with a victory, but there is still plenty of time for redemption.
The Paris Legion lost its first match of the weekend against OpTic Chicago in a 3-0 one-sided series. Chicago is considered one of the strongest teams in the league, but Paris managed to keep two of the maps relatively close. It was not enough to defeat Chicago.
Paris also lost its second match against the Los Angeles Guerrillas, although it was a much closer series. The teams faced off in a back and forth five-match series, but the Guerrillas sent Paris home without a victory.
The New York Subliners, Florida Mutineers, and London Royal Ravens only had one match each during the Opening Weekend. The LA Thieves defeated New York in a 3-0 series. The Toronto Ultra beat Florida 3-1, and London was beaten by Seattle 3-2.
CDL Rankings
The Opening Weekend is officially over, and each team has been ranked based on the amount of CDL Points they’ve earned. The Los Angeles Thieves and Atlanta FaZe are tied in first place with 20 CDL Points.
The Dallas Empire, OpTic Chicago, Minnesota ROKKR, and Seattle Surge each earned 10 CDL Points. The remaining teams that did not win a game hold zero CDL Points.
The Call of Duty League will continue during Stage 1 Week 2 on Thursday, February 18.
