One of the most incredible events in the history of competitive Call of Duty concluded only yesterday. Indeed, the environment, stakes and surprises made it an awesome return to a LAN environment with a live crowd. Read on for a quick recap of the CDL Stage 5 Major!
Of course, the major topic for this event is the rise of a team – Minnesota Rokkr. Not only did they rise, bu they trounced the Winners’ Bracket without hesitation. Below, find some key matches which you may have missed this weekend:
New York Subliners vs Florida Mutineers (3-2) – with a substitute player, New York managed to hold off Florida in epic fashion
Seattle Surge vs Atlanta FaZe (2-3) – the greatest upset in the entire season, the twelth placed team took down the number one seed in Loser’s Round 3 to drive the crowd nuts
Minnesota Rokkr vs Toronto Ultra (5-4) – the most unbelievable grand finals of all time
Indeed, let’s talk more about the grand final. Here, Toronto Ultra set themselves up with a 4-0 lead over Rokkr. However, map by map, Minnesota managed to pull it back and slipped the win in the most incredible comeback ever in Call of Duty.
This major has set the pace for Champs in a few weeks. We’ll be providing more coverage shortly.
It’s that time of year for competitive Call of Duty. Already happening four times this year, we’re heading to the fifth and final stage of the CDL 2021 Regular season. Accordingly, here at esportsguide we have all the viewership details you need. Read on to learn How to Watch the CDL Stage 5 Major 2021.
Event Background
In terms of event background, this is simply the final straw for competing teams within the regular season. The final chance for what? Specifically, this is the last opportunity for teams to earn CDL points and finish within the top 8 of the standings.
Indeed, only the top 8 teams will be making it to the largest event of the year – CDL Championship. However, do note that earning such a spot has involved a year-long effort, with four past seasons of competition already. The Stage 5 Major follows the action from the Group Stage these past few weeks, ending things with a bang.
All the action for the $500,000 event will take place from 29th July to 1st August. For those unaware, the 12 franchised organizations are back, as listed below according to current season standings:
Atlanta FaZe – 505 Points
Dallas Empire – 360 Points
Toronto Ultra – 355 Points
New York Subliners – 320 Points
OpTic Chicago – 310 Points
Minnesota ROKKR – 230 Points
Los Angeles Thieves – 210 Points
Florida Mutineers – 200 Points
Los Angeles Guerrillas – 100 Points
Paris Legion – 100 Points
London Royal Ravens – 100 Points
Seattle Surge – 90 Points
"I cannot believe that turned into a crazy map!" – @Maven
Echo that! Toronto attempt the near impossible, but Dallas clutches up and secure the win and 1st seed for Major V.
In terms of format, the four days of action look to be filled by one exciting double elimination bracket. For this bracket, seeding has been determined through the Group Stage. The results of which are viewable below:
Of note, all matches will be BO5 except for the epic BO9 Grand Final. The format is spread well according to the schedule.
Schedule for the CDL Stage 5 Major 2021
With regards to the schedule, we highly recommend checking out the official event page here.
As you can find out through the link, all four days will offer 4-5 matches depending on the schedule – such games will be at identical time slots. Also, with the event on LAN, this should promise to offer less technical difficulties too, so less delays can be expected.
Watch the CDL Stage 5 Major 2021 on esportsguide
You can also watch the CDL Stage 5 Major 2021 live stream via our very own website. Providing an extensive list of the biggest esports together with streams for each esports match live today or upcoming matches.
Heading into this final event, this is practically do or die for some teams. Looking at the overall points standings, it’s clear that the likes of Seattle Surge, Paris Legion, Los Angeles Guerrillas and London Royal Ravens have their work cut out for them. Either these teams have no chance or their only hope is to win the entire event in order to make it to CoD Championship – let’s see what they can come up with.
Otherwise, most other teams are fighting for seeds within the bracket for Champs. Listed below, we have some notable comparisons between teams that will be trying to outdo one another:
Dallas Empire (360 points) vs Toronto Ultra (355 points)
New York Subliners (320 points) vs OpTic Chicago (310 points)
Minnesota ROKKR (230 points) vs Los Angeles Thieves (210 points) vs Florida Mutineers (200 points)
Now, specific predictions heading into this event. Favourites for this event would have to be between Atlanta FaZe, Dallas Empire, Toronto Ultra and OpTic Chicago. In terms of an ultimate winner, many have Dallas Empire potentially on the rise with the ability to return to a Grand Final for a potential rematch against FaZe and win it.
