After a grueling season, the group matches for the 2021 Call of Duty League are complete. The Seattle Surge Home Series was the last time the CDL league will compete on LAN this season, and Stage 5 wrapped up with several great matches.
Teams bounced back, others completed turnarounds and a couple of squads continued their downward spiral. The Seattle Surge Home Series had a little bit of everything but there are three noteworthy takeaways from the CDL event.
1. New York Subliners are in major trouble
CDL Stage 5 marks the first major that the New York Subliners will not start in the winners bracket. While New York managed to secure a match win at the Seattle Surge Home Series, it was their only one of the stage. Their embarrassing loss to Atlanta FaZe, to round out the event, was a fitting end to what was a tumultuous stage for NYSL. In the match, no member of the Subliners finished with above a 0.75 Kill/Deaths.
A master class performance.
Atlanta FaZe cruise their way into a 3-0 against the New York Subliners! pic.twitter.com/Lhn0U83hOt
— Call of Duty League (@CODLeague) July 25, 2021
Seemingly overnight, the team went from a Champs contender to not being able to win a single map. They were blown out by OpTic Chicago, FaZe and LA Thieves, while also losing to London; a bottom three squad. The team might be trying to rebound from losing James “Clayster” Eubanks but, at this point, the season doesn’t seem salvageable for the Subliners.
2. LA Thieves have found their roster
After a truly up and down season, that featured eight roster changes, the LA Thieves have seemingly found a roster to stick with. The decision to move ahead without perennial all-star Cuyler “Huke” Garland was somewhat questionable but appears to be paying off. The Thieves went 3-2 in Stage 5 and secured themselves a spot in the winners bracket for the major.
The addition of veteran Jonathan “John” Perez has breathed new life back into the roster. John has seemed to revitalize the other members of the roster; both Kenny “Kenny” Williams and Zack “Drazah” Jordan are playing better than ever. They had some rough patches in CDL Stage 5 but the high point was beating OpTic Chicago in a reverse sweep. LA fans are hoping for some more of that magic at the major.
IT'S A ROBBERY.
LA Thieves STEAL the series in a reverse sweep against OpTic Chicago ❗ pic.twitter.com/OlIrCX8xhJ
— Call of Duty League (@CODLeague) July 25, 2021
3. Champs could be more competitive than previously believed
Prior to CDL Stage 5, it looked like there were three or so teams with a true shot at winning champs. Those teams, in no order, were Atlanta, Toronto and Dallas. Chicago and New York were on the border but both were lacking something the top three squads had.
1st seed LOCKED-IN 🔒
Dallas Empire tear through Toronto Ultra in a definitive 3-1! pic.twitter.com/V6aKdZmZZS
— Call of Duty League (@CODLeague) July 25, 2021
Now, the landscape has changed dramatically. The previous top three teams are still contenders but they’ve been joined by some others. Thanks to some stellar performances in CDL Stage 5, OpTic Chicago and even the LA Thieves could make some noise at both the major and champs. Both rosters look to be peaking at the right time and they are now true contenders for the lion’s share of the CDL Champs prize pool.
