CDL Fantasy Team Of Stage One - The New OpTic Fazeliners Empire
After a thrilling few weeks of world-class competitive Call of Duty action, the opening stage of the 2021 Call of Duty League (CDL) season has come to an end, with the Atlanta FaZe being crowned winners.
With all 12 franchises getting their respective campaigns up and running, Stage One was the first chance to see teams competing on Black Ops Cold War and with more eyes on the esport than ever before; the pressure was on to begin the first of five stages on the front foot.
While some franchises struggled due to a variety of issues, the top teams quickly began to stand out from the rest of the pack thanks to unmatched co-ordination, raw slaying power, and the ability to win rounds when the path to victory looked to be blocked off altogether.
Alongside some of the household names that have dominated the competitive scene in recent years, some new faces also shone on the big stage. With that said, here are the four players we have selected to be a part of our Stage One fantasy team.
Matt "FormaL" Piper - OpTic Chicago
Often found with the Krig 6 assault rifle in his hands, FormaL has asserted his position as one of the very best assault rifle players in Black Ops Cold War. While he may not feature frequently in and around the Hardpoint hill, his expert positioning combined with deadly precision sees this half of the formidable T2P partnership appearing at the top of the scoreboard on a regular basis.
Kicking off the Stage One Major against the New York Subliners was always going to be a tricky task for the Green Wall to overcome. Despite the tricky opposition that laid ahead of them, OpTic shone with FormaL leading the charge, eventually leading the team to a convincing 3-0 sweep of the Subliners.
While statistics only tell a small proportion of the context of the match, FormaL ended the game with a 1.4 kill-to-death ratio, the second-highest of the eight players in the match. Positioning is often the key to success for FormaL, and with the extremely powerful XM4 and Krig 6 rifles lending themselves to passive, yet lethal gameplay that often opens up the map for the more aggressive submachine gunners to thrive.
Despite falling in a thrilling five-game series to the Dallas Empire, FormaL once again displayed his assault rifle prowess in a 3-1 win against the Los Angeles Thieves before being on the receiving end of a New York Subliners masterclass to eliminate OpTic from the tournament. Although a fourth-place finish was unexpected, FormaL showed several signs that Black Ops Cold War could be his best title since his dominant Infinite Warfare season.
Chris "Simp" Lehr - Atlanta FaZe
We’re running out of superlatives to describe the immense skill of superstar submachine slayer known as Simp. Since bursting onto the competitive scene with eUnited on Black Ops 4, Simp has continued to go from strength to strength, cementing his place as one of the top SMG players in the world. Armed with an incredible understanding of the Black Ops Cold War mechanics and gunskill that very few players can beat, Simp played an instrumental role in securing Atlanta’s first Major victory of the season.
The FaZe began the tournament against the Los Angeles Guerrillas, who were fresh from a 3-0 sweep over the LA Thieves. Atlanta quickly put a halt to their winner’s bracket run with a clinical 3-0 victory of their own to set up a clash with defending champions, the Dallas Empire. In comparison to some of his more explosive performances, Simp against the Guerrillas almost took it easy, rounding off the series with a respectable 1.13 K/D ratio.
Looking to avenge their 2020 CDL Championship final loss, Simp entered another gear, comfortably slaying the opposition in Crossroads Hardpoint to kick off the series. With the ball rolling, Simp played a pivotal role in game two, scoring another seven kills in a convincing 6-2 win. His performance in game three was the icing on the cake. A 1.69 K/D thanks to a ruthless slaying display secured a 3-0 win and a place in the Grand Finals, where Atlanta would face off against the Empire for a second time.
The finals were a completely different story from 2020. Atlanta quickly raced into a 3-0 lead before the Empire managed to reduce the deficit with a map victory of their own in game four. The final two Search and Destroy matches demonstrated why Simp is still considered one of the best in the game. A nine-kill win on Moscow greatly assisted in FaZe’s 6-1 domination of an Empire team that looked all but out of it, followed by a phenomenal 12-kill performance on Raid, rounded off the series, and secured the championship.
Displaying such explosive slaying power so deep into a best-of-nine series is no mean feat, yet Simp looked like that the finals were his first game of the day, showcasing immeasurable confidence in every play he executed.
Conor "Diamondcon" Johst - New York Subliners
To justify that statistics have a minimal role in determining the skill of a player, Diamondcon of the New York Subliners rarely featured towards the top of the scoreboard, but his incredible ability to clutch rounds that looked almost impossible to win were the catalyst that led the Subliners to a top-three finish.
The first showcase of his immense ability to clutch came in game two against the LA Guerrillas. Left in a 1v3 situation, Diamondcon’s passive and patient approach towards the rear of the B bombsite paid off in spades, taking out all three of the remaining players to level the game at three rounds each.
Diamondcon clutched once again against the Florida Mutineers, and followed it up with yet another example of masterful positioning in the second battle against OpTic Chicago. This innate ability to clutch, combined with some impressive slaying ability with an assault rifle, makes Diamondcon a player that should never be underestimated despite his lack of experience of competing at the highest level.
Cuyler "Huke" Garland - Dallas Empire
Since his return to competitive Call of Duty, Huke has managed to reclaim his position as one of the most exciting talents in Call of Duty after turbulent seasons on World War 2 and Black Ops 4. The start of the CDL has been a turning point for Huke as he looks to cement his reputation as one of the most explosive slayers.
Beginning the road to the Stage One Major final against Chicago OpTic was always going to be a series that lived up to the billing, and it sure did, going all the way down to a round-11 decider in the fifth and final game. The Empire emerged from the rubble of the Green Wall alos the victors, with Huke dropping 90 kills across all five maps. The following map against Atlanta FaZe was a harsh reality check for Huke and the Empire; the superior slaying coming from Tyler “aBeZy” Pharris and Simp proved to make the difference as Dallas dropped into the loser’s bracket, a position that few expected a team of this calibre to be in.
With no room for error against an in-form New York side, Huke detonated the proverbial nuke in the opening Hardpoint, dropping 40 kills in a 250-213 victory for the Empire. The Search and Destroy went down to a deciding round, but the unmatched speed and aggression of Huke proved to be the difference once again, scoring 11 kills to extend Dallas’ lead to secure a two-map advantage. Another solid showing from Huke on Checkmate Control rounded off a 3-0 sweep of the Subliners, giving Huke and the Empire a shot at avenging their earlier loss to Atlanta.
The final didn’t go the way of Dallas after an extremely slow start from several members of the team, but despite the slow start, Huke made a convincing case as to why he should be considered one of the very best players in the world.
Images via Call of Duty League | New York Subliners