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April 7, 2021
Call of Duty
FaZe hopes to defend their title from the surging Rokkr and Empire
Once contenders for the throne, Dallas Empire, Chicago OpTic, and the LA Thieves have a lot to prove against the reigning Atlanta FaZe and surging Rokkr.
The first day of the Stage II Major began in the elimination bracket as the LA Thieves took on Paris Legion and the Florida Mutineers faced off against the LA Guerrillas. While this lower half had a hot start, the upper bracket will certainly feature some competitive games.
Can Dallas reclaim their throne?
Last year’s grand finals champions and the Stage I finalists, the Dallas Empire found themselves the third seed in a group they were expected to lead in. With several close calls over the course of the group stage, Dallas left with two losses to Minnesota Rokkr and Chicago OpTic. Star players that had consistently been Dallas Empire’s win conditions, such as Huke or C6, had suffered from inconsistent performances.
Unfortunately, ending their group stage with a tight loss may set Dallas up for failure going into their first series. Their opponents, the New York Subliners, on the other hand have had one of their best stages yet, finishing on par with Atlanta FaZe in Group A. In almost every metric Dallas have recently outclassed their opponents, finishing 1st in Hardpoint win percentage (85%) however stand on unsteady ground regarding Control and SnD.
Clayster and Asim will likely be Dallas Empire’s biggest obstacle in continuing on the winner’s bracket track, as both have recently had incredible individual performances. The veteran leader of the team, Clayser holds 5th in K/D on SnD. Much of Dallas Empire’s run will rely on this initial series if the Empire hopes to back a run back to the top.
Minnesota rocks the standings
Minnesota Rokkr failed to have much impact in the Stage I playoffs, losing in a tight series to Toronto Ultra in their first and only playoff series. Stage II’s group stage was quite the opposite however, finishing at the top of their group and earning a first round bye. Minnesota have managed to retain a positive winrate on SnD throughout the entirety of the year (53.7%), while also finishing top 5 in Hardpoint and Control.
Attach has largely propelled this incredible second stage for Minnesota, for example on Hardpoint landing 10th in K/D (1.1) while making up the lowest team death percentage. Meeting either NSYL or Dallas Empire, Minnesota can feel confident about whomever they will face in round 2. The Rokkr convincingly defeated Dallas earlier in the regular season and have finished ahead of NYSL in nearly every category across the three game modes. If Minnesota can prepare and execute on their first series like they have in the group stage, this could be a break out stage for Minnesota.
Altanta FaZe’s defends of the crown
The reigning champions, FaZe’s historic win streak recently came to an end by the hands of the Los Angeles Guerillas. Whether or not this first loss is an anomaly or the start of a worrying trend will be decided in their first series either against OpTic Chicago or Toronto Ultra.
Atlanta FaZe are far and away still the top dog in the CDL, finishing first in K/D as well as round win percentage across Control (1.27/80%), Hardpoint (1.21/83%), and SnD (1.11/58%). The FaZe players have also retained their excellent standings, Simp, Arcitys, and Abezy still at the top of their game and among the top K/D players in Hardpoint and Control. The only glaring issue for FaZe could be in SnD, where their once vice-like grip over the game mode has loosened.
Falling to LA Guerrillas on both game modes in a surprisingly devastating manner, the first place team in the CDL will have something to prove moving into this series as their first loss will hopefully motivate a renewed vigor in their gameplay.
