Looks like the Atlanta FaZe got their revenge for the grand finals of Major III, as they’ve just taken down the Seattle Surge in a crucial Major IV qualifier match. Coming into today, Seattle was sitting at 1-3 in the qualifiers; Atlanta was 2-2. If Seattle was to win, they would likely send FaZe to the loser’s bracket of CDL Major IV. They would also claim some much-needed CDL Points in their fight to secure a top Champs seed. However, FaZe spoiled the Major III winner’s hopes, as they cleanly swept them to close out both teams’ Major IV qualifiers.
Atlanta and Seattle have both looked rather shaky in these qualifiers after coming off grand finals appearances in Major III. The Surge’s only win during these qualifiers was against the Paris Legion, a team that becomes more unbelievably bad by the day. FaZe, on the other hand, was coming off a poor performance against the London Royal Ravens, where they lost 1-3. To say both teams needed a win to close out the Major IV qualifiers is an understatement.
It’s FaZe that’s walking away with a confidence boost, however; mainly thanks to McArthur “Cellium” Jovel once again proving that he’s arguably the best player this season. Cellium finished with an incredible 1.44 KD in the series, including back-to-back 1v4 clutches in the map two Search and Destroy on Berlin. Chris “Simp” Lehr was the only other FaZe player to finish positive in the match (1.03).
Making it look #EZAF@Cellium with the 1v4 😤 pic.twitter.com/UEdy0zPFPV
— Call of Duty League (@CODLeague) July 10, 2022
As for Seattle, Amer “Pred” Zulbeari was the only member of the roster to really show up for the match. The Major III MVP finished with a 1.09 KD while the rest of the roster didn’t finish with above a 1.00. This is certainly troubling for Seattle, as they look to have peaked a little too early in the season. If Major III really was the Surge’s peak, then they’re in for a rough time at Major IV and Champs. However, Seattle has shown resiliency in the past, so fans shouldn’t count them out because of five bad matches online. If they continue to struggle on LAN at Major IV, then the concerns become truly warranted.
On the side of Atlanta, they bounced back nicely heading into Major IV. They look primed to continue their streak of grand finals appearances this year but winning the event is looking harder by the day. London, New York, and Boston all look strong heading into the tournament. Atlanta will need to figure out their recent issues if they want to make another deep run against a stacked winner’s bracket.
