The Call of Duty League Major IV qualifiers have begun, signaling the beginning of the end for the 2022 season. This is the last major qualifier of the season, as following Major IV will be CDL Champs.
Champs is only accepting the top-eight teams in the standings after Major IV, so this round of qualifiers is vitally important for teams on the bubble. With that in mind, several teams were able to show up in order to secure their spot at Champs while others petered out in drastic ways. Here are three takeaways we took from the first week of the Major IV qualifiers.
1. OpTic Texas can’t remain idle
OpTic Texas might have been dealt the worst hand in the CDL this season. While they still remain in second place in the standings and have a major win on their belt, they are struggling mightily at the moment.
In the past few weeks, they’ve gone from having Byron “Prolute” Vera on the roster, to having Indervir “iLLeY” Dhaliwal back to replace him, to then having to get Prolute back. iLLeY’s thumb injury caused unforeseen circumstances, which forced Prolute to return to the team. However, this followed a few days of scrimmages with iLLeY. This constant back and forth of roster members have seemingly messed OpTic’s chemistry up in numerous ways.
Over the weekend, they went 0-2 for the first time since the beginning of Major I. They were reverse swept by the Boston Breach and swept by the Minnesota ROKKR. In both matches, OpTic seemed off in every game mode.
At this point in time, they need to make a decision. If they want a prayer at Champs, they need to either commit to Prolute or sign someone else for the rest of the season. Of course, if iLLeY is truly ready to come back in a week or two, then Texas can afford to wait. However, iLLeY’s timetable has gotten pushed back multiple times already. OpTic need to choose what to do now before the rest of their season is derailed.
2. Trouble brews for the LA Thieves
LA looked absolutely fantastic in their first four maps of Major IV. They swept the Boston Breach in three maps in their first match and then destroyed Atlanta FaZe on Gavutu Hardpoint in the first map against them. Following that Hardpoint, though, the Thieves looked like a different team. Despite winning the Control over Atlanta, the Thieves looked out of sorts for a majority of the match.
They failed to win a single round of Search and Destroy over the course of two maps and let FaZe come back in the map four Hardpoint. Sam “Octane” Larew didn’t get a single kill in the S&D maps while the rest of the roster didn’t look much better. LA has never beaten Atlanta in the nearly two years since they joined the CDL (0-8). If they want any hope of winning Major IV or Champs, should they make it, they will likely need to beat FaZe to do so. So far, though, that doesn’t seem like a possibility, which could spell disaster for the Thieves.
3. LA Guerrillas on the verge of history
The LA Guerrillas shocked everyone when they won Major II. Kris “Spart” Cervante was a substitute who won the MVP of the major and it looked like LAG was going to be a contender the rest of the season. That, so far, has not been the case. LAG started Major III awfully, leading to roster changes before Major IV. Spart is back and Travis “Neptune” McCloud has joined the team.
Although, as of right now, LAG is sitting in the eighth spot of the standings, clinging to a five-point lead over both Florida and Minnesota. The Guerrillas went 0-2 over the weekend and, if things stay their current course, they could be the first CDL team ever to win a Major event but not make the Champs bracket. If LA has any hope of not making history, they need to start winning qualifier matches or pull off another miracle run at Major IV.
