Vegas Legion out of CDL Major 4. What Happened?
What started as the most positive performance in the Qualifiers Stage in the 2023 Call of Duty League season very quickly turned sour for the Vegas Legion. Going 4-1 in Qualifiers gave them the No.5 seed heading into the Major. Drawing an up and down New York Subliners team was one of the better matchups the Legion could have asked for.
Simply put - New York slaughtered them on the first day of Major 4. They swept them 3-0, and honestly, besides the first map of Mercado Hardpoint, Vegas didn't look like themselves. They were completely dominated in Asilo SnD, which it's been rare to see them struggle in any SnD match. And then the inevitable happened - Vegas got blended on a Control map.
That's ok. Regain for the next match. They get matched up against the Florida Mutineers, who have struggled all year and have dealt with roster change after roster change.
It started with a lot of back and forth on Mercado Hardpoint, which Florida ended up taking 250-206.
Next up is Vegas' bread and butter, Hotel SnD. Florida played them close, nearly edging them out. But Vegas held down their stay at Hotel and won 6-4.
On to another stay at Hotel, this time on Control. There's no shock here - Vegas dropped the round 3-0 and didn't appear to be in the game whatsoever.
Alright, Vegas is down 2-1 and on the brink of elimination and having the respawn game struggle as much as it has is not ideal. Florida got out to a hot start, but Vegas kept their heads on straight, pulling off a close win 250-194.
Game five. Fortress SnD. This is where you'd think Vegas would put the game away and start their Cinderella run to the Finals. They were on their way, going up 5-2 and just one more round win to move on to the next match. A complete breakdown then ensues, with Vikul and Brack from Florida carrying them to a crazy comeback win.
What exactly happened to Vegas? All year, they were known as purely an SnD team that struggled in the respawn game. That narrative began to change throughout Stage 4, giving them hope to make a deep run through Major 4.
But it didn't last, and we started to see the Vegas team that we saw earlier in the year. The respawn game was nearly nonexistent, particularly in Control maps. They don't have strong enough holds on points and get easily broken through. The setup is questionable at best, and you can see, on stage, the quick change of demeanor when their backs are up against the wall.
Vegas is in a tightly contested race for the final spot in the postseason with the Minnesota RØkkr. They have the talent on their roster to compete with top-tier teams, but if they want to make it to the postseason and fight for a chance to be crowned Champs, they must figure out their respawn game—also, a 0.82 total team K/D is unacceptable from a team of this caliber.
How to Watch the Call of Duty League
Viewers can watch the 2023 Call of Duty League through the Call of Duty Twitch and YouTube channels. If you are watching on Twitch, be sure to link your Activision and Twitch accounts to receive Twitch Drops during eligible events. The CDL will take place every Friday-Sunday over the course of four weeks.
