Seattle Home Series Preview
The Seattle Home Series is right around the corner and will see another eight Call of Duty League (CDL) franchises battle it out for $100,000 in prize money and the chance to be crowned champion once again. Starting on May 22nd, the Chicago Huntsmen, London Royal Ravens, Los Angeles Guerrillas, New York Subliners, Paris Legion, Minnesota RØKKR will join the Seattle Surge in the fourth online event of the season.
In our preview, we take a look at the key storylines heading into the event, attempt to predict the results of the first-round matches and select who we think will finish in the top four.
- You can find everything you need to know about the Seattle Home Series at our coverage hub
A New-Look Chicago
After weeks of speculation, Preston “Prestinni” Sanderson has joined the Chicago Huntsmen from the Florida Mutineers after taking a break from competition.
Known for his aggression with the MP5, Prestinni joins a team that has placed no lower than fourth throughout the season and with Pierce “Gunless” Hillman departing the team, Prestinni has plenty of pressure on his shoulders to perform well but with a couple of weeks practice under their belts, it’s going to be hard not to consider the Huntsmen as contenders for the championship this weekend.
All or Nothing for London
The trials and tribulations of the London Royal Ravens have been extremely interesting to watch as the season reaches the halfway stage. Currently sat in seventh place, London have been a team that has shown it can contend with some of the heavyweight North American teams in the CDL, but has almost always been on the losing side.
At the Florida Home Series, London managed to scrape past an improved OpTic Gaming Los Angeles team to face the Atlanta FaZe where they looked good but still fell short. Since demoting Rhys “Rated” Price to the bench early in the season, Jordan “Jurd” Crowley appears to be taking the brunt of the criticism coming the way of the Royal Ravens and it appears that the king of European Call of Duty has been usurped by Trei “Zer0” Morris.
Given Zer0’s versatility as a player, this could be the missing piece that London has been looking for in order to find some consistency as the league moves into the second half and points become all the more important heading towards the season-ending championships in August.
Click to enlargeWhat can OGLA Do?
Since bringing in Martin “Chino” Chino to the starting line-up in place of Jordan “JKap” Kaplan, the resurgence of OpTic Gaming Los Angeles is in full swing. Finishing runners up to Atlanta at the Florida Home Series was a statement of intent for the Green Wall which has been floundering towards the bottom of the table since the start of the league in January.
This turn in form could not have come at a better time for OGLA. As it joins the hectic mid-table battle, OpTic has a real opportunity to make a push towards the top of the table and throw its hat into the conversation of outright championship contenders.
Never Rule Out Minnesota
The Minnesota RØKKR has a perfectly balanced roster and it has shown, with the team picking up points in every single weekend it has competed in. Florida may have been a blip in form after finishing in the top six after losing to Toronto and New York in quick succession but they are more than capable of contesting for the championship this weekend. A tough game against OpTic LA greets them in their first game of the weekend, a game that could well go the distance given OpTic’s recent run of form and Minnesota’s incredible consistency.
The Dark Horses
The New York Subliners, Seattle Surge, Paris Legion and Los Angeles Guerrillas have all shown signs of form but have yet to string together some consistent results in recent weeks.
After a hot start at the beginning of the league, Paris walked away from the Florida Home Series with no points after a sub-par performance. They’ll be coming into the weekend with a point to prove after a poor weekend last time out.
Despite a wealth of talent and experience on the Surge, Seattle has struggled to find any kind of winning formula but are still picking up points in the race to remain off the bottom of the table. With Ian “Enable” Wyatt back in the team, could this be the catalyst for a good result?
The acquisition of Mackenzie “Mack” Kelley has already done wonders for New York. The ruthless slaying power that the young star possesses saw him fit straight into the Subliners and give the team a spark that wasn’t always present. They’re no strangers to causing upsets against the top teams, could it happen again?
Last and by no means least is the LA Guerillas. It has not been a great first half of the league for the second LA team in the CDL, roster changes and a lack of results has left them trailing at the bottom of the table. This will be the first time that the Guerrillas have been in action since the Los Angeles Home Series and perhaps a switch to the online competition may favour them. With players in familiar surroundings, can the Guerrillas begin the turnaround that they desperately need to keep up with the rest of the field? We will have to wait and see.
Click to enlargeFirst Round Predictions
Paris Legion 1-3 Chicago Huntsmen
London Royal Ravens 3-0 LA Guerrillas
Minnesota RØKKR 3-2 OpTic Gaming LA
Seattle Surge 1-3 New York Subliners
The match of the day will certainly be Minnesota against OpTic. OpTic is on a run of form while the RØKKR will be looking to amend their Florida performance with a strong showing.
Top 4 Predictions
1st: Chicago Huntsmen
2nd: New York Subliners
3rd: Minnesota RØKKR
4th: OpTic Gaming Los Angeles
It is going to take something special to knock Chicago off the top spot this weekend. New York and Minnesota have a good opportunity to do so but the new addition of Prestinni is certainly going to make an impact. As for OpTic, we can see their good run of form continuing with another solid placement above the likes of London and Paris.
Coverage will start at 9pm GMT on Friday, and you can find all of your CDL News and Coverage here at GGRecon
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