CDL Report Cards - Stage 1
After the conclusion of an exciting first major, it feels great to be a Call of Duty fan right now. Great stories, exciting gameplay, and the new tournament structure all look to be contributing to a stellar second season. The matches have generally been so tight and close that on any given day it really feels like any “lesser” team could take the win over a team higher in the standings. Even if David doesn’t beat Goliath, with maybe some more time and adjustments to strategy, Stage 2 can see some major upsets and teams playing spoiler.
We saw some of these types of matches this past week at the major, the battle for LA went in favour of the Guerrillas, Toronto Ultra managed to find their groove and upset both the London Royal Ravens and the Minnesota RØKKR, and who can forget the New York Subliners dramatically shutting out Chicago OpTic after receiving their own sweep from them in the first round of the upper bracket.
After an incredible amount of fun and thrilling games for the past month, it’s time to give some key teams an evaluation. Let’s say in a score out of 100 in a report card-esque style, what’s the grade and feedback given to how have these key teams performed so far in 2021?
ATLANTA FAZE – 95
What else can be said about the Atlanta FaZe at the moment? Going undefeated in their first five matches, and then winning the major after only dropping two maps the whole tournament is a performance that goes beyond dominance. What other criticism is there to say for them other than, don’t drop any more maps if you really want to be considered the best? Atlanta shouldering any and all challengers so far has really been a testament to just how incredibly talented they are. Time will tell if an upcoming meta shift may help put a dent into their impenetrable plot armour, but the way these four guys are playing, seems like a tough ask for the moment.
Their submachine lineup of Chris "Simp" Lehr and Tyler "aBeZy" Pharris, is probably the best in the world at this point, and while they may not be as flashy as the frontline, McArthur "Cellium" Jovel and Alec "Arcitys" Sanderson, have proven to be the bedrock this team can stand on when they need them the most. Just an all-round scary team to face, and teams will have to put in a tremendous amount of effort to figure out the best way to best FaZe.
DALLAS EMPIRE – 91
Dallas have had a lot of expectations riding on them in 2021. They’re the defending CDL champs, home of the 2020 regular season MVP and 2020 playoffs MVP, and overall, one of the most talented rosters the league has come to see. Everyone expects big things from Dallas, that they should be able to reign over every other franchise, but unfortunately for them, that hasn’t been the case.
The defending champions may have fell short of taking the season’s first major, but even if they didn’t clinch the title, Dallas are very clearly the number two best team in the league. Currently, the fight to best them is not very close. Their only challengers at the moment seem to be Chicago and New York, but those still have a ways to go before they can take out the Empire if the major is anything to go by. Last year it was very back and forth between those top few teams in Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, and Florida, so faltering in this major is nothing short of a step back that Dallas can almost certainly recuperate from. Cuyler "Huke" Garland is still certainly a serious MVP candidate, and Ian "C6" Porter has still got the ability to absolutely dismantle a team with his playmaking. Dallas are very much still in the fight for a second title, and certainly still a titan in the CDL.
FLORIDA MUTINEERS - 62
Florida have been on a pretty bad downward spiral this season. Last year this was the first team to win three homestands and finished third overall and were most definitely a dark horse to take on the likes of the Atlanta FaZe and Dallas Empire. They looked absolutely incredible and like a roster that could do it all.
However, after tragedy struck their team in the off-season, Florida just looks they have been unable to get it together and even come close to finding that same spark from last year. Currently, it just looks like Joseph "Owakening" Conley is doing all the heavy lifting, and the rest of the team is unable to give him the support or performances they need to actually take the wins. A 1-5 overall record with Owakening dropping double K/D ratios in maps that they lose is dreadful. The rest of the team needs to step up and step up immediately, or there needs to be new pieces added into the mix, most likely some rookies who have been making waves in the Challengers scene. Owakening came in as a rookie for this team last year amidst a rough start to their season, Florida needs some magic like that to happen again here in 2021. Otherwise, it looks like this team is going to continue to falter.
LOS ANGELES THIEVES – 77
Looking at the Thieves post-Stage 1 Major, it feels like they’ve fluked their way into a stop two spot in their group. Their loss to the Guerrillas and OpTic were close but not enough. This is a team with the hype to be one of the hottest upstarts and one of the hottest teams on the market. They’re supposed to be the ones challenging the top of the pack and being the breath of fresh air the league needs. Currently, though, they’re looking overhyped and barely passing under the pressure of teams they should very much be beating.
You need to see some players step up to the plate and give performances that should exceed expectations because right now it feels like that pressure is resting on the shoulders of Thomas "TJHaLy" Haly and that’s it. Kenneth “Kenny” Williams needs to come in hot as a dominant force some people hail him as, and Donovan "Temp" Laroda needs to make sure he doesn’t get left behind when they face the tougher challenges of the league. If this team doesn’t rise to the occasion, they’ll be quickly left out of the conversation for making serious waves this season.
NEW YORK SUBLINERS – 88
New York have had the toughest public offseason compared to most other teams. One of their star rookies being unable to enter the country for the entirety of Stage 1, and one of their star veterans had to retire due to an injury. They put in a patchwork roster close to the start of the season, but almost everyone was entirely unsure as to what New York were capable of at the start of the season. Now, everyone is clamouring for a little more Subliners.
New York has seemingly struck gold with their roster, a mix of relative rookies all being led by the grizzled veteran James "Clayster" Eubanks. Their 3-0 victory over the Chicago OpTic in the lower bracket of the Stage 1 Major will go down in history as one of the best in the league, if not Call of Duty esports. It was a momentous occasion that shocked the scene, and really put New York on the map as a team to look out for. Now with Paco "HyDra" Rusiewiez, finally in the US, New York suddenly have multiple options as to how they want to shape the identity of this team moving forward. Any path for them seems like the right one at the moment, and the hustle and grind to come back from those circumstances has been unreal for this squad. Great things should be coming from the Subliners for the rest of the season.
OPTIC CHICAGO – 86
Oh, OpTic why do you keep doing this to us? Everyone loves OpTic, they love their players, they love the brand, and everyone wants OpTic to be able to win and dominate this league. Unfortunately for the team and the #GreenWall, OpTic are falling short of not just Atlanta and Dallas, but now also the Subliners. A team they clean swept earlier in the major, came back with the game plan to sweep them back, and it left OpTic once again denied a spot in the finals of a tournament. This team is talented, this team has the capacity to take it all on paper, but for some reason, they are just incapable of pulling it off against the best teams at the moment.
Whatever changes need to be made have to be some creative ones, because right now the team has some of the best players on the lineup, something just isn’t clicking well enough to be able to best the stronger squads in the league. For right now, OpTic can keep doing what they need to do against the easier teams to beat, they’re still one of the league’s top dogs, but against Dallas and Atlanta, they need to reapproach how they take those fights and matchups.
All images courtesy of Activision
