CDL Champs Kicks Off Thursday Afternoon in Allen, Texas (2024)

Published: Jul. 18, 2024 at 12:27 PM CDT

(Gray News) - This afternoon, the long-awaited Call of Duty League (CDL) Championship Weekend starts outside Dallas in Allen, Texas. After a hard-fought 2024 CDL season, eight teams have made it to the postseason. One of these teams will get the title of 2024 CDL Champion, along with the lion’s share of the prize pool.

While the various prize winnings associated with doing well at a major are important to teams, the CDL points earned from performing well count just as much. These CDL points are what gained teams entry into CDL Champs. Four out of the twelve teams in the CDL have already finished their season due to not accruing enough points to place in the top eight of the regular season rankings. So, who are the eight teams that remain?

The teams who have qualified for CDL Champs in order of the first seed to the eighth seed are:

• Atlanta FaZe
• Toronto Ultra
• OpTic Texas
• New York Subliners
• Seattle Surge
• Los Angeles Guerillas
• Los Angeles Thieves
• Miami Heretics

All but one of these teams were above the eight-place cutoff line before Major IV. The Los Angeles Guerillas, who were 10 points back from qualifying and sat 10th in the standings, went on an impressive run in Major IV—finishing 3rd and earning enough points to leapfrog into 6th place in the standings, gaining them a 6th seed at Champs. But the regular season is now far behind us, and the real fun begins.

CDL Champs is a double-elimination tournament. All teams begin in a winners bracket. If they lose a match, they fall into the loser’s bracket. Lose there, and you’re out. Both brackets have a best-of-five games format, with the Grand Final on Sunday being the only best-of-nine. The schedule for today’s matches and their times is as follows:

• New York Subliners vs. Seattle Surge - 3 PM EST / 2 PM CST / 12 PM PST
• Atlanta FaZe vs. Miami Heretics - 4:30 PM EST / 3:30 PM CST / 1:30 PM PST
• Toronto Ultra vs. Los Angeles Thieves - 6 PM EST / 5 PM CST / 3 PM PST
• OpTic Texas vs. Los Angeles Guerrillas - 7:30 PM EST / 6:30 PM CST / 4:30 PM PST

You can watch these matches live on the official COD League YouTube Channel.

The first match of the day is Subliners versus Surge. The Subliners are fresh off of winning Major IV two weeks ago, have a third-place finish at Major II, a fourth-place finish at Major III, and are the fourth seed. The Surge have finished three of the four regular-season majors tied for fifth and are the fifth seed. These teams have met only four times this season, and the match record for those series is 3-1 in favor of the Subliners. While these teams are neck and neck in seeding, it’s painfully evident that one team, the Subliners, has a bit of a leg up in this match. When considering past performances, this match should go to the Subliners. They have the momentum and the track record. But, as stated earlier, the regular season is now behind us. And don’t get the inclination that the Surge are pushovers. This match will be a close one, so don’t miss it.

The next match is between Atlanta FaZe and the Miami Heretics. While pretending that the Heretics have a solid shot at winning this series would be fun, it’s clear that FaZe, as always, is the bogeyman at Champs. They won Major II, finished second in Major I and IV, and third in Major III. They also won Champs in 2022 and finished second in 2020 and 2021. They are the first seed for a reason this year and will be the team to beat if anyone else wants to lift the trophy. Crazy things can happen, but the Heretics got the wrong end of the draw for now.

Today’s penultimate match pits Ultra against the Thieves. These two met three times this season, and Ultra won every time. Ultra won Major I, placed second in Major III, and finished fourth in Majors II and IV. Ultra is also the second seed this year at Champs. Thieves fans are driving a hard bargain if they claim they will win. The Thieves have had an abysmal track record at majors this year, with their best finish being a tie for fifth at Major IV. Otherwise, they have only gotten out of round one of losers one other time. Ultra should be the pick here.

Finally, we have OpTic Texas versus the Los Angeles Guerrillas. OpTic is the third seed this year. They won Major III, finished second at Major II, and third at Major I. If you’ve started noticing a pattern when I mention Major stats and expect me to slight the Guerillas from here on out, well, on this one, you would be wrong. This match is a unique one for two reasons. First, the Guerrillas are hot off playing their way into Champs at the very last moment. The Guerrillas, who many counted out and expected to finish their season two weeks ago, had to prove they deserved to be at Champs and had the gumption to get it done.

Second, OpTic’s recent form can only be described as woebegone. If you noticed that I didn’t mention OpTic’s performance at Major IV, it’s because they found themselves with a 1-6 record in Major IV qualifiers and out of Major IV in losers round one with a 2-3 loss to the Heretics. They have drastically changed from being at the top of the world to leaving fans scratching their heads. And that’s not said to take away from their overall performance this season, as they have been electric and proven time and again that they are an elite foursome of playmakers, but again, how does a team go from lifting a trophy to falling so flat in the season’s final regular season major?

It should also be noted that all of their recent losses, except for one, have finished 2-3. So it’s not like they aren’t showing up; they just can’t get across the finish line. You could say that they thrive off of their loyal fanbase, reverently called the ‘Greenwall,’ and since Major IV wasn’t in front of a live audience, the energy wasn’t there. But that doesn’t sit right. As competitors, every match should count, every point should matter, and every result should hold some emotional meaning, whether good or bad. So, just like the Guerrillas proved two weeks ago, OpTic now has to prove again that they belong and desperately shake off whatever plagued them in Major IV. Based on recent results surrounding OpTic and the Guerrillas, expect this one to be close, but don’t be shocked if someone wakes up and decides to make a point.

CDL Champs Weekend is starting with a strong batch of matches. Be sure to catch all the action on the official COD League YouTube channel. Coverage should start 30 minutes before the first match of each day.

Gray Television is an investor in OpTic Gaming.

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