Following four very eventful stages, we are reaching the end-game of the CDL 2021 season. Accordingly, it all boils down to this final stage before CDL Championship. Indeed, you can find all of the essential viewership details below for CDL Stage 5 2021 this coming month!
Event Background
As I’ll reiterate, this is the fifth and final regular season phase of the Call of Duty League 2021 season. Greatly improving on last year’s format, this fifth iteration is no different to the previous ones, there’s just less time available for teams. With regards to teams, the twelve franchised teams are back competing to fight for the 8 seeds available by earning points:
Call of Duty League 2020 Season 2020-02-09 / Photo: Robert Paul for Activision Blizzard
Atlanta FaZe
Dallas Empire
Florida Mutineers
London Royal Ravens
LA Guerrillas
LA Thieves
Minnesota Rokkr
NY Subliners
OpTic Chicago
Paris Legion
Seattle Surge
Toronto Ultra
Do note that only yesterday, it was announced that the competition would be delayed by one week. Accordingly, instead of kicking off on the 1st July, it will now start on the 8th.
Format
In terms of format, two round robin groups have already been drafted. Within these groups of 6, each team plays 5 total matches in order to gain seeding into the Playoffs phase of Stage 5. Everything will be split across three weekends, concluding on Monday 26th July.
Presenting the official groups for #CDL2021 Stage V.
You can also watch the CDL Stage 5 live stream via our very own website. Providing an extensive list of the biggest esports together with streams for each esports match live today or upcoming matches.
Naturally, the favourites for the events are none other than Atlanta FaZe – leading the rankings with 465 after winning their third event in the road. Meanwhile, beneath them sit both Dallas Empire and Toronto Ultra. Specifically, Dallas Empire turned heads this past weekend after reaching the Grand Final and pushing FaZe to a Map 9.
Otherwise, New York Subliners are also a question mark. Following the use of a substitute, nobody is sure where the roster sits despite being a favourite for Stage 4.
Meanwhile, further down the likes of OpTic Chicago and Minnesota ROKKR prowl about in 4-5th. Speaking of wonder, Los Angeles Thieves is also looking to climb up the rankings following a roster change, though will it be enough?
At the bottom, the likes of Los Angeles Guerrillas remain 70 points beneath the 8th seed of Florida Mutineers. Bearing this in mind, the bottom four teams will need to work extra hard to try and break the top 8. Namely, Paris Legion, London Royal Ravens and Seattle Surge are looking for a deep run heading into the next Major.
The entire season for the LA Thieves Roster has been rather perplexing. Indeed, despite many roster changes, the team continues to fall short. Accordingly, another change is live and it brings back a staple name back to the community. Read on to learn about the new roster!
LA Thieves Roster – Huke and TJHaly Benched
Only a few hours ago, the LA Thieves Twitter page came out with the following announcement:
Clearly, this means that both Cuyler “Huke” Garland and “TJHaly” have now been placed back on the bench. This makes way for Jonathan “John” Perez – making an awesome return to competitive Call of Duty. For those unaware, the Black Ops 3 World Champion is back after recovering from health problems.
Notably, winning that World Championship back then was with the combined efforts of “Slasher”. Seeing them back together looks great for the roster.
Credits: LA Thieves
Who knows? Perhaps this could be the final form of LA Thieves we see heading into the remainder of the year. Accordingly, they’ll look to show up starting with the group stages of CDL Stage 5. Yes, the organization has received flak for the number of changes, but it’s clear that they’re trying their best to win.
Today, we’ll be seeing some hectic Warzone action on Verdansk. This is because the first iteration of the $300K WSOW (World Series of Warzone) will take place. Here is everything you need to know about the event, and how to watch it:
Teams are set and the World's best players are ready to hot drop into the World Series of Warzone 🪂
This tournament is going to be the first ever World Series of Warzone event. This tournament in particular will cater towards the North American players, and a couple more will follow throughout the Summer Season. There will be tournaments for the European region as well.
