What we learned from Call of Duty League Champs

The 2021 Call of Duty League season came to an explosive close yesterday as Atlanta FaZe took home the Champs victory.

Naturally, after this culmination of FaZe’s successful year, all of the attention is on them, and for good reason. However, there were seven other teams in attendance at CDL Champs and three days of play besides Championship Sunday. Going through the entire event, there are several takeaways that we can bring into the offseason.

1. Atlanta FaZe is Call of Duty’s third dynasty

Throughout Call of Duty history, there have been two distinct dynasties: Complexity and OpTic Gaming. Both squads had their run for a few years before they broke up for one reason or another. For a while, it seemed like Dallas Empire were the next in line to join the exclusive dynasty club. However, after their win at Champs, the new dynasty in Call of Duty is without question Atlanta FaZe.

Championship Kit x @ATLFaZe 🔥😍@aBeZy 💍💍@SimpXO 💍💍@Arcitys 💍💍@Cellium 💍#EZAF | #CDL2021 pic.twitter.com/2PMM5aR1IJ

— Call of Duty League (@CODLeague) August 22, 2021

After winning three major events and Champs in 2021, FaZe are a dynasty in every sense of the word. While they didn’t come out victorious last season, they still won two events and were in several other grand finals. This, paired with their performance in 2021, makes them the new dynasty that every other team is chasing.

2. CDL needs to make a format change

While Champs was a terrific event, there was a glaring issue with the format. Championship Sunday only saw one match take place: the grand final. Although the final match between Toronto Ultra and Atlanta FaZe was thrilling, the day was somewhat lacking without other matches occurring.

In the past, Championship Sunday started with hope for several other squads. These teams were in the losers bracket and hoped to make a huge run to land themselves in the grand final. Of course, with only eight teams in attendance at CDL Champs, there was no real losers bracket.

Championship Sunday needs some additional flare and this comes from having more teams compete, both on Sunday and at the event as a whole.

3. OpTic Chicago needs to make a roster change

There are several teams that need to make a roster change heading into Call of Duty: Vanguard. LA Thieves, Seattle Surge, Paris Legion, and more are at the top of the list of these teams. Conversely, the top teams of the CDL really don’t need any change; they just need to find a way to dethrone Atlanta FaZe. This applies to the top six teams, except for OpTic Chicago.

The most popular team in the CDL has been underachieving for the past two seasons and it’s time that stopped. The golden years of Seth “Scump” Abner are coming to an end and, most would agree, he deserves another chance at a world championship title – especially after his spectacular performances in 2021.

It’s unclear what OpTic Chicago owner Hector “H3CZ” Rodriguez will do heading into 2022. The four current roster members are close friends and tied heavily to OpTic. However, with the expected pool of top free agents and rising amateur players, Chicago needs to take a true shot at dethroning Atlanta. That shot can’t come from the current roster.