Three Spicy Storylines Heading Into The Stage 4 Major

The Stage 4 Major is the moment the entire competitive Call of Duty community has been waiting for. After several months of online competition, the Call of Duty League (CDL) is making its long-awaited return to LAN. Although there won’t be any form of audience in attendance, everyone is looking forward to the highest tier of COD esports returning to its natural habitat.

With all 12 teams back in action, the return to LAN has raised a number of questions from the community. Many of the players have never played Call of Duty in an offline environment before. Will they be able to replicate their performances on the big stage? Will the more established names return to the forefront of the CDL after some mixed results during the online Home Series events?

While a lot of focus is on the performance of the players, there are several spicy storylines that will come to fruition inside the Esports Stadium Arlington in Texas. Here are three storylines that you should be keeping your eyes on throughout the event.

Crimsix Versus Formal

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Prior to the return of LAN competition, Dallas Empire veteran Ian “Crimsix” Porter and OpTic Chicago’s Matt “Formal” Piper have been going back and forth on Twitter after Formal revealed that he would have dropped the Crimbot from the OpTic Gaming dynasty roster that dominated the Black Ops 3 and Infinite Warfare seasons.

The plot thickened when Crimsix revealed that Formal didn’t split the MVP prize money from the 2017 world championship, much to the surprise of fans and other players. Although the heat has died down on social media, it’s highly likely that the beef will be quashed at the Stage 4 Major when the Empire and the Green Wall face off in the first winner’s bracket match of the tournament.

With Chicago rekindling some of their earlier form during the Stage 4 Home Series events, and with Dallas’ performances on the upward trend, the stage is set for an almighty encounter between two of the very best teams in the entire league.

Atlanta FaZe: Back-To-Back Major Winners?

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When it comes to determining the very best team in the entirety of the CDL, it is very hard not to name the Atlanta FaZe. The team is the only one to win two Majors over the course of the Black Ops Cold War season and even when they didn’t win, the FaZe still made an appearance in the Grand Finals where they were bested by a strong Toronto Ultra.

Just like on Black Ops 4, the formidable duo of the tiny terrors consisting of Chris “Simp” Lehr and Tyler “aBeZy” Pharris have continued their exceptional partnership into Black Ops Cold War. Their unmatched levels of aggression combined with a supreme understanding of the in-game mechanics make it extremely difficult for any opponents to contend with them during the heat of battle.

While the tiny terrors often feature in the limelight, Alec “Arcitys” Sanderson has once again excelled in his role as the main assault rifle player while McArthur “Cellium” Jovel continues to shine in the flex role, doing any work that may not involve scoring the most kills.

The FaZe’s incredible run of form has every chance to continue, but with the return to LAN and the potential of other teams managing to find form in an offline environment, it’s going to be a tough task for the team to become back-to-back Major winners.

New York Subliners Face Upward Battle

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Despite starting in the winner’s bracket, scoring another strong result could be an upward battle for the New York Subliners. Visa issues for Obaid “Asim” Asim have resulted in the team acquiring the services of former Seattle Surge slayer Jacob “Decemate” Cato for the tournament.

Throughout the previous stages, Asim has shone on the Subliners, often managing to feature towards the top of the scoreboard with a high number of kills and damage to his name. His omission is certainly unfortunate and with the team having to travel to the venue, there will be minimal amounts of time for the team to acclimatise with the addition of a new player into the line-up.

Some say that the honeymoon period is one of the most overpowered features in competitive Call of Duty, so there is a chance that the Subliners can overcome a Minnesota RØKKR that has started to bounce back after a disappointing Stage 3.

Overcoming Minnesota in their opening match has to be deemed a success considering the circumstances. If the team can adapt quickly enough and win their first match, an even bigger hurdle in the form of the Atlanta FaZe awaits in the second round of the bracket and if the Subliners can beat them, the Stage 4 Major has definitely been a success regardless of the result.

Images via Call of Duty League | New York Subliners