The fight for the Call of Duty League Champs bracket is truly starting to heat up. On Saturday, the LA Guerrillas managed to take down Atlanta FaZe for their first win of the Major IV qualifiers. LAG was previously 0-2 and sitting only five points ahead of Florida and Minnesota for the eighth spot in the standings; in order to make it to Champs, teams need to be in the top eight at the end of Major IV. While LA may have sputtered last week, they came out with a dominant win over the league’s top team today.
After a series of roster moves, many fans wondered whether LA would even put up a fight in Major IV. They were — and still are — on the brink of being the first team in CDL history to win a major event and not make it to Champs. While they need to keep up this momentum, the Guerrillas shored up their place in the top eight today. The win over Atlanta moved them into seventh place in the standings, five points ahead of the LA Thieves.
It was a team effort all around as LA toppled the proverbial giant in FaZe. Austin “SlasheR” Liddicoat was up to his old ways, posting a 1.42 KD in the match. Cuyler “Huke” Garland and Travis “Neptune” McCloud were also impactful in the series, shutting down the SMGs on FaZe.
LiddiGOAT is COOKING. pic.twitter.com/sGUFW5XYLY
— Los Angeles Guerrillas (@LAGuerrillas) July 3, 2022
Tyler “aBeZy” Pharris and Chris “Simp” Lehr both struggled in the match at different times, with Simp only managing a 0.80 KD. However, it was Alec “Arcitys” Sanderson that had the toughest match for Atlanta. The main AR was bested by SlasheR on a number of occasions, leading to him finishing with a 0.70 KD and only 62 kills.
This match could have very well been Vanguard playing its mind tricks on the community once again. The game has been extremely inconsistent thus far, with fans never truly knowing who is going to win a match. However, this also could have been a turning point for LAG, who could surprise the CDL again in the future. As for Atlanta, they usually have a loss or two like this in each stage. They haven’t been denied a grand finals appearance in a major event yet this season, but Major IV is shaping up to be the most competitive yet. FaZe will need to be at the top of their game if they want to get back to another final.
Both teams are back in action next week, the final qualifier matches before Major IV in New York.
