Subliners Crash and Burn At Their Own Home Series
It was a harsh week for the New York Subliners, a team that has, up until this point, dominated the Call of Duty League. It’s one of the strongest sides on the table, despite being a relative underdog team. However, in the opening week of Stage Five, NYSL’s own Home Series, the New York side crashed hard against two overwhelming teams.
Firstly, a crushing blow was dealt by the LA Thieves, a team that hasn’t really disturbed NYSL much this season. Although, it’s fair to say it was a balanced match-up, with LAT picking up a big opening win in a round of Hardpoint, before being crushed 0 – 3 in the Control round. It came down to the fifth map and the eleventh round of a Search and Destroy – you can’t get closer.
But, that wasn’t the final nail in the coffin for the Subliners.
OpTic Chicago brought the fire this week, effectively slaying both Paris and the Subliners. The Greenwall stood strong, and the boys in green didn’t drop a single map. Ultimately, it led to Clayster being down hard and rueing the constant issues with the online-only platform of the CDL.
Full Green Ahead For OpTic
Last week, we explained that OpTic Chicago desperately needed wins in order to climb that leaderboard. We’re approaching the final Major tournament of the 2021 season, and then it’s the Champs stage. Right now, OpTic Chicago is in a relatively good place, boasting 290 points and sitting firmly in the 5th position on the table.
Although, the team’s fortunes might change in the coming weeks. In Week 2 of the fifth stage, they’ll need to face off against Atlanta FaZe, before capping the stage against the Royal Ravens and LAT. On paper, OpTic can beat London and the Thieves, but will FaZe stop them in their tracks?
Will OpTic Chicago see their first full, unbeaten stage of the CDL 2021 season?
The Full Spread
It almost goes without saying now, but Atlanta FaZe was dominant once again this week. The team decimated Paris and London (wow, big challenge) without dropping a single map, starting off the stage as powerfully as OpTic Chicago did.
The LA Thieves was another team to bring home two big wins this week, walking all over NYSL and the Royal Ravens. In other news, Dallas Empire picked up a massive 3 – 0 victory over the Los Angeles Guerrillas, but there’s still plenty to play for for the reigning champions.
In the coming weeks, Dallas will need to scrap against the Mutineers, Minnesota, Surge, and Ultra, before they get into the final Major. At the moment, Dallas Empire sits in second place, but it’s just five CDL points ahead of Toronto Ultra, and twenty CDL points ahead of the Subliners.
When Major V rolls around, it’s going to be a desperate dash for those top spots. However, the bottom of the table faces a similar issue, with the last four teams having just twenty CDL points separating them. Those final four will not make it to the Call of Duty League Champs stage, but it’ll take a miracle for some of them to push back up the table.