How to qualify for the World Series of Warzone event
For the most part, every single team taking part has been chosen by the 5 team captains. These captains are 100 Thieves founder Nadeshot, FaZe Swagg, NYSL Aydan, & streamers Dandangler and TimTheTatman. Yesterday during the draft day, these captains had to pick out 45 teams that will represent them for the tournament.
A total of $300,000 USD will spread out between all participants. This is how the prize money will be distributed:
1st – $50,000
2nd – $30,000
3rd – $20,000
4th – $15,000
5th – $10,000
6th – $9,000
7th – $7,000
8th – $6,000
9th – $5,500
10th – $5,000
11th-20th – $3,000
21st-25th – $2,500
Apart from this, there is an additional captain’s prize pool which will consist of the following winnings:
1st – $30,000
2nd – $15,000
3rd – $13,000
4th – $12,000
5th – $10,000
Overall 1st placing team – $20,000
Tournament Format for the World Series of Warzone
The tournament format follows a very similar tournament we’ve seen in other previous tournaments. These 150 players will be playing in a custom lobby and will have to gain points through kills and placements. They will play 6 rounds in a row all in a default match of Verdansk Here is how the point distribution works:
1 point per kill
1st place: 2x kill multiplier
2nd-15th place: 1.5x kill multiplier
15th-50th place: No kill multiplier
Teams Participating
A total of 50 teams will take part in this event. Here is a full list of images below, stating the team captain as well as their teammates accordingly:
Credits: Activision
Schedule list for the World Series of Warzone
The draft event of the team choosing took place yesterday, the 22nd of June. Now, the tournament is kicking off today (23rd June). It will all play out on a single day, having 6-straight rounds being played after each other. Here’s the schedule:
World Series of Warzone:
23rd June
5pm ET / 2pm PST / 11pm CEST
Streaming platform list
The World Series of Warzone will stream on the official Twitch Rivals twitch channel here. POV’s of all participants are all going to be available, so be sure to check out your favourite streamer’s perspective!
With the squad of Aydan, HusKerrs and Rated winning the unofficial practice match of the tournament we have our odds placed on them for winning the whole thing. However, it’s important to keep in mind that Warzone is a battle royale, and anything can happen. We’ll just have to see how it all plays out!
It has certainly been a while since our last episode of State of the Community. This time around, we need to take a closer look at the current state of the Call of Duty League. Accordingly, a current player and World Champion broke the news with confessions over CDL Adderall Abuse – read on as we break down this topic!
Huke Clears the Air – CDL Adderall Abuse
We’ll start by directly presenting the video which sparked this debate in the community. Without needing much explanation, take a look at the following clip. For context, this is Cuyler “Huke” Garland, the 2020 World Champion, explaining his departure from his former roster of Dallas Empire and everything in between to fans:
.@Huke has admitted to being on adderall while winning the 2020 Call of Duty League championship last year.
You heard that correctly. Last year, at the biggest event on the year with $4,600,000 on the line, the champion of ‘Huke‘ Garland was in fact abusing Adderall. This leaves questions to be answered, such as whether or not the performance of Dallas Empire would have had a different outcome otherwise.
Yet, for the most part, the community is focusing on the bigger picture.
Implications of ‘PED’ Abuse
Credits: Call of Duty League
For those unaware, ‘Adderall’ is a trade name for a prescription drug acting as nervous stimulants. Indeed, for those who do not need it for medical reasons, it may act as a ‘performance enhancing drug’ especially for competitive Call of Duty. Naturally, it would provide quicker reaction speed and more focus for those who need it.
Taken from the official Call of Duty League Challengers RuleBook, here is what the organization has to say about the use of PEDs:
Prescription drugs may only be used to treat the condition for which they are prescribed and may not be used to enhance performance in a game, match or tournament.
Credits: Call of Duty League
Shedding Light on an Ongoing Problem – CDL Adderall Abuse
Huke speaking out is just another wake up call. Feeling forced to take Adderall, his mental health being weaponised, being isolated.
