Call of Duty League: Florida Home Series preview
After the Dallas Empire swept aside the competition at the Chicago Home Series, the Call of Duty League heads to its sixth event of the season where eight teams will battle it out for the lion’s share and those all-important CDL Points as the season heads into its second half.
Find all the key storylines to keep your eyes on during this weekend’s event.
The most competitive event to date?
There is a real chance that five of the eight teams competing this weekend could walk away with the title. Atlanta, Minnesota, London, Florida and an in-form New York have all showed signs that they can either win the event or at least make it into the knockout bracket.
After finishing second at the Chicago Home Series, the Atlanta FaZe are going to be the team to beat but the London Royal Ravens did give them a run for their money in a match that London could well have won if a few minor errors were avoided. With both teams on the same side of the bracket once again, it could be a different story now London has had more practice with Sean “Seany” O’Connor on the starting line-up.
New York stunned the Chicago Huntsmen at its own Home Series event, taking a surprise 3-2 win before Chicago avenged the loss to eliminate the Subliners from the tournament. Nonetheless, new signing Mackenzie “Mack” Kelley added some much-needed slaying power alongside Donovan “Temp” Laroda, skyrocketing New York into championship contention.
Both Florida and Minnesota haven’t been in action since the Los Angeles Home Series, the final offline event before current global circumstances saw the league transitioned into an online format. After finishing second in Atlanta followed by a top-six finish in LA, the Mutineers have still looked a solid team despite Maurice “Fero” Henriquez being drafted into the team at short notice. Now with some time and practice under his belt, Florida will be intent on going one better at taking the first place.
The same can be said for the RØKKR, a team that managed to topple the juggernauts of Atlanta in Los Angeles before falling to the Dallas Empire in the grand finals. Adam “GodRx” Brown has cemented his place as one of the top assault rifle players in the game while Obaid “Asim” Asim as ascended into one of the strongest sub-machine gunners.
This tournament is really anybody’s for the taking. Five teams could beat everyone for the championship but it is very hard to bet against the FaZe, who have an event victory under their belts. I expect them to win the event but not without a tough fight from all the teams vying for their first championship of the season.
Click to enlargeA new-look green wall
OpTic Gaming Los Angeles is heading into the event having made a change to its roster. Currently sitting in tied ninth place in the league table, two-time world champion Jordan “JKap” Kaplan has been demoted to the substitute bench in favour of former Team Kaliber player Martin “Chino” Chino.
With limited practice for the Green Wall heading into the Florida Home Series, one of two things are going to happen to the team this weekend. The team will either get swiftly defeated in its opening two matches of the event or it will experience what is known as the honeymoon period. In previous cases of teams making a change just a few days before an event, the team has gone on to cause an upset, making a deep run into the tournament. This could well happen for OpTic Gaming LA, especially if practice with Chino has gone well and the team has managed to find in-game roles to suit their individual styles of play. I’d keep my eyes on OpTic Gaming LA this weekend to make a move up the league table.
Stay tuned at GGRecon for all of your CDL news, and coverage from the Florida Home Series
Image via Call of Duty League
