New York Home Series Preview
After a two-week break, the Call of Duty League is back in action as eight of the 12 franchise teams are back in action, competing for the lion’s share of $100,000 in prize money and CDL Points which will ultimately decide the starting positions for the bracket at the season-ending championship weekend, taking place in August.
The tenth Home Series of the Modern Warfare season will not see North American powerhouses Florida Mutineers and Dallas Empire in action, but will see the Atlanta FaZe and Chicago Huntsmen participating in the event and a highly anticipated showdown between the two sides could well be on the cards.
In our latest Home Series Preview, we take a look at the key storylines heading into the event, attempt to predict the winners of the opening round matches and see which teams are in contention to take home the title on CDL Sunday.
You can find everything you need to know about the New York Home Series here, including, which teams are playing, the full schedule and how to watch the event.
Chicago to Bounce Back
After a shock defeat to an in-form Los Angeles Guerrillas in the last tournament the team competed in, questions surrounding whether the Chicago Huntsmen can stay in contention with the likes of Atlanta began to surface. The addition of Preston “Prestinni” Sanderson, has yet to see the Huntsmen return to the top of the table but the selfless nature of Prestinni, makes him an extremely important piece of the Huntsmen puzzle.
The Minnesota Home Series was the first time that Chicago has placed outside of the top four and if online practice with what appears to be a brand-new metagame, Chicago could well take the championship this weekend. A win this weekend would mark Chicago’s third victory of the season and would put them in a prime position as the season nears its conclusion.
Click to enlargeA Big Weekend for Minnesota
Widely considered to be one of the most consistent teams in the entire league, the Minnesota RØKKR has yet to reach the heights that have been predicted of the team. Since finishing as runners-up at the Dallas Home Series, Minnesota hasn’t come close since - finishing no higher than the top six at the Florida, Seattle and the Minnesota Home Series. To add insult to injury, sub-machine gun superstar Alex “Alexx” Carpenter was forced to pull out of the event due to injury but after some time off the sticks, Alexx is set to return to the starting line-up ahead of the New York Home Series.
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After a string of disappointing results, this weekend is huge for Minnesota if they are to keep in contact with the top four teams. With so many teams beginning to make significant improvements as the countdown to champs keeps ticking over, the RØKKR are in need of another solid showing.
Click to enlargeLA Guerrillas: The Dark Horse?
The Los Angeles Guerrillas has been dubbed the worst team in the entire league after being stuck at the bottom of the league table for the duration of the Modern Warfare season. After a wave of changes to its starting roster, the addition of Reece “Vivid” Drost back in February, as well as the return of Renato “Saints” Forza, seems to have sparked a resurgence at the perfect time to improve on their position in the table.
The Guerrillas managed to finish in the top for the first time this season, defeating the Chicago Huntsmen in order to qualify for their first appearance in CDL Sunday. The team looked to have turned a corner and fresh off a top-four finish combined with a meta that no team appears to have got to grips with, this is the perfect opportunity for LA to go one step further and make it into their first grand finals of the year.
Click to enlargeFirst Round Predictions
Paris Legion 1-3 Toronto Ultra
Like Minnesota, the Paris Legion has been on a downward spiral with some below-par performances and with the current state of the meta all over the place, it could be what Paris needs to score some essential points as champs gets ever-closer. Since bringing in Tobi “CleanX” Juul Jønsson to the team, Toronto has seen some slight improvement, scoring a top-six finish at the Paris Home Series. Paris could reverse their fortunes but the Ultra is more than capable of scoring a win in this particular match.
Atlanta FaZe 3-2 LA Guerrillas
The FaZe is still one of the best teams in the league and are certainly in contention to score another championship. In recent weeks, Atlanta has shown some signs of weakness, going to deciding game fives with teams that are usually considered to be light work for a team of this calibre. With LA and its recent resurgence and Atlanta often struggling in early stages of a match, this could be the opportunity to for the Guerrillas to cause another almighty upset but Atlanta and its clutch factor is likely to prove too strong once again.
London Royal Ravens 3-2 Chicago Huntsmen
Potentially the highlight of the first-round matches, a rerun of the Seattle Home Series finals is on the cards as the London Royal Ravens do battle with the Chicago Huntsmen. Since the finals, London has shown glimpses of what it is truly capable of since recruiting Trei “Zer0” Morris to the team while Chicago most recently lost to the LA Guerrillas in a very close series. Given how close the previous series was and the improvements London have made, the Royal Ravens has the chance to avenge their loss to the Huntsmen and I think that they will.
Minnesota RØKKR 2-3 New York Subliners
With Alexx back in the starting five for Minnesota, the return of his aggressive slaying ability is going to be crucial against a New York team which has improved significantly since Mackenzie “Mack” Kelley joined the team. As one of the most aggressive players to grace Modern Warfare, the battle of the slayers is going to make all the difference in what promises to be an extremely close series. I see New York walking away with a slender victory.
Tournament Predictions
1st: Atlanta FaZe
2nd: Chicago Huntsmen
3rd: London Royal Ravens
4th: Toronto Ultra
Images via EsportsNation | Call of Duty League