We need to look out for each other in the community, players and fans alike. Toxicity is corrosive, stand against it, we can fix these issues 💙
Why is it such a big deal that a currently active World Champion came out to discuss the topic? Naturally, by putting his very own career on the line, ‘Huke’ is letting the Call of Duty League take up the challenge to now address the issue.
Indeed, in the past, only rumors would be spread around the community. For obvious reasons, few would ever dare risk their own career by confessing publicly to the use of it. As ‘Huke’ put it in his video, the use of Adderall not only harms the integrity of the competition but also the health of professionals.
There are multiple opinions in the Call of Duty community as to whether Huke should be punished or not – many take the side of the player and do not think he should be stripped of past achievements.
I’m glad @Huke is being transparent about adderall and how it made him feel while competing.
I hope we can have a system to drug test players – not so much to “make an even playing field”, because I don’t care if my comp takes it, more so for their long term health. https://t.co/0mSNDmEOu7
While many are courageous, no other professional players have come out as also utilizing any performance enhancing substances.
The Bigger Picture – Revamping the CDL
Is it only the Call of Duty League which has suffered periods of debate due to substance obuse? No, the entire esports scene is litered with such instances.
Indeed, what’s essential now is what the Call of Duty League do from here on out. It’s quite clear, that randomized drug testing as utilized for traditional sports could prove incredibly useful to help deter the habit together with stringent penalties.
Call of Duty League 2020 Season 2020-02-09 / Photo: Robert Paul for Activision Blizzard
Also, there should be an effort placed to support players to quit current usage and move towards a healthier lifestyle.
Sadly, however, Activision has remained quiet on the matter with no public announcements to respond.
Another roster change hits competitive Call of Duty as teams try to make last-minute changes to try claim success. Sadly, that hasn’t been the storyline for the Los Angeles Guerillas Roster as they can’t seem to find the right formula. Indeed, only recently, another change is live with Chino going back to the academy roster and MentaL making his Call of Duty League debut!
Los Angeles Guerillas Roster – Too Little Too Late
As you can see, the organization announced the change below on Twitter:
Without a doubt, a debatable change. In fact, this organization has been receiving flak for making poor changes across the season. Namely, the fact that they dropped their best player statistically in ‘Vivid’ who is know on a Top 2 roster is another evident reason why.
Unfortunately, after a poor placement at the recent CDL Stage 4 Major, the chances for LAG to reach the final event of the year are looking quite dim. Hopefully, introducing the young rooky of Billy “MentaL” Putnam could potentially give this team the life it needs.
Appreciate all the love and support 🙌 Still tons to learn and improve on but I’m stoked to have the opportunity to play alongside these goats. Let’s get to work
Finally, for the first time in over a year, competitive Call of Duty enjoyed an event on LAN. Indeed, this past weekend the CDL Stage 4 Major was simply an awesome spectacle. So much so, with the 12 teams going at it once more, it’s no surprise that Atlanta FaZe remains the reigning champ of the league at the moment. Read on for a quick recap.
CDL Stage 4 Major – New Connection, Same Competition
Back to back champs, and the gameplays shows!
The round that makes @ATLFaZe your Major IV Winner!
Focusing on our victors, Atlanta FaZe, their journey kicked off smoothly, spicing up down the line. Notably, after taking down Minnesota Rokkr and Toronto Ultra, a spot in the Grand Final was once again guaranteed. However? Who would join them?
Accordingly, due to New York Subliners’ situation with the substitute, it was between Toronto Ultra and a new-found Dallas Empire roster which came to play. In the end, Dallas Empire raised its head to the Tiny Terrors on the side of FaZe.
Indeed, an epic Grand Final awaited us. Atlanta FaZe seemed truly challenged by the surprise in Dallas Empire, bringing us to the eventful Map 9. Here, Atlanta FaZe clutched up and took home the win.
Besides the great competition, the viewership peak of 86,000 does leave us wanting more in the future.
The Stage 4 Major is in play and we’re just one day in. Unfortunately that meant that 2 teams had to be eliminated, and they were LA Thieves and London Royal Ravens. Here is how it all went down:
LA Thieves and Royal Ravens out of Stage 4 Major – Match Briefing
Unfortunately due to their poor performance through the group play the Los Angeles Thieves, London Royal Ravens, Seattle Surge, Los Angeles Guerrillas were all set to start their play in the first round of the lower bracket.
