London Home Series Preview
Hot off the back of a thrilling weekend of action at the New York Home Series, the Call of Duty League circus continues as eight of the 12 franchise teams face off against each other at the penultimate Home Series event of the inaugural franchised league season. As always, the teams will be competing for a share of $100,000 in prize money and CDL Points which will decide the starting positions for all 12 teams in the championship bracket at the season-ending weekend, said to take place at the end of August.
The eleventh Home Series of the Modern Warfare season will not see the Chicago Huntsmen, Atlanta FaZe, Toronto Ultra or the Minnesota RØKKR competing at the event but will see the Florida Mutineers and the Dallas Empire back in action after missing the New York event.
In our latest Home Series preview, we take a look at all the key storylines heading into the event, attempt to predict the victors of the first-round matches and see which teams are in the running to secure the title on CDL Sunday.
You can find everything you need to know about the London Home Series here, including the participating teams, the complete schedule and how to tune into the event.
Florida the Team to Beat
Since the Call of Duty League moved to an online format due to the current global situation, the Florida Mutineers has come into its own, scoring three wins at the Dallas, Minnesota and most recently, the Paris Home Series. Since bringing in Joseph “Owakening” Conley to the starting roster, the team has received some much-needed slaying power which has transformed the Mutineers into a North American powerhouse. The change couldn’t have come at a better time having failed to escape the group stage at the Florida Home Series and since then, Florida has won two back-to-back tournaments, putting themselves among the likes of the Huntsmen and the FaZe at the top of the table. Another strong result this weekend could cement their place in the top three and more importantly, a strong starting position in the bracket for Champs.
Click to enlargeWhat Next for Seattle?
The mystery of the Seattle Surge continues as the team sits at the bottom of the CDL table after three-time world champion Damon “Karma” Barlow retired from competition while Nicholas “Proto” Maldonado joined the team to fill the large shoes left behind. This weekend will be the first event the new-look roster will compete and given the lack of speed and aggression that it possessed back at the Minnesota event; all eyes will be on Proto to see if any significant improvements have been made.
A big points haul is a must for the Surge if the team is to make any form of headway up the table in time to escape the loser’s bracket at Champs. If recent tournament form is anything to go by, it is going to take something miraculous for Seattle to make it into the top four this weekend.
Click to enlargeA Big Opportunity for London
Since finishing second to the Huntsmen at the Seattle Home Series, the London Royal Ravens have been on the cusp of reaching the heights of the top teams in the league. The New York event wasn’t easy for the UK roster, falling to Chicago in the opening round, defeating Minnesota in a close five-game series and losing to eventual winners New York in the knockout match for group B.
More often than not, London have shown signs of what they are truly capable of and when firing on all cylinders, it is truly a sight to behold and one that the top teams should certainly be keeping an eye on as we move ever-closer to the end of the season. With most of the top teams other than Florida and Dallas out of action, there is a real chance for the Royal Ravens to make a deep run and perhaps another appearance in the finals.
Click to enlargeFirst Round Predictions
London Royal Ravens 3-0 Seattle Surge
Seattle are immediately thrown into the deep end with a first-round clash against the hosts looking to prove that they can contend with the North American juggernauts. With the meta transitioning to favour assault rifle players, the battle between Bradley “Wuskin” Marshall and Sam “Octane” Larew is going to be an extremely exciting prospect. Despite the changes from Seattle, London is in the perfect position to kick off their second Home Series event with a victory.
OpTic Gaming Los Angeles 2-3 Florida Mutineers
After making a resurgence in the middle of the season, OpTic Gaming LA appears to have been struggling in determining the roles within the team, opting to bring in two up-and-coming players in the forms of Darien “Hollow” Chverchko and Zack “Drazah” Jordan in place of Martin “Chino” Chino and Brandon “Dashy” Otell. On the other hand, Florida are fresh off two victories and have the chance to be the first team to score four victories. If Hollow and Drazah come out swinging then this could be a much closer series than many people expect but I still see the Mutineers walking away with the win.
Paris Legion 1-3 Dallas Empire
The Paris Legion still appears to be on its downward spiral after another disappointing weekend at the New York Home Series. Yet to reach the heights that the team first rose to in the opening weeks of the league, the Legion has slowly fallen down the pecking order while others have managed to adapt to the metagame and surpass them in the table. As for Dallas, the Empire is yet to place any lower than the top four all while Anthony “Shotzzy” Cuevas-Castro has established himself as one of the very best Modern Warfare players despite it being his first full season competing in Call of Duty. Paris is a team that can snatch maps off teams but Dallas is one of the most consistent teams in the CDL and for good reason. 3-1 in favour of the Empire.
New York Subliners 3-1 LA Guerrillas
Since bringing in Mackenzie “Mack” Kelley, the New York Subliners has slowly moved up the table with some impressive performances against the top teams. These improvements were rewarded with a win at the New York Home Series, sweeping aside Chicago in convincing fashion in the final. The Guerrillas are another team that has also shown improvements in recent weeks, finishing fourth at the Minnesota event, also defeating the Huntsmen. With both teams in form, this series has the potential to go the distance but if the Subliners can replicate their performance from last weekend, they are certainly in contention for the championship on Sunday.
Tournament Predictions
1st: Florida Mutineers
2nd: Dallas Empire
3rd: New York Subliners
4th: London Royal Ravens
Images via Bleacher Report | Call of Duty League | ESPAT Media