Atlanta FaZe defeated the LA Thieves in their first match of the Major IV qualifiers by a score of 3-2. While the score was close, the maps themselves in the match were anything but. Atlanta rode their newfound prowess in Search and Destroy to completely annihilate the Thieves in both maps two and five. LA did not win a single round of S&D in either map. To add salt to the wound, LA’s Sam “Octane” Larew didn’t secure a single elimination in either map, going a combined 0-12. It’s unclear if such a feat has ever been achieved before in the Call of Duty League, as stats experts haven’t been able to come up with an answer yet. One thing is for certain, though, and it’s that if LA is to have any hope in 2022, they need to improve in Search and Destroy.
LA falls short against Atlanta FaZe
Without S&D, LA looked like a better team than Atlanta at times. They completely blew FaZe away in the first map, Hardpoint on Gavutu, something that Thieves fans have been sorely missing. LA was once the best Gavutu team in the game, but they started losing on that map in recent months; perhaps they’ve gotten their mojo back.
Moving onto map two, and Atlanta was absolutely dominating LA. The Thieves only managed to get nine kills as a team combined, mainly thanks to Octane dropping a donut. To be fair, he did put up the most damage on the team; he simply couldn’t find a kill.
The next map was Tuscan Control, and LA clutched up in round five on Defense. Kenny “Kenny” Williams had a few clutch plays down the stretch to secure the map for LA. However, Kenny failed to show up on the fourth map, Hardpoint on Tuscan. Atlanta was able to make a huge comeback here, thanks to Alec “Arcitys” Sanderson’s great performance (1.53 KD). This set up a map five; Search and Destroy on Bocage.
THE GOD NADE 🙏🙏 @Kuavo pic.twitter.com/QLsSdzzZ3n
— LA Thieves (@LAThieves) June 26, 2022
This last map was anything but close. LA, for whatever reason, was just out of sorts in S&D. FaZe was able to win round after round without much stress at all. In the end, Atlanta took the series with the combination of McArthur “Cellium” Jovel’s 1.44 KD performance and Chris “Simp” Lehr’s great slaying (95 kills and 12,000 damage). For the Thieves (and especially Octane), it was certainly a series to forget.
This loss is tough for LA, as they’re looking to secure a top-eight spot in the standings to be invited to CDL Champs. As it stands now, they hold just a five-point lead over LAG and a 10-point lead over Florida and Minnesota.