LA Thieves
The LA Thieves matched up against the LA Guerrillas. On paper, the Thieves looked better, and were sure to win the series. They started out stronger, with a dominant Hardpoint win on Garrison (250-141). Unfortunately the next 2 matches that followed didn’t go in their favour. As LA Guerrillas won both SND on Raid, and Control on Garrison. The Thieves were dominant once again during the Hardpoint match on Raid, but eventually lost out on SND Miami.
Was not expecting to go into the major with a brand new roster, but you have overcome the obstacles ahead of you and we couldn’t do that today.
Tremendously disappointing to start to the first LAN. Good luck to all teams remaining.
What folded everything for the LA Thieves is that one of their main players, Huke, was unable to take part in the first day of the Stage 4 Major. Due to this, the team had to play with Drazah as their replacement.
London Royal Ravens
On the other hand, the London Royal Ravens (LRR) took on Seattle Surge. Here, the Surge squad came out stronger, winning the Hardpoint game mode on Apocalypse. The Ravens replied quickly with an SND win on Raid, but in the end it was all for nothing. What followed were 2 strong maps played by the Surges, winning 3-1 on Control (Checkmate) and 250-89 on Checkmate again.
And just like that, the LA Thieves and Royal Ravens are out of Stage 4 Major. A lot of teams still remain, and we cannot wait to see it all unfold!
Another month passes and the CDL Stage 4 Major is finally here after this Stage has closed shop. Once again, we’ve got the top 12 teams in the world fighting once again for $500,000 this coming weekend. Running from the 17th June up to the 20th June, read on to learn How to Watch the awesome event returning to LAN!
Event Background
As you can imagine, this is the end of the fourth stage of the Call of Duty League season. What’s special about this Major? Indeed, what’s special is the fact that the competition will be talking place at a LAN Venue, with no crowd attention. Accordingly, it’s a chance to bypass all the issues of online and slowly begin returning to normality.
To remind our viewers, here are the 12 franchised teams that will be going at it this weekend for CDL Points and Prize Pool:
Atlanta FaZe
Chicago OpTic
Dallas Empire
Florida Mutineers
London Royal Ravens
Los Angeles Guerrillas
Minnesota ROKKR
New York Subliners
Los Angeles Thieves
Paris Legion
Seattle Surge
Toronto Ultra
Format
With regards to format, it’s a typical format which we’ve seen all year. Corresponding to the placements at the group stage these past few weeks, teams have been seeded into the double elimination bracket. Each match will be BO5 with the final once again being a BO9.
Take a look at the bracket below:
Review the #CDL2021 Major IV bracket one last time before teams step on stage at LAN!
In terms of schedule, the Call of Duty League is swapping up their weekly schedule. Instead of spreading the competition from Wednesday to Sunday, the schedule will now start on Thursday. Take a look for yourself in the following tweet from the Call of Duty League Twitter:
There’s a tonne to discuss in terms of predictions for the CDL Stage 4 Major. Let’s take things in an orderly manner – starting with favourites and finishing with potential upsets and underdogs.
Starting with favourites, it’s likely that the two top dogs are Atlanta FaZe and Toronto Ultra, with both teams sitting at the top after the group stage. What about New York Subliners? Unfortunately, the team was shook by the fact that one of their players, ‘Asim’, couldn’t make it to the event due to travel issues – instead they’ll be signing ‘Decemate’ to replace him for the weekend.
Moving further down the line, other than the favourites, next in line would be likely OpTic Chicago and Florida Mutineers in our opinion, especially with the dominance these teams can show once given the chance together with Minnesota Rokkr.
Jerseys are pressed. Players are hyped. LAN is HERE!
With regards to the idea of underdogs, I’d definitely place the likes of Dallas Empire, Los Angeles Thieves and Paris Legion. The remaining teams with the likes of Los Angeles Guerrillas, London Royal Ravens and Seattle Surge are simply not expected to get very far, though I also believe that such teams still have the opportunity to play teams tough.
Besides competition, there are massive expectations for this event due to the return to LAN. Specifically, it’s an opportunity to celebrate the love for the esport, to boost the viewership and to reunite the community once again after a tough few years.
