Call Of Duty League 2022 Major IV/Day 1 takeaways — Faze look lost, Subliners grab hold of a miracle

We had the pleasure today of watching some of the most competitive Call Of Duty we’ve seen in awhile… unless you’re a Faze fan like I am. Today was filled with Game 5’s and upsets, everything you possibly could want to see, we saw. Although New York can’t be very happy about Florida, Toronto, and LAT strengthening their standing for Champs. There’s work to do tomorrow, but at least for Crimsix and co, a nice little bye until Saturday. Let’s take a look at what went on in one of the craziest opening Major days in the CDL.

London Royal Ravens vs Toronto Ultra

Actual: 3-2 Toronto Ultra

• Tuscan may have been the craziest Hardpoint of the year, and it was the kickoff map of the entire tournament. The Royal Ravens had a shot with 248 points on the final P1, but CleanX managed to contest just long enough to give Ultra a trade to get it over to P2, where they were already set up. Even with a good Toronto hold though, one of the best breaking teams in the league smashed the front with just enough time left, with Gismo grabbing a timely two-piece to take the first points of Major IV.
• I don’t know that there is anything else you can say but that the Control cost London. It sounds funny, I mean, this team was up 2-0 right beforehand. But when you’re constantly getting beat down in it, especially on LAN, your opponent gets a freebie that gives them momentum. The Royal Ravens should have been able to close this one out, but instead let the more experienced team send them to losers.
• As impactful as Afro was through the first four maps, he completely disappeared in the Game 5. On Bocage we watched him get the second most kills in an S&D this year versus arguably the best team in the game in Faze, but he was only 5/7. If you watched the map, you could see London playing too passively, allowing Toronto to not only dictate the pace, but get a bunch of grenade first bloods. You don’t win many matches in this league when you’re constantly in 3v4 situations.

• You can’t say enough about this team’s resilience. Down 0-2 after a heartbreaker and heartstopper of a opening Hardpoint, followed by a woeful showing on one of their best S&D maps, Toronto surged forward in a perfect 3-0 Control, clutched up in a 250-230 Hardpoint, and took over in a 6-2 Bocage S&D where they decided how the map flowed. Imposing your will on an opponent isn’t easy, but when the teamwork is on point, Toronto has that kind of power.   
• Bance was a catalyst in this game. He may not have had the impact in kills department until the final map (beyond a good showing in the opening HP), but you could see him directing this team in how they were taking control on the maps. I don’t know that I’ve seen a better use of the glide bomb this year than Bance’s in the 4-2 round. They had the 3v4 man advantage, and most teams might not bother with it, but Ultra used it to get info, and managed to catch out Nastie on back B to secure the round. He finished 11/2 in that one, along with +10 kills in the series.
• I don’t understand how the Royal Ravens lost round 3 in Control, but Toronto made some fantastic plays to win it. First was Ultra not panicking and immediately using their glide bomb after feeding one to Afro and him using it (although to no avail). Second was CleanX (30/20) and Insight going massive and clearing out the point, not only that time, but in the second push as well. By the time the glide came in from Insight (who was 24/11), the life count was 12 to 2, unwinnable for London and big momentum for Toronto in the eventual reverse sweep.

Boston Breach vs Florida Mutineers

Actual: 3-2 Florida Mutineers

• This entire match was insane. Yeah, another one where we made it to Game 5, but it was domination after domination in the first 4 maps. Unlike the previous series though, Boston ran out of juice at the end, and it was one of the oddest S&D’s you’ll see. Boston just kept clutching up in 3v4 and 2v4 situations, but you can only do that for so long. As for incriminating someone, I have to point out Methodz challenging Skyz at A. Yes, you have an MP-40, but it just felt like a bad play that cost them a needed round.
• I may be picking on Zinni a little bit, because he certainly was the reason they even made it to the Game 5. In the Control and Berlin Hardpoint, Methodz was frying, 47/20, with a 2.35 KD. He was holding down his place on the map, not allowing flips and giving Boston all the map control in the world that allowed them the 3-0 on Gavutu and the 250-134 on Berlin.
• You aren’t going to see many better plays than Vivid’s sneaky flank in the Gavutu Control. He came around back green, got into spawn, then took out Skyz and Majormaniak around truck, ducked back, and immediately rechallenged 2Real on the point for another. After that in the Hardpoint, he jumped up on the tank next to bottom mail, and took out Florida players spawning around docks for P3. Vivid was doing it all to keep Boston in it, with +11 kills in those two maps. In case you felt like that number is low, let’s remember what Vivid’s stats can be (-12 on the Gavutu HP).

• The opening Hardpoint and S&D vibes went away kind of quickly, with the second Game 5 of the day at least managing to be a different result. You’ve got to hand it to the vets on this Mutineers squad, because they didn’t lose composure, even after two beat downs and a complete loss of momentum.
• 2Real is going to be the reason this team either keeps going or loses. I’ll give him a bit of a break, this is his first LAN and when you play Gavutu and Berlin SMGs can get stuck in the blender. But sheesh, -21 kills and a .75 KD? He’s doing the least on a team where he needs to be better. At least he’s been able to influence several rounds in S&D, with his massive flank to assist Skyz in the round 10 coming up clutch, along with a good catch of Nero and Vivid coming through bottom grandma leading to a 4v2.
• I should probably give this squad more credit after winning two S&D’s, but they didn’t make it easy on the Bocage. They played Desert Siege really well, which is a good sign considering how many times we’ve watched them falter there. My issue with Bocage lies in the constant man advantages this team threw away so many times. I understand this is a Major tournament, so people are going to play outside the box. But there were multiple times (like Majormaniak getting caught around B by Methodz in a pivotal round 6 where the comeback started) where they seemingly got too comfortable and were caught with their pants down. Winning by the skin of your teeth is still a win though.

New York Subliners vs Minnesota Rokkr

Actual: 3-2 New York Subliners

• This was a banger, but you admittedly thought New York might not be able to come back from the deficit. While all of the previous matches went to Game 5s, this one seemed a bit more dominant, with the Subliners getting wrecked on Bocage and barely scraping up the one round in the S&D. But the miracle run continued, and our second reverse sweep of the day came about.
• For all of the fire out of the introduction of New York, they certainly didn’t start with it. Crimsix was 3/14 at one point, and Hydra was being had. Rokkr was up by 32 kills on the opening map, with Priestahh the only one out of the green with a 25/25. But after getting tortured in the Search, New York turned it up in a flawless 3-0 Control. The clutch factor was heavy in this one, not only with Hydra’s double positive stat line, but being the first team to let A get away on defense but not allow an offensive win via B. That was impressive, even if it did come down to a 1v1.
• Hopefully for New York they can take this momentum and ride with it. Things got a bit tougher on the road to a Champs spot, with Ultra, Thieves, and Florida all getting wins today. On the plus side, the Subliners get to play the Mutineers next, and with the home crowd buff, jitters out of the way, a first LAN win under their belts (that counts), and a nice win online this stage versus them, they might have an easier time than they did versus Rokkr.

• Well, Attach literally did all he could. The man was +28 with 12k damage, dropping a 1.42 on the main stage, but to no avail. With the way he played the Desert Siege, already racking up 10 kills in 5 rounds and earning the glide, you’d have thought this team may make it past a scrappy NY squad. Unfortunately for him, the 13/7 final stat line was more of a result of him having to overcompensate for his team, who together didn’t have as many kills as he did.
• Standy probably shouldn’t have been talking so much crap after each of the opening two maps. Sure, He had a fantastic time on Bocage, 39/27 on HP and a perfect 10/0 in S&D. But here’s the thing, don’t count your chickens before they hatch. He went -6 in every map afterwards, and a terrible 2/8 in the Search and Destroy. I often tell my teammates, don’t talk until we have the dub secured, and it’s times like these I realize how right I am.
• Even in the loss, Minnesota might be the new kings of Bocage, if they weren’t already. They dropped three different 30 bombs in the opening Hardpoint, Standy, Havok, and Attach all combining for +32 kills and a 1.42 average KD between them. That, my friends, is how you humiliate someone.

Los Angeles Thieves vs Atlanta Faze

Actual: 3-1 Los Angeles Thieves

• Another way to humiliate someone, punch them in the throat. Or face. Or nards. Okay, maybe that was a bad segue, but LAT punched Faze hard in this one. There wasn’t ever a moment where Atlanta looked comfortable, and that’s a credit to the preparation Thieves put in. They matched Atlanta’s usual aggression, and let Envoy and Kenny be as annoying as possible. That’s how you beat Faze for the first time… ever. 
• Octane was certainly feeling himself today, even if the whole team seemed to be. He finished 85/70, with +15 kills and a 1.21 KD. Octane felt like the cleanup crew, just being there to finish people off that somehow got past his teammates, and that’s completely fine. Give him that much room to do his thing, and he looks more and more like his moniker.
• I’ve got to give it to Kenny as well, that was a great map out of him. For someone who has been so inconsistent, we finally saw that here. It wasn’t just kills, it was being in the right place at the right time. The Thieves were getting kills because of their teamwork, and that’s what can carry them pretty far in this tournament.

• I hate to type this again, but Faze once again seems completely befuddled on the map. I get some of the frustrations with Vanguard, and I’ll uninstall it the second I can play Modern Warfare 2. I mean, the aBeZy spawn that made Arcitys look away was awful. But they looked like they had just woke up twenty minutes before the match and rolled into the venue without practice. Some of this is Vanguard, but some of it is just a lack of fundamentals. They looked bad on one of their best Hardpoint maps, and outclassed on one we know they’re terrible on.
• Poor Alec is going to take most of the blame for this one, and I’m honestly hoping he’s doing alright. Some of the brainfarts I’m watching aren’t like him, and the 60/87 for -27 and a .69 KD isn’t nice. He’s a leader on this team, and he’s got to step up, or even Paris might send them home early.
• At least they get Paris. If there’s a team that could use somewhat of a gimme match after today, it feels like Faze. Don’t forget, even though Optic have a tough time as well with starting in losers, Faze needs a few more points to cement the first seed. They probably need to win at least two matches, and it’ll be a tough second one versus the winner of London and LAG, two teams that beat Faze in the qualifiers. Nothing’s ever easy, but I’m a lot less sure of Faze getting to the finals of Major IV than I was yesterday. I was hoping they’d at least look competitive, but this one was hard to watch.

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