Breaking down the teams most likely to win Call of Duty League Champs

A Call of Duty League season that at times felt like a long slog to crown the Atlanta FaZe suddenly feels wide open as Championship Weekend 2021 is set to begin on Thursday at the Galen Center in Los Angeles.

The top eight teams in the CDL standings will compete in one last playoff tournament for a $1.2 million prize, plus the bragging rights that come with being COD world champions.

After FaZe’s unceremonious loss at Major V coupled with the Minnesota ROKKR’s shocking victory, there’s a feeling of uncertainty heading into the postseason. Here are the remaining eight teams, and how we think they’ll perform, from the least likely to win, down to the favorites.

Lead photo credit: Juan Valero / @Valerovzla

7. Florida Mutineers/Los Angeles Thieves

Photo credit: Juan Valero / @Valerovzla

Barring a miracle, there’s little chance for either of these teams to make a run.

Pull off an upset or two? Sure, maybe. Florida have been more lukewarm, winning a match in every major except the last and going 3-2 in each of the last three stages. The LA Thieves were plagued by consistency issues all season, undergoing constant lineup changes along the way, but they did manage to bounce back again to win three matches in Stage 5.

Expecting any team to emerge victorious starting from the elimination bracket is a big ask and neither the Mutineers or the Thieves have any tricks left up their sleeves. They won’t go down without a fight, but their odds of winning Champs are incredibly slim.

6. OpTic Chicago

Photo credit: Juan Valero / @Valerovzla

One thing we know OpTic will be able to count on with fans in attendance is there will be plenty of vocal support for the Green Wall in Los Angeles. Then again, the crowd didn’t make much of a difference at Major V in Texas, as Chicago wasted the advantage of their winners-bracket bye en route to a third-place finish.

It’s worth noting that is OpTic’s best placement in a tournament all season, which also comes on the heels of their best stage since the first round of groups. Perhaps they are getting hot at the right time. They are a veteran group led by a few former world champions in Seth “Scump” Abner and Matthew “FormaL” Piper.

That said, while I don’t think anybody should completely discount OpTic, they haven’t performed well when it matters, posting a 10-9 match record in majors. Even though their longest winning streak of four games in 2021 would be enough to get them across the finish line in Champs, it just doesn’t scream “contender.”

5. Minnesota ROKKR

Photo credit: Juan Valero / @Valerovzla

The question ROKKR fans are asking is did the team simply catch lightning in a bottle for one weekend, or did they finally reach their full potential?

It’s not so easy to write off Minnesota after its miraculous victory at Major V, and not just because of the historic best-of-nine reverse sweep in the final. The ROKKR plunged through some of the top teams in CDL like a hot knife through butter during the course of the tournament, making quick work of FaZe, Empire and Ultra with a combined 9-2 map record before defeating Toronto again to cap off a shocking run.

The ROKKR were never really in the mix this season, winning no more than three matches in any group stage, and only two matches over the previous four majors. Sure, Dillon “Attach” Price is a former world champion, and rookie Eli “Standy” Bentz is becoming a legit star, but this is still a sixth-place team in the standings.

4. New York Subliners

On one hand, NYSL have one of the most talented lineups in CDL with James “Clayster” Eubanks returning from a mental health break. Obaid “Asim” Asim has elevated his game dramatically this season. Paco "HyDra" Rusiewiez ranks fifth among all players with a 1.11 overall kill-death ratio since his midseason arrival. Clayster is a proven champion, fiery leader and an all-time great. When firing on all cylinders, this squad is as dangerous as any.

Yet, while Clay’s decision to leave the team in the middle of Stage 5 was necessary, one can certainly wonder what the fallout from that decision might be. Asim only joined NYSL in January and wound up missing Major IV due to visa issues. HyDra came aboard in April as Stage 3 was getting underway. Clay was away for a few weeks.. Have these players logged enough time together as a group?

NYSL showed what they were capable of when the whole gang was together at Major III, pushing FaZe to the brink before ultimately going down 5-4. They’re definitely a team to watch, especially because we haven’t seen much of them.

3. Dallas Empire

Photo credit: Juan Valero / @Valerovzla

Unlike the rest of the CDL, the Empire aren’t rated primarily on their accomplishments this season. Despite all of the ups and downs, they managed a very solid third-place finish.

Put some respect on their name. We’re talking about the defending champs here.

Clayster and Cuyler “Huke” Garland are gone from last year’s squad, the latter departing after a highly scrutinized midseason benching. Dallas still managed to keep much of that core in place, including three-time COD world champion Ian “C6” Porter and 2020 CDL Most Valuable Player Anthony "Shotzzy" Cuevas-Castro. And while the Empire failed to win a major this year, they were one of only three teams to appear in at least two grand finals, which has to count for something.

Out of the four winners-bracket teams that didn’t earn a bye, Empire are clearly the most dangerous of the bunch.

2. Toronto Ultra

Photo credit: Juan Valero / @Valerovzla

Tempting as it might be to drop Ultra down a spot or two over fears of confidence issues after their historic meltdown at Major V, I don’t expect them to have much trouble bouncing back.

Toronto already went through something similar earlier this season. Ben “Bance” Bance was contemplating retirement in Stage 2 when his performance dipped and he dealt with harassment from fans. Then, Ultra suddenly caught fire and went on to win the ensuing major, led in part by Bance’s turnaround. That demonstrates the mental fortitude that will absolutely be necessary in order to recover from a shot to the self-esteem as big as losing a BO9 by way of reverse sweep.

Ultra also have a built-in advantage as a result of finishing second in the standings with a 29-17 match record. A first-round bye in the winners bracket is a huge boon, since they only need to win two matches to reach the grand finals. Since their unexpected victory at Major II, Toronto have consistently been in the mix, reaching two elimination finals and a grand final.

1. Atlanta FaZe

It’s easy to look at the last major, where FaZe were knocked out in consecutive matches and make the case Atlanta is backing into Champs.

Regardless of whether it was one bad weekend or a legitimate cause for concern, there’s no way to look at FaZe’s season objectively and argue they aren’t the favorites. Their 34-7 match record and 122-53 map record in 2021 are far and away better than the next best teams. They won three of five majors and reached the grand finals in a fourth. They ran up a 13-match winning streak from the end of Major III into Stage 5, earning a 40-12 map record along the way. They also have front-runner for MVP Chris “Simp” Lehr, as well as the probable runners-up McArthur “Cellium” Jovel and Tyler “aBeZy” Pharris.

Dominant doesn’t begin to describe the way FaZe played for most of the season, and one bad tournament isn’t enough to change my mind about who I think is going to win this thing, even if the timing of their slump is a tad worrisome.

Stats via breakingpoint.gg