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The Call of Duty Championship bracket is set. Seattle Surge, London Royal Ravens, Paris and the Los Angeles Guerrillas have been eliminated from contention. They won’t even get the chance to play at the Galen Center at USC in Aug., which means their season is finished once the Stage 5 Major concludes. 

We still have quite a bit of Call of Duty to play before that fateful weekend in Los Angeles, though. OpTic Chicago is looking hot after beating out Atlanta FaZe in an incredibly tight series. That win puts them in a great position to win again in Arlington, Texas. The only thing that can stop Chicago is themselves — or maybe a vengeful FaZe squad.

Here are the Upcomer Call of Duty League Power Rankings for July 21:

Atlanta FaZe

  • Season Record: 33-5
  • Stage 5 Record: 3-1
  • Movement: –

It’s a testament to FaZe that their only loss of Stage 5 comes from an incredibly close Round 11 Search and Destroy loss. A little bit of timing in the other direction and Atlanta could be heading into the major with a perfect record once again. Like Tyler “aBeZy” Pharris said, though, OpTic deserved that win. 

Atlanta plays a depleted New York Subliners team that recently replaced James “Clayster” Eubanks in their last match of Stage 5 Groups. It’s not going to be a good day for New York as aBeZy and squad look to rebound from one of their only losses of the 2021 season. 

— Aron Garst

Simp from FaZe raising his fist in our cdl power rankings for july 21
Atlanta FaZe’s Simp raising his fist. | Provided by Call of Duty League

Toronto Ultra

  • Season Record: 25-14
  • Stage 5 Record: 3-0
  • Movement: –

The Europeans living in Canada are back at it again with 3-0 start to another stage. The feat isn’t as impressive as it sounds with the wins coming over Seattle Surge, Minnesota RØKKR and the Los Angeles Guerrillas. MVP snub Jamie “Insight” Craven and company will face their steepest challenge yet when they face off against the Dallas Empire in their final game of Stage 5 Groups.

Dallas put an end to Toronto’s hopes at the Stage 4 Major in Arlington. They can make the Ultra’s chances at the upcoming major slimmer by winning this match and overtaking the Europeans in the seedings this time around. Toronto rarely folds under pressure, though. 

— Garst

OpTic Chicago

  • Season Record: 23-15
  • Stage 5 Record: 3-0
  • Movement: +2

The tides are finally turning for OpTic Chicago and it couldn’t come at a better time for the Greenwall. Chicago is a sparkling 3-0 in Stage 5 of the CDL and coming off their most impressive win of the season at the Minnesota Home Series. For the first time all season, OpTic defeated the giant that is Atlanta FaZe. The series was huge for both sides, as the match very well could determine who gets the first seed in Group A. 

Dylan “Envoy” Hannon led the way for OpTic against FaZe, posting a 1.21 Kills/Deaths and making some great plays in Search and Destroy. Chicago appears to be getting hot right before the Stage 5 Major and CDL Champs, which could be bad news for the rest of the league. They’ll need a strong finish to the stage to cement their confidence heading into the major. 

Joey Carr

Dallas Empire

  • Season Record: 32-16
  • Stage 5 Record: 2-1
  • Movement: -1

Despite a promising performance at the Stage 4 Major, Dallas dropped the ball against Florida. The match was won on Hardpoint where the Mutineers barely scraped by with two wins; one by eight seconds and the other by four. However, Dallas made some crucial mistakes in Search and Destroy. They’ll need to fix those errors if they hope to win against Toronto next. 

Everything else seems to be clicking for the Empire with Reece “Vivid” Drost improving the squad greatly. Now, if only Ian “Crimsix” Porter would get off the Twitter arguments and return to the incredible level of play that carried his team to the grand finals of the Stage 4 Major.

— Garst

Shotzzy from Dallas looking at a monitor in our cdl power rankings for july 21
Anthony “Shotzzy” Cuevas-Castro has been an anchor on the Dallas Empire. | Provided by Call of Duty League

Florida Mutineers

  • Season Record: 17-16
  • Stage 5 Record: 3-0
  • Movement: +2

Florida had perhaps the best showing of anyone at the Minnesota Home Series. They finished with a 2-0 record, taking their Stage 5 record to 3-0, and took down the Dallas Empire in a huge upset. The Mutineers also defeated the LA Guerrillas handily, which wasn’t as much of a surprise. 

In the Empire match, rookie Travis “Neptune” McCloud proved he deserves some more recognition. He finished with a 1.20 KD and single handedly won Florida the first Hardpoint, going 33-18. He was the only player to finish with a positive KD. Florida’s continued success since Stage 3 and Neptune’s improved play are directly correlated. Add in the steady dominance from Cesar “Sykz” Bueno and Joe “Owakening” Conley and this Mutineers roster could upset more teams in the weeks to come. 

— Carr

New York Subliners

  • Season Record: 21-15
  • Stage 5 Record: 0-3
  • Movement: -2

The New York Subliners saw a dramatic decline in performance during Stage 5 after coming off of the Stage 4 Major. While there haven’t been any roster changes on the side of New York, the team seems to have hit a wall with their performance. They had uncharacteristic losses to LA Thieves and London Royal Ravens with another 3-0 loss to OpTic Chicago. At 0-3 in Group A, things don’t look promising for NYSL heading into the Stage 5 Major before Champs. 

New York Subliners announced that their main assault rifle James “Clayster” Eubanks would be taking a break during the Seattle Surge Home Series. Prior assault rifle player Conor “Diamondcon” Johst will be taking Clayster’s place. Diamondcon hasn’t been on the roster since Paco “Hydra” Rusiewiez joined the team. The only direction for New York Subliners to go now, after starting 0-3, is upward. 

— Danny Appleford

Minnesota RØKKR

  • Season Record: 15-17
  • Stage 5 Record: 2-2
  • Movement: -1

Minnesota needs to beat a hot Mutineers team and Dallas needs to lose to Toronto in order for the RØKKR to avoid getting sent straight to the losers bracket for the Stage 5 Major. As unlikely as that is, it’s not completely outside of the realm of possibility. 

A few more ticks of the Hardpoint in their direction and they could have sent their match against Dallas to a Round 5. But Eli “Standy” Bentz and company couldn’t keep it together in the final moments on Checkmate. They’ll need to dig deep to find something in the tank if they want a deep run at this upcoming major. 

Garst

Minnesota ROKKR standing on a stage in our cdl power rankings for july 21
Minnesota RØKKR standing on a stage during their introduction at the Stage 4 Major in Arlington| Provided by Call of Duty League

LA Thieves

  • Season Record: 16-19
  • Stage 5 Record: 2-2
  • Movement: –

LA Thieves appeared to be on top of the world when they brought Johnathon “John” Perez onto their roster. They defeated the New York Subliners and London Royal Ravens during New York’s Home Series but then fell to Paris Legion and Atlanta FaZe during the Minnesota RØKKR Home Series. While they did push Atlanta FaZe a lot harder than the scoreline suggests, they still lost to them and are currently 2-2 in the standings behind OpTic Chicago. 

John and Austin “SlasheR” Liddicoat need to pick up the pace if the team wants to return to their former glory during the New York Home Series. If they don’t, they could potentially end up in the lower half of the Stage 5 Major and go out early. They have secured their spots at Champs but are currently in the lower half of the standings behind Minnesota and Florida. 

— Appleford

  1. Paris
  2. LAG
  3. London
  4. Seattle