Call Of Duty League 2022 Major IV/Week 1/Day 2 takeaways — London shines in Gismo’s return, Rokkr wreck ‘em versus Optic

One good turn deserves another. We may not have seen any crazy reverse sweeps like we did yesterday, but we saw some great Call Of Duty being played. There was plenty of blood, sweat, and tears shed today, and CDL points a’ plenty distributed. I don’t know that we saw any shifts of power, but there’s definitely plenty to talk about.

Toronto Ultra vs London Royal Ravens

Actual: 3-1 London Royal Ravens

• I said in Day 1’s preview this team was looking at least a little shaky. I still think they have potential to make a huge run at Major IV and Champs, but this is back to them looking similar to Stage 1 and 2. You shouldn’t have needed a reverse sweep to clutch up in both of these matches, and they couldn’t complete this one. 
• Yet again, it’s the SMG duo not playing up to their potential. Bance and CleanX combined for 145/187, -42 kills and a .78 KD. Obviously kills aren’t everything, given they were outslayed by LAG, but London capitalized on theirs and sent Toronto packing.
• Weirder still was the Control. Toronto won it 3-1, but it was off London having a few brain farts. I do give Ultra credit though, they are one of the best teams at methodically playing a map and making a quick decision that results in a round win. The offense was a thing of beauty to close things out, even with them down lives and with only seconds left. 

• Honestly, I thought I was a bit too optimistic on the Royal Ravens, but they proved me right. This squad with Gismo gels so well, and it’s more about how his presence changes the team dynamic. It’s similar to how they didn’t miss a beat with PaulEhx; Zero at flex doesn’t give them the same firepower. It allows him to play his game, and with a talent like Gismo it gives them an explosive element they were missing.
• While Gismo slotted in and only posted a 73/80, Zero moving back to main AR was freeing. He was nearly unkillable, with a 95/60 for +35 kills and a 1.58 KD. The guy absolutely ruled the Hardpoints, 65/31 for a double positive performance. Every time Toronto answered back in the mode, Zero had an answer. 
• What’s extremely surprising is how little Afro was involved in this one. I would imagine a Tuscan and two Berlins would be his playground, but he put up a quiet 78/82 and the least amount of damage in the lobby with 8701. He won’t be that silent always, but the low engagement numbers given his playstyle are astounding. 

New York Subliners vs Los Angeles Guerrillas

Actual: 3-1 New York Subliners

• They woke up yesterday after the initial map loss on Tuscan, and they kept things rolling today. Beyond a surprising loss on the Berlin Control, New York made the plays to win this one. They’re especially impressive right now in the Hardpoints, winning both by over 100 points. The story is always going to be how do they make Champs, but at least for now they’re winning the matches they have to in order to make it happen.
• While I have to give Hydra credit for a great match and clutching the round 11 S&D 1v1 versus Huke, I have to give him some crap on a previous play. The Subliners had SlasheR in a 1v2, and he caught Crimsix looking on top University. Obviously Hydra didn’t have much time to plant in the situation, but dead sprinting at SlasheR wasn’t the right call, as he got burned when SlasheR played it beautifully with stopping and turning to wait for him.  
• Another week and the Subliners outslayed the other team.Given this team was struggling with that earlier in the year, it’s good to see, and it’s probably a big reason they have improved so much in Hardpoint. The whole team finished +21 kills, and they’ll need to keep that going in the tougher matches ahead. 

• This was definitely not how you wanted to follow up the promise shown versus Toronto. If anything, one would have imagined this would have been the easier match. LAG needs every win possible from here out if they want to make it to Champs, and losing this one hurts deeply for a team clinging to their spot.
• After frying versus Ultra (at least early in the match), Neptune didn’t get his revenge versus his former team. He finished with lobby lows, a .87 KD, -10 deaths, and 7600 damage. Unfortunately that was also followed with a high, the most deaths in the lobby at 75. Maybe he was a bit shook in this one, maybe it was nerves, but he’ll need to do more to help LAG make a run at Major IV. 
• I’m not completely sure where I see two wins in the Guerrillas last three games. Those CDL points are needed with this team currently sitting at the eighth and final seed for Champs, and they have to face Atlanta Faze, Boston Breach, and London Royal Ravens. Maybe they pull plenty of upsets, and it’s definitely possible, but Boston is the only team I see realistically dropping one, and it feels like this team could go 0-5 as easily as it could go 1-4. That would be a disaster.

Optic Texas vs Minnesota Rokkr

Actual: 3-1 Minnesota Rokkr 

• This team is experiencing the worst low they could be right now. The absence of iLLeY is felt, and not even because of Prolute’s performances. There’s a lack of play calling happening, with Optic allowing too many mental breakdowns to implode maps for them. They better figure it out soon, because there is no guarantee this roster gets iLLeY back before the end of the season.
• At least they shook off the Control bug that bit them yesterday. After being embarrassed by Boston in an 0-3 Tuscan Control where they seemed to fall apart after some questionable calls, they made Minnesota look silly in their own 3-0 victory. Dashy and Prolute pulled off one of the best plays of the year in a 2v6 clutch to send it to the Game 4 on offense, an incredible feat that featured both gunny and game sense.
• Speaking of Dashy, he had an amazing series, but this is starting to remind you of Cold War. Often Dashy would have ridiculous KDs but the rest of his team wasn’t great, showing that he was often baiting and letting his teammates fight in the trenches while he sat back and reaped the rewards. I don’t think it’s the same exact thing, he’s got more accountability to this team along with a strong coach, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the recent disappointments haven’t caused him to fall back at least a little into a bad habit.

• For the disappointing show we got on LAN, Minnesota with Havok has been everything but online. This team is now 6-0 online after the switch, and the pace they play at is much better with the change. Havok dropped a 1.15 KD on a 91/79 stat line, leading his team in damage and being the only one positive at +12 kills. He’s come a long way since his introduction at the Pro-Am, where people wondered if he could replicate his Texas Nation success in the CDL. I’d say he has, even if this team hasn’t reached the heights yet he enjoyed in Challengers.
• What clinched this one arguably was the insane comeback in the Bocage S&D. We all know how good this squad has been in the mode, but after dropping Majormaniak they haven’t been as strong. Versus Optic they had to flex those muscles a bit, down 3-5, and somehow managed to make several incredible plays. Attach was surprisingly human in this one, only managing a 4/8, but the rest of his squad picked up the slack.
• This is how you have to keep things going if you want to make it to Champs. Minnesota is in ninth, and if they can beat Florida tomorrow they can knock LAG from their spot. Even if not, they have London, Seattle, and Paris on deck, so while I wouldn’t call it a must win, Florida is in tenth and breathing down your neck. It’d be better to get that tiebreaker and keep them from CDL points.  

Los Angeles Thieves vs Boston Breach

Actual: 3-0 Los Angeles Thieves 

• Not much different than the last time these teams met, beyond it taking a little bit longer. The Thieves smoked Boston 3-0 once again, with the whole squad averaging a 1.27 KD. We’ll be talking a whole lot about Champs throughout this stage, and LAT helped themselves by grabbing some CDL points to jump them into seventh and closed the gap with Boston at sixth to 10 points.
• Part of why this was a bloodbath? Kenny. The Skyz of the southwest, Los Angeles will most likely live and die by how he performs. Today, there was no question to his dominance, with Kenny sporting a 1.59 KD, 9k damage, and +27 kills. Now, to see if he can keep from his habitual -20 kills in the following game. Unfortunately for LAT, they do draw Simp and Atlanta Faze tomorrow.
• I’m not sure exactly what to say from here, because this squad was just dominant, and not necessarily in a flashy way. They played their game and didn’t let the other team dictate the pace, flying at Boston and forcing them to react. It was simply clinical.

• For Boston, this one brings you back to earth after the high from beating Optic. Worse still, you gave up ground versus the team that’s right behind you in the standings. The good news is that this team is much better than they showed today, but we knew that Vivid wasn’t necessarily the issue here. Consistency is the issue, and this team can’t keep having so many up and down performances.
• Case in point, Nero came crashing down, but in all fairness that’s been par for the course so far this season. He only managed 48 total kills a day after dropping 49 on a single map. Of course, what he didn’t have on that map was 70 deaths, which put him at a .69 KD and -22 kills. He has to be more consistent for this team to win. 
• In all fairness though, this whole team needs to figure things out. Not a single player was in the positive, and they were outslayed by 48 kills. Even worse, only one player was above that number in kills, with Methodz at 50. It’s not a good place to be in, and hopefully having a different point of view in Vivid to talk them through this one will help them to shake it off. 

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