Ebb and flow — Call Of Duty League Champs 2021 Day One Takeaways

Momentum can mean nothing yet everything in these tournaments. One thing it definitely didn’t do, return with the teams it hung out with during Major V, as we saw an immediate bracket destruction in the very first match. Am I surprised it went how it did? No, but it certainly was less competitive than I imagined. Let’s just say I’m happy I didn’t try and fill out one of those perfect bracket challenges, because there would have been no money to have for me. In the spirit of the tourney, I’m going to drop some takeaways of what happened yesterday, and some of what to expect today.

• Man, the reports on Minnesota Rokkr not looking great in scrims carried over to their first match, getting 3-0ed by Dallas Empire. They looked flat, dropping gunfights they were winning during last Major. Maybe that win made them a little overconfident, as maybe they were thinking they could come back from anything. But it’s a little hard to come back after the match is over.
• Dallas Empire on the other hand went nuts, Shotzzy in particular. I do have to give him a little crap, I’ve never seen someone camp corners the way he does in the pros, but a win is a win at the end of the day, and this version of Dallas can definitely go back to back.
• Chicago Optic on the other hand seem a bit lost with the exception of Scump. I don’t know if it’s COVID, just not being on the same page, or just facing an opponent that was on a high with a legend returning, but even though they pulled it to a map 5 it certainly seemed like they aren’t as on point as they want to be. Did beating Florida help? Maybe, but they still dropped a Search and Destroy map to them, which doesn’t bode well for the rest of the tourney.
• The New York Subliners are a tale of two halves. They rode that energy of Clayster returning, and the old man put them up 2-0. I figured they’d probably drop the Control, it’s one of Chicago’s best maps and modes, but even that was closer than expected. But it feels like having your in game leader return helped New York play to their fullest, with several clutch plays on the final map. Can they keep the magic going?
• I’m going to combine the final two teams, the Florida Mutineers and Los Angeles Thieves. Both of them underperformed, and went home first because of it. Neither game felt like the team from winners round was really in danger, and both Florida and LA have a lot of decisions to make regarding their rosters, as neither will most likely field the same starting four when next season begins.

Now for some thoughts on the impending matches today!

• Can Atlanta Faze beat a hot Subliners team? This is the only team to beat them twice, but the last outing was a drubbing at the fourth Major for Faze to achieve the first back to back Major wins. The same squad was present, but it definitely feels like New York has some great vibes going, whereas Faze could falter if they drop a map early. The squad is going to have to come out ready to show everyone why they’re the number one seed quickly, or they may be looking at losers bracket all too early.
• Do the Toronto Ultra still have that killer instinct? Some of the best matches this season have been Empire vs Ultra, and this one is sure to be a banger. The last times these two have fought it’s been Dallas on top. Can Dallas go for a third?
• No matter how you slice it, the loser’s matches are going to be a tough go for Optic and Rokkr. You either have to face Faze or the Subliners for Rokkr, or you face Empire or Toronto for Optic. Neither is an ideal match, and you don’t get a warmup round today. It’s go big or go home.

There are a ton of amazing matches today, so check out the schedule and video link below!

DAY TWO –

There are also some awesome viewership rewards to be earned, just head over to this link to set everything up! You can follow the league both live and after hours on the official Call Of Duty League YouTube channel right here. If you want to jump into the game, check out CallOfDuty.com, and if you want to know more about it first, check out our review right here.

See below for our list of partners and affiliates: