The 2021 Call of Duty League season finale is closing in fast as it hits the midway point for Stage 4. Teams that aren’t in the Top 8 will either need to play their hearts out or resign themselves to simply watching championship tournament this year.
But one big change on the immediate horizon is in-person play. Teams and players from all over the country and world will make their way to Dallas for the Stage 4 Major. Who knows if the switch from online to LAN will yield different results for teams like the Los Angeles Thieves and Dallas Empire, two inconsistent squads that’ll need to shape up if they want a chance at that 2021 chip.
The New York Subliners, Toronto Ultra and Atlanta FaZe are still the kings of the league. That hasn’t changed much with Upcomer’s latest Call of Duty League Stage 4 power rankings.
1. Atlanta FaZe
- Season Record: 26-4
- Stage 4 Record: 4-0
- Movement: –
The Atlanta FaZe boast a 12-1 map record to go with their Stage 3 Major victory and are comfortably atop the CDL power rankings after Toronto’s hot streak came to an end. Wins over the Seattle Surge, LA Thieves and Paris Legion so far in Stage 4 aren’t worth much, but a sweep of OpTic Chicago shows this squad is posed to perform at the next Major as well.
At this point, we know Atlanta is beatable, and they showed that despite a 6-0 weekend with shaky performances against Seattle and LA. However, the team remains atop the league in overall KD (kills/deaths), and the worst-performing member of the squad by that metric, Alec “Arcitys” Sanderson, is tied for eighth in the CDL with a 1.07 KD.
The team has one more tune-up before the next Major in this weekend’s matchup against the Minnesota RØKKR. A win against the sub-.500 squad should set the FaZe up as favorites going into the Stage 4 finale.
– Sean Morrison
2. New York Subliners
- Season Record: 19-9
- Stage 4 Record: 3-0
- Movement: –
New York is especially hungry after losing to Atlanta at the Stage 3 Major. They’re off to a 3-0 start with wins against Florida, Los Angeles and Dallas. While all four players held the line, Makenzie “Mack” Kelley helped push the squad over the finish line by dropping a 1.27 KD, along with two 40-bomb performances, in the win over Dallas.
The only thing that can seemingly stop the Subliners is another Top 3 team, and that’s exactly who Mack and company will need to beat in order to grab one Major crown this season. It doesn’t look like New York will get the top seed heading into the Call of Duty League Stage 4 Major, either. FaZe will need to lose in order for that to happen.
– Aron Garst
3. Toronto Ultra
- Season Record: 19-12
- Stage 4 Record: 2-1
- Movement: –
Toronto began Stage 4 with a tough 3-2 loss to the Mutineers, but quickly bounced back against both Dallas and London. The Ultra straight out slayed their opponents, with nearly all four Europeans dropping positive KDs in each series. Ben “Bance” Bance led the squad with a 1.46 against London this past weekend.
The Ultra will face a deflated Los Angeles Guerrillas this weekend before taking on a scary-looking New York Subliners. Toronto has proven that they can go toe-to-toe with anyone in the league, but haven’t fared well against the other top teams in recent matchups. They’ll most likely go into the Stage 4 Major with good seeding, but they’ll have a lot of work to do before taking on FaZe again.
– Garst
4. Florida Mutineers
- Season Record: 13-14
- Stage 4 Record: 3-1
- Movement: +3
The ship seems to finally be heading down a consistent route for the Florida Mutineers. Their Stage 4 performance has been marvelous, as they boast a 3-1 record and sit in second place in Group B. Their only loss came against the top-seeded New York Subliners this past weekend.
The Mutineers’ turnaround from Stage 3 can be attributed to the whole squad. Joe “Owakening” Conley and Cesar “Skyz” Bueno continue to be one of the best duos in the CDL. Travis “Neptune” McCloud is finally coming into his own and Colt “Havok” McLendon has started to perform better.
It’s unclear if Florida has what it takes to make a deep run at the Major but they certainly have the momentum to do so.
– Joey Carr
5. OpTic Chicago
- Season Record: 17-12
- Stage 4 Record: 2-1
- Movement: -1
OpTic Chicago took care of business over the weekend at the Florida Home Series, defeating Paris Legion 3-1. On paper, the win doesn’t look too impressive but Paris was coming off a huge win against the LA Thieves. Chicago absolutely needed that victory after their rough loss to Atlanta one week ago.
It still seems unlikely OpTic will be able to make any kind of a run at the Major. Their track record against top competition is abysmal and that hasn’t changed this stage. However, they will likely start in the winner’s bracket and have shown more emotion recently than in weeks past. Seth “Scump” Abner loudly exclaimed “Nice!” after their win against Paris. Maybe that passion will push the to new heights. The talent is there for a surprise run but OpTic’s past performances work against them.
– Carr
6. Dallas Empire
- Season Record: 16-13
- Stage 4 Record: 2-2
- Movement: –
Dallas is looking less and less like a contender with each passing week. After a number of roster changes that have moved the team further away from their 2020 championship winning squad, the Empire barely pulled out a win against London to start Stage 4. They shutout the Guerrillas this weekend before losing a nail biter against the New York Subliners 3-2.
While stats showed both teams lining up relatively even, a few crucial moments let the Subliners get ahead. Paco “HyDra” Rusiewiez was able to somehow sneak past Dallas near the end of the Hardpoint map, helping New York overcome their point deficit. It’s tough to lose close matches like these and even tougher when spawns get blamed for getting out-slayed.
– Garst
7. Minnesota RØKKR
- Season Record: 11-12
- Stage 4 Record: 2-1
- Movement: +1
The RØKKR did their homework and turned it in on time this weekend, beating both Paris and Seattle to give them a positive Stage 4 record. But after getting shut out by Chicago to start the stage, it’s hard to believe the often-changing squad will be able to handle the Los Angeles Thieves and Atlanta FaZe this weekend to finish up groups before the Call of Duty League Stage 4 Major.
“It was a very sloppy Moscow Hardpoint and Checkpoint came down to the wire as well,” said Michael “MajorManiak” Szymaniak after beating the Surge. Right now the RØKKR are on the verge of getting knocked out of contention for Champs, meaning they have to do well at the Stage 4 Major in order to guarantee their spot.
It’s unfortunate that they have to do that by playing Atlanta for the first time this season, though.
– Garst
8. Los Angeles Thieves
- Season Record: 14-14
- Stage 4 Record: 1-2
- Movement: -3
After bringing Thomas “TJHaly” Haly back onto the roster for Cuyler “Huke” Garland, the roster has seen a decline in performance. They barely edged out a win against the Seattle Surge before losing back-to-back games against Paris Legion and Atlanta FaZe.
All the players on LA Thieves have been playing inconsistently. With LAN on the horizon, LA Thieves are going to have to turn around their individual performances to make a run, especially if they can no longer take guaranteed wins against lower-tiered teams like Seattle and Paris.
– Danny Appleford
9. Paris Legion
- Season Record: 6-16
- Stage 4 Record: 1-3
- Movement: +2
Paris Legion showed improvements this last weekend after taking a critical win off of LA Thieves. After adding Alex “Zaptius” Bonilla to the roster, the team has performed at a much higher level. However, they are still 1-3 overall and have one more matchup to go before the Stage 4 Major.
If all goes well, the Paris Legion will look better on LAN than they have online. Either way, they will still be starting in the bottom of the Major and will have to make a lower bracket run.
– Appleford
10. London Royal Ravens
- Season Record: 6-17
- Stage 4 Record: 0-3
- Movement: -1
A winless Stage 4 seems to be about the level we can expect from London as the season nears its end. Despite a brief surge during the Stage 3 Major, the Royal Ravens are once again stuck in the bottom of the group standings, albeit thanks to three rough matchups against top-half teams in the Empire (a 3-2 loss), Mutineers (3-0) and Ultra (3-0).
— Carolina Royal Ravens (@RoyalRavens) June 5, 2021
London has another challenge ahead of it with a series against New York before closing out Stage 4 groups against the Los Angeles Guerrillas.
– Morrison
11. LA Guerrillas
- Season Record: 7-17
- Stage 4 Record: 0-3
- Movement: -1
Not much else can be said about the LA Guerrillas that hasn’t already been stated. The roster won a single map across their two matches at the Florida Home Series. To make matters worse, they were swept by the man they left behind, Reece “Vivid” Drost, and his new Dallas Empire team.
Since dropping Vivid, LA has won a total of two matches. With Vivid on the roster, they won five total matches. The decision to move on without arguably their best player has and will seemingly continue to haunt this roster. Despite being in ninth place of the CDL, LAG has very little hope of jumping into eighth place and making the Champs bracket.
– Carr
12. Seattle Surge
- Season Record: 4-18
- Stage 4 Record: 0-3
- Movement: –
Seattle Surge are on a 10-game losing streak, tying the current record of days without wins from Modern Warfare. The team came together as they pulled off some decent Hardpoint wins against big-name teams but they have not been able to close out a series.
There’s no possible way Seattle Surge will make it to Champs at the end of the year with their lack of Call of Duty League ladder points. At this stage, the only remaining hope is the team will look on LAN.
– Appleford
Published: Jun 8, 2021 01:04 pm