New York Subliners Miraculously Qualifies For World Championships
New York Subliners were dead and buried before the fourth and final quarter of the Call of Duty League season. After just seven league wins and from a possible 15 and not a single victory at a Major, Subliners sat second-from-bottom in the CDL standings and needed to double their tally with one last hurrah at their own Major tournament.
But in New York, the concrete jungle where dreams are made of, there is always the possibility of a miracle.
Fifty points outside of the qualification benchmark. Ian "Crimsix" Porter was facing his first omission at champs in 13 years. The fourth most prominent brand in the CDL facing embarrassment after a year of turmoil. A chance. That's all that was needed.
New York Subliners Complete Concrete Jungle Dream
Ten points per win meant that New York Subliners must reach a Grand Final, and win at least four of their Qualifier matches - the latter of which went off to a flying start as Subliners, off the back of their first split with the same roster as the last, notched up four consecutive wins against Florida Mutineers, Los Angeles Guerrillas, Seattle Surge, and OpTic Texas.
A top-placed seeding for the Major, in which New York Subliners hosted themselves, saw Minnesota ROKKR and Florida Mutineers both fall in front of the Big Apple crowd, taking their tally of points from 70 up to 120 and within touching distance of the eighth-place qualification breakoff.
With Florida Mutineers eliminated, New York needed 20 more points to leapfrog them from their 11th-place start. Still in the upper bracket, a win against LA Thieves would book them a Grand Final appearance and the necessary qualification results to make Crimsix continue the longest champs streak in CoD history.
In the most impressive turnaround, going from five straight losses at the previous three majors, Subliners reared their propellers and with the Statue of Liberty looking over its native French phenom Paco "Hydra" Rusiewiez, they overhauled LA Thieves to make the Grand Finals in front of their own crowd. With seven wins out eight games - matching their tally across the previous 20 - Subliners scraped over the line for Champs qualification and completed their miracle run.
The heroics didn't stop there though, with LA Thieves fighting back through the lower bracket to beat Subliners in a rematch on the Grand Finals stage, but New Yorks's fairytale had been completed by then, and all eyes are now on Champs.
Crimsix Celebrates Champs Qualification With Gift To Crimseven Doppelganger
Crimsix's doppelganger, dubbed "Crimseven", served as the Subliners' good-luck charm throughout the weekend, even appearing on stage through a comical jibe in the walk-outs.
After pioneering the cheers and conducting the crowd, Crimsix vowed that he will gift a ticket to Champs for Crimseven.
Timestamp: 1:51:35
"Crimseven, you're coming to champs! I'll pay for your s**t if you need me to. I don't care, if New York won't pay for it, I will," Crimsix said following their qualification.
The New York Major has quickly become a fan-favourite from the Call of Duty scene, and is being crowned as the best event since the CDL was formed.
