Who is the Next Call of Duty League Team that will Clinch a Spot in Champs

FaZe, OpTic, Thieves, and Ultra all punched their ticket. Who's next?

Author:
Zack Patraw
Publish date:
May 11, 2023 1:09 PM EDT

Will the New York Subliners be the next to clinch their spot in Champs?
Can Seattle Surge hold off Boston, Minnesota, and Vegas?
Are the Boston Breach over the hump yet?
Can the Minnesota Røkkr get back to Major II form?
Will Vegas do enough to knock off the rest of the teams?

The Call of Duty League Major V Qualifiers is headed into their second weekend, with four teams already having clinched a spot in Champs. The final Major will come down to the wire for a few teams fighting for their chance to battle it out in the postseason.

Atlanta FaZe, OpTic Texas, Los Angeles Thieves, and Toronto Ultra are already headed to Champs. Who's going to join them? Four teams are in a tightly contested race for seeding, with one of them that will be left in the dust when all is said and done.

Here are the teams that are fighting for seeding in Champs:

New York Subliners

(5th Place - 235 CDL Points)

After winning CDL Major I, winning hasn't come easy for New York. They're right there in every match they play, but closing things out has been a struggle. Looking at Major IV, they were dominant against Vegas and Minnesota but found hard times against Atlanta and OpTic. With 235 CDL Points, they are all but certain to be the next team to punch their ticket, but proving they can consistently win against the top teams in the CDL in Major V will be a telling sign of how far they can go in Champs.

Seattle Surge

(6th Place - 180 CDL Points)

It's hard to imagine Seattle not clinching a spot in Champs when they have a player like Amer "Pred" Zulbeari. He's at the top of the list when it comes to the Call of Duty League MVP conversation. But if the bottom three teams keep finding wins while Seattle is dropping games in Qualifiers, their Champs spot isn't completely on lock yet. According to Doug Liebe, they have a 68% chance of making the Winners Bracket for Major V, which they are going to need to do to hold off the three teams below them.

Boston Breach

(7th Place - 170 CDL Points)

Boston is in a very interesting spot. It can go one of two ways–they could leapfrog Seattle and secure the No.6 seed, or they could be eliminated from Champs altogether. Either way you slice it, these final matches in Qualifiers and a deep run in Major V are crucial to keep their hopes alive. There has been a lot of movement with the team's roster towards the back half of the year, meaning chemistry is going to become a factor. If the squad can build off their last win at Minnesota's Home Series and gain momentum, they will be a tough team to eliminate from Champs contention.

Minnesota Røkkr

(8th Place - 160 CDL Points)

Here is where it gets really interesting. Minnesota started off the year hot, landing a top-three spot at Major II, but from there, it's been a rollercoaster. We spoke to Ben "Bance" Bance during Major V, and this is what he had to say about the team: "The last few months of how we want to play, how we want to approach stuff, it's just trying to get on the same page." Minnesota will have to find a way to make everything click for them if they want keep pace with the rest of the pack and fend off the team chasing them.

Vegas Legion

(9th Place - 140 CDL Points)

Currently, the odd team out, Vegas is on the brink of just barely missing out on a Champs birth. Starting out the year as one of worst teams in the Call of Duty League, Major III is when things started to turn around. They made a deep run through the Losers Bracket and then secured their first-ever Winners Bracket in Major IV. The addition of Eli "Standy" Bentz to the legends that were already on the team has proven to be a lethal punch to opposing teams. They've shown they can beat teams online–now it's time to go into Major V and beat them on LAN and secure that Champs spot.

Who will Clinch their CDL Champs Spot?

There's little doubt New York and Seattle will make it to Champs. The question comes down to Boston, Minnesota, and Vegas. Those three teams we will need to keep a close eye on in Major V, as seedings could drastically change throughout. If we had to pick two of those three teams, it currently looks like Boston and Minnesota will be the two that squeak their way to Champs.

How to Watch the Call of Duty League

Viewers can watch the 2023 Call of Duty League through the Call of Duty Twitch and YouTube channels. If you are watching on Twitch, be sure to link your Activision and Twitch accounts to receive Twitch Drops during eligible events. The CDL will take place every Friday-Sunday over the course of four weeks.