CDL 2022: Which Team Will Claim a Victory at the OpTic Major?
This weekend, between the 3rd and the 6th of March, the first Major Tournament of the 2022 CDL season will play out. At this event, all twelve teams competing in the Call of Duty League will go head-to-head, with one team walking out with a huge cash prize and a staggering number of CDL points. These Major Tournaments can make or break the entire season for some teams, and the fans absolutely love them. With this being the first of four such events, the OpTic Major will set the tone for the competition ahead.
As we go into the weekend, there’s a clear pattern of power being distributed across the Call of Duty League standings. At present, Paris Legion sits flat bottom on the table, with zero wins to five losses, while Atlanta FaZe sits at the top with an exact mirror of that record. However, sitting close behind FaZe are the likes of the London Royal Ravens and the LA Thieves, and at this point, everyone is desperate to secure the OpTic Major.
The OpTic Major: Schedule and Format
If there’s one word you can use to describe the CDL Major Tournaments, it would be ‘simple’. They’re not complex by any means, with the tournament structure being built around two brackets – a winner’s bracket, and the elimination bracket. The highest-placing teams in the League enter the winner’s bracket, while the worst-performing sides are thrown into the elimination bracket. For those at the top, there are two chances to push forward into the final rounds, but the bottom bracket features an intense, single-elimination format.
Here’s the schedule for the weekend ahead:
For four teams, one loss will mean instant ejection from the competition – it’s an unfortunate fact. While there are some clear favourites in this tournament, we could of course see a sudden uprising of an underdog side, an occurrence which has taken place before. Last year, in the 2021 season, Toronto Ultra defied all Call of Duty odds and logic to dominate every top team at Major II, landing a huge, decisive victory.
Which Team Will Win the OpTic Major?
The Major Tournaments are breeding grounds for Call of Duty betting opportunities, that much is for certain. Outside of the CDL Champs stage, these Major Tournaments are widely appreciated by the top esports betting sites for the simple reason that bettors get heavily involved. With that in mind, you may be wondering which team will win the OpTic Major.
If we work with sheer performance and historical ability, we’d say that backing Atlanta FaZe is the safest bet. In recent years, Atlanta FaZe has worked to establish itself as one of the greatest Call of Duty teams in history, and that streak is continuing into the 2022 season. However, the likes of London Royal Ravens, LA Thieves, and OpTic Texas cannot be forgotten. Ultimately, every team has a fair shot at landing the big win, but for the elimination bracket teams, it’s a much harder journey.
For instance, the New York Subliners, which boasts the veteran might of both Clayster and Crimsix, could push through to the final stage. However, to do so, NYSL would need to win six games in a row to take home the prize, versus the four games that the top-tier teams would need to win.
There’s a lot riding on this Major Tournament, and the action kicks off on Friday 4th of March.