Call of Duty League: Major II Qualifier Weekend 2 Recap

Who surprised, and who disappointed? View the full recap with updated CDL Power Rankings.

Author:
Zack Patraw
Updated:
Feb 14, 2023 8:22 AM EST
Original:
Jan 23, 2023

The 2nd weekend of Major 2 of the Call of Duty League has concluded, and there are several takeaways to dive into. The first and most surprising would have to be OpTic Texas winning their two matches, making them undefeated in Major 2. With Scump retiring after the first weekend, many thought there would be a rough transition period without the King. Lucky for them, they're proving they can get it done without one of the best players ever to do it.

The Minnesota RØkkr continues to be a confusing team that's still trying to find its identity. After a tough opening weekend, they surprised all by sweeping Atlanta FaZe 3-0 but followed that up with a 3-1 loss to the LA Guerrillas - a team full of Challengers.

The London Royal Ravens are still a team that is in a heap of trouble but managed to secure a victory against the Vegas Legion after getting swept by the LA Thieves. This makes the Legion's surprising loss very disappointing. They were looking like a team that could be a sleeper contender to win Major 2 in Boston, and if they are going to do just that, they can't have these down games against bad teams.

With many more headlines, let's look at some of the top takeaways from the 2nd weekend of Major 2.

Can Boston Breach Defend Home Turf?

We can continue to talk about Boston's disappointing performance in Major 1, but this team came to play this Major. They defeated the RØkkr in dominating fashion, beating them 3-0 in the first weekend, but fell short in their second match to OpTic, 3-2. Coming into the second weekend, they had a tough test in the Legion and won with conviction. They had a tough loss in Snd on Mercado and dealt with two close Hardpoint matches but ultimately got the win overall, 3-1. They're playing well together, and on the back of Owakening, they can go into the final weekend of qualifiers feeling good about where they're sitting to defend their home turf.

Atlanta FaZe Coming for Top Seed?

FaZe is right on the heels of Ultra and the Subliners at the top of the leaderboard. But the way those two teams are playing, it's anyone's guess when they will relinquish the lead. While FaZe is playing as well as any team in the CDL, they have to be better and more clutch against superior teams. Having been swept by a whirling RØkkr team, it bodes to ask, can this team perform when the odds are against them? The answer should be a resounding yes. They bounced back to beat the defending Major 1 Champs in five games, despite a lackluster performance in both Hardpoint matches. They need to find a way to clean up their Hardpoint games, seeing that they have struggled all season thus far, going 11-11 overall in that game mode. Becoming well-rounded in each game mode, there's no reason they can't be a team sitting in the top seed.

New York Subliners or Toronto Ultra?

Speaking of the top seed, the two teams battling out the conversation of the best team in the Call of Duty League are the Subliners and Ultra. It's hard not to be infatuated by how the Subliners have played this year. They fought through adversity in Major 1 to come out on top. And while some thought of them as fugazi, they're proving doubters wrong. After beating the LA Thieves and Florida Mutineers convincingly, they took a close loss to FaZe, which will have many talking about who the top team really is.

While the Subliners still have a grasp on the number one seed, Toronto Ultra might have something to say about that soon. The quad of Scrap, Insight, Standy, and CleanX have been consistently playing some of the crispest and clean Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 gameplay we've seen all year. The new game has been no problem for them to adjust to. After appearing to be a team that couldn't be beaten, they took a loss to OpTic, 3-1. This could be the best thing that could have happened to them - a humbling loss. Be prepared for them to come out firing next weekend, and they could be this Major on ice.