Call of Duty League Major 2 Qualifiers Weekend 1 Recap
The first weekend of qualifiers for the Call of Duty League is in the books, and it gave us a lot to think about and break down. With rostermania news surrounding many of the teams, it was going to be interesting to see how they would adjust to the new game of Modern Warfare 2.
OpTic Texas was the center of a lot of drama centered around the release of Dashy. There were headlines from both parties, but from the sounds of it, Dashy wasn't about how OpTic was running things behind the scenes, and management didn't care for Dashy's attitude. Nonetheless, how they performed was going to say a lot about what the move did for the team. They only played one match, defeating Boston Breach 3-2. Boston was riding high after defeating the RØkkr 3-0 and while they struggled in the last Major, getting the win for OpTic is one step closer to getting back on track.
For the RØkkr, after dominating the qualifiers in Major I and then laying a dump in group play, how they came out this weekend was going to be a telling sign of the team that they are. They started as badly as you can imagine on Friday against the Breach. But Saturday was a slightly better story. They got buried early by the London Royal Ravens, going down 2-0 and showing a lack of a fight. But something clicked, and they turned around and took the last three matches to get the match win 3-2. If we're going to take a positive away from this team, it's that they have resiliency and shouldn't be counted out until the final match is finished.
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Let's look at some of the top headlines to take away from the first weekend of the Call of Duty Major II.
New York Subliners Keep it Going
After surprising the CDL world and dominating Modern Warfare 2 in the first Major of the season, what the Subliners do during qualifiers in Major II was going to be something to keep a close eye on. They only played one match last weekend, but it was against the defending Call of Duty League Champions, Los Angeles Thieves. They gave up the first match to the Thieves, losing Hardpoint on Fortress 250-184. After that, they played many close matches but were able to hold off the Thieves and secure a 3-1 victory. It wasn't convincing enough to say that they will win back-to-back Majors, but the full New York Subliners' roster did enough to keep their names in the conversation.
Seattle Surge in Trouble?
While the drama with OpTic was going on, Surge's star player was often mentioned. With the prospects of Pred joining OpTic in what was discussed as potentially the biggest deal in CDL history, the future of the Surge came into question. And while hindsight is 20/20, maybe they should have considered pulling the trigger. After a strong performance in Major I, the second Major isn't looking too promising for them with the distractions that ensued. They took a devastating upset loss to the Vegas Legion 3-2 on Friday, followed by a big 3-0 loss to Atlanta FaZe on Saturday. It might be too early to say they're in trouble, but with much speculation surrounding the potential of losing their best player over the past couple of weeks, it looks like they're a tad rattled. The entire Seattle Surge roster will need a strong second weekend to prove they can return to the Grand Finals.
Rough one. GGs @ATLFaZe. #DrownThemOut pic.twitter.com/85j6Ww5MEG
— Vancouver Surge (@SurgeVancouver) January 15, 2023
Toronto Ultra the Best Team in CDL?
Toronto Ultra was knocking on the doorstep of the Major I Grand Finals. They looked and felt like the better team in each of their matches. But they ultimately fell short to the Subliners, who would go on and take the Finals against the Surge. They came out in Major II with that same energy and killer mentality, easily taking care of the London Royal Ravens (3-0) on Friday. They followed that up with a convincing 3-1 victory over the Florida Mutineers on Sunday. The Toronto Ultra roster is in a great spot, playing with a ton of conviction. This quad of players should be mentioned as one of the best, if not the best, in the Call of Duty League right now.
Recapping the Toronto Ultra vs. London Royal Ravens Match
Los Angeles Guerrillas Challengers are the Real Deal
The Los Angeles Guerrillas' roster looks much different after many surprising moves were made before the CDL Major II. They brought up three players from their Challengers team. Adam "Assault" Garcia, Kaden "Exceed" Stockdale, and Joe "JoeDeceives" Romero got the start alongside Alec "Arcitys" Sanderson, and wow - they performed well above expectations. Assault was in full assault mode all weekend, ending with a respectable 1.01 overall K/D and played well in each game mode. JoeDeceives was a menace throughout each Hardpoint match and played consistently in SnD. While the last Major was extremely disappointing, if this weekend is any indication, they're in for a huge turnaround for this Major.
Play after play from @ExceedLbX and co, and we're up 2-0. #LightsOut pic.twitter.com/XgWkCJbo7T
— Los Angeles Guerrillas (@LAGuerrillas) January 16, 2023
Zack is the Publishing Manager for Esports Illustrated. He grew up playing videos as a kid, mainly sports games and the Call of Duty series. Before his work at Esports Illustrated, Zack published content for the NFL Draft for various sites since 2017, including partner sites on FanNation and has appeared on various shows across the country and videos across the FanNation group. Outside of work, Zack enjoys spending time with his wife and three children. He loves playing football and video games with his son, taking his two daughters to get their favorite treats, and binge-watching shows with his wife. Zack began covering Esports at the end of 2022, mainly covering the Call of Duty